Is Christianity Fading?

Not So Fast My Friend....The Eulogy for Christianity May Be Premature

Empty Pews are common in the US Today (image: unsplash)

NOTE: In my last newsletter I described the rise and influence of Charismatic Christianity and connected it to events that took place on January 6, 2021. Today’s column will expand some of the background and context around the growth of this group of Christians along with the apparent trends in Christianity that show that it is fading, maybe.

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Is Christianity Fading?

Statistically, one might think so…but…not so fast my friend. Something else may be going on. Let’s explore this question today.

Nones Are Still The Largest Group

I have written a great deal about the decline of Christianity as a religion in North America. Statistically, this is undeniable. I’ve pointed out that the fastest growing segment of the religious landscape are the “nones” which include atheists, agnostics, and those who may still believe in “God” but simply aren’t affiliated with any religious institution. Depending on which research you cite, it is likely this group makes up close to 30% of Americans today.

The Nones are the largest group of people religiously in the United States today. This trend began in the 1990s and has continued unabated for over three decades. You can see the trend on the chart below starting in 2007 and how they break down by category:

Ryan Burge, a political scientist who focuses on religious trends, reports that almost half, 48% of all members of Gen Z, those born since 1996, identify as Nones, as do 44% of Millennials those born from 1977-1995.¹ So, this trend may continue to accelerate as the older generations continue to pass away. Gen Z and Millennials will be the first generations of Americans to not have been raised in church-going families. It is likely they will continue to avoid religion.

There are many potential explanations for the emergence and growth of the nones. Anti-institutional feelings coupled with post-modernism have led many formerly religious people to vacate formal institutions of faith and theologies. Questioning the assumptions of religious belief is common among those who leave their church. Some have had bad experiences in churches and leave due to trauma. PEW Research reports that 47% of people cite dislike of religious organizations as a key reason for not being religious. And 30% say bad experiences they’ve had with religious people help explain why they are nonreligious.²

Charismatic Christianity Flies Under the Radar

This assessment of the state of Christianity doesn’t look promising for the faithful. But there is something going on that lies below the surface of the statistics. It is called “Charismatic Christianity.” It is the fastest growing religious affiliation globally and is the one religious group that shows continued growth even in the United States despite the broader trends.

And, Charismatic Christians are some of the most conservative and aggressive supporters of Donald Trump…more on that later.

Consider this graph from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

Note: you will not see the term “Charismatic Christian” on this graph or others like it from other survey organizations. That is because Charismatic Christianity is largely non-denominational, or even anti-denominational. Additionally, people who identify with Charismatic Christianity can be found in virtually every category of Christian faith on this chart. It is cross-denominational and therefore flies under the radar of sociological surveys.

But there are several distinct “flavors” of Charismatic Christians:

There are denominational Pentecostal-Charismatics, mainline Protestant Charismatics, Catholic Charismatics and Independent Charismatics. All of them (except Independent Charismatics) are counted within the broader categories on the graph.

However, to understand the explosive nature of the growth of this group of Christians, it is necessary to disaggregate them from the major categories. And, when you do, an astounding picture emerges.

Before reflecting on the growth of Charismatic Christianity, it is important to define this label. Again, it is broad and can include a range of characteristics and practices…not all Charismatics will agree with everything on my list, but here are some basics:

• Many Charismatic Christians will claim they are “filled with the Holy Spirit” which was a special and separate experience from becoming born-again.

• Many Charismatics will speak in tongues (based on the experience of Christ followers in the book of Acts).

• Many Charismatics believe that God still provide miraculous healing for the afflicted today.

• Many Charismatics believe in spirits and demons that influence humans and must be countered through prayer and even exorcism.

• Many Charismatics believe that God still speaks revelatory messages through human beings today, which are consider “the word of the Lord.”

Within Charismatic groups there is heavy emphasis on experiential Christianity as opposed to theological Christianity. Many Charismatic evangelists and pastors, some very well-known, are not products of seminaries or schools of theology. They lead because they are dynamic and can perform “signs and wonders.” Because there is belief in present day revelation from God, many Independent Charismatic gatherings can have interesting and strange teachings that run awry of more traditional Christian theology.

The Growth of Pentecostal-Charismaticism

The growth of Charismatic Christianity needs to be put within a historical context. The context begins in the early 20^th Century with the first “Pentecostal Revivals” that took place not only in North America, but simultaneously in Europe, Asian and Latin America. It was a global revival and still is a global phenomenon.

