A Valuable Message to Mainline Americans: Don’t Be Afraid of Spiritual Change

Don't be afraid. Religious life in America is changing dramatically, but for millions of Americans who are searching for faith, inspiration and hope on a daily basis—the underlying spiritual strength of our American culture is alive and well. In a couple of sentences, that's the wise and helpful message of Diana Butler Bass's new book, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening.

As a longtime journalist covering religion in America myself, I have been reading Diana Butler Bass's work for about a decade now and we have been doing interviews through those years, as well. If you are drawn to her books, I also highly recommend A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story and Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith.

In preparing to cover her new book as a journalist, I asked Diana the very question that millions of Americans are having trouble answering for pollsters: “How do you identify yourself religiously these days?” She laughed, because religious transformation in our culture is the central point of this new book. We're all changing—like it or not. Finally she said, “Can we just say: She responded with a big silence?”

When I pressed her, though, she said, “I understand myself as a Christian who is leaning toward an unknown future and I am feeling a sense of loss. I know we have to leave some things behind in terms of ritual practices and traditions of the Church, but I am also full of a sense of wonder and imagination. What is Christianity going to look like for my daughter? For my unborn grandchildren? I am hopeful. I see the possibility of a Christianity that can be open and fluid and that will no longer be guarded by huge boundaries and barriers set up by human beings to close out so many people. I see a Christianity emerging that will embrace people around the world in love. I hope for a future of healing for our planet.”

That’s not a bad response on the fly in an interview! And, if that summary sounds like you, then you already can see why you should get a copy of this book and read it, then share it with friends in your congregation. That uplifting voice from Diana Butler Bass comes through, loud and clear, in these nearly 300 pages of solid research data, analysis and advice to church leaders about ways to adapt to our current transformation in American religion.

Here's what this is not: This is not another "inspirational" book by a spiritual writer sharing a personal vision of change. There are many fine books in that genre from individual teachers, but Diana Butler Bass is not merely writing a personal manifesto here. She is a highly respected historian of American religious life and a scholar of contemporary religious culture and is regularly invited to lecture to conferences, colleges and gatherings of church leaders. By the time you reach the back cover of her book, you will understand the breadth of current research by Diana herself and by a wide array of other top scholars as well.

And this is not another guilt trip from a "church-growth expert," designed to whack congregational leaders over the head with 10 Things You’re Doing Wrong in Marketing Your Church. That's not Diana Butler Bass's profession nor her intention. This new book is a stirring (and, to be honest, a troubling) look at change in America’s religious life. But we are in the hands of