This “revival” has been going on for over a hundred years!

In the first half of the 20^th Century, Pentecostalism merged into new and existing denominations. They were usually considered by mainstream evangelical and mainline Protestants to be marginal and backward. Their strange emotional worship practices were not acceptable to most middle-class white churches. But the movement continued to grow.

In the 1960s a second impetus of Charismatic revival emerged and was called the Charismatic Renewal. Pentecostal practices began to go mainstream and invaded traditional denominations. This movement grew from 58 million people in 1970 to 635 million in 2020.³ Some estimate that by 2050, there will be close to 1 billion Charismatic Christians worldwide. To put this growth in perspective, during the 20th century, Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity grew by 6.3% annually, far faster than other Protestant churches.

However, it is the Global South where the fastest growth has taken place and is home to 86% of all Pentecostals/ Charismatics in the world.⁴ In fact, Charismatic type churches are to be found on almost every continent today. Take a look at the map:

To suggest that Christianity is fading may only be applicable to the United States. Globally, Charismatic Christianity is the fastest growing Christian expression of faith. Independent Charismatics, those not tied to a denomination, are largest in the United States (33 million), Nigeria (27 million) and China (24 million), and over one third of the populations of Eswatini, South Africa and Zimbabwe are Independent Charismatics.⁵

Yet, the largest Charismatic movement today is the Catholic Charismatic renewal with significant numbers mainly across Latin America. The largest Catholic Charismatic populations are in Brazil (61 million), the Philippines (26 million) and the United States (18 million), though the highest concentrations of Catholic charismatics are in Guatemala (34% of the country), Puerto Rico (31%) and Brazil (29%).⁶

Coming back to the United States, it is estimated that there are around 67 million Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians. Arguably it is one of the largest, if not the largest portion of those that identify as “Christian.” Dr. Todd Johnson of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary makes the case that this expression of Christianity is separate from and makes up another major branch of Christianity that should stand along side Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.

Charismatics Are Driving the Political Right

What are the political implications for us of a continuing growing Charismatic Christianity? Here is an interesting comparison. The “nones” and “Charismatic Christians” are two leading religious groups that are growing in the United States. But here is the difference. Politically, they behave very, very differently. Even though the number of Americans identifying as Christian continues to plummet from 78% of Americans in 2007 compared to 63% in 2021, (Pew Research Center reports) the growing influence of Charismatic Christians will be a major factor in American politics because they are extremely politically engaged. (See my last article: Do You Wonder Why Evangelicals Support Trump?)

The religiously unaffiliated nones tend to vote less often than religious Charismatic or evangelicals. The exception are atheists and agnostics who are very politically engaged. But exit polls from recent elections show the religiously unaffiliated may be a smaller percentage of voters than of the general population.

Evangelical-Charismatic Christians are highly motivated, highly organized, and extremely politically engaged especially in culture war issues. For example, Charismatics are more supportive of restrictions on gender affirming care for transgender people (41%) compared to non-charismatic evangelicals (30%) and other Christians (17%). Gen Z and millennial charismatics are also more likely to support these restrictions compared to their non-charismatic peers, 41% to 20%.⁷

Questions about other social issues underscore the differences between charismatics, other evangelicals, and Americans at large. Post-Dobbs, the general public is even less supportive of highly restrictive abortion policies. But among Charismatics, 24% believe that abortion should never be permitted by law, compared to 12% of non-charismatic evangelicals, and 10% of other Christians.⁸

As churches continue to decline, especially the mainline white churches, and even many traditional evangelical ones, you can anticipate that the ranks of Charismatic believers will replenish the seats of their older compatriots and will replace conservatives of the Baby Boom generation. And, if the nones remain politically less engaged, policy will continue to be dictated by a smaller religious minority who believe that God has called them to conquer the Seven Mountains of Society.

On the other hand, if the religiously unaffiliated were somehow mobilized, energized and became politically active…well, watch out…are you listening Democrats?

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References:

1. PEW Research Center, “Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe,” January 24, 2024.

2. Ibid.

3. Dr. Todd Johnson, Professor of Global Christianity, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Blog post: May 27, 2020. “Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity” (https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/pentecostal-charismatic-christianity/)

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Fanhao Nie, Ph.D., Flavio Rogerio Hickel Jr., Leah Payne, Tarah Williams, Ph.D., PRRI, “The Future of Born-Again Evangelicalism is Charismatic and Pentecostal” June 29, 2023.

8. Ibid.

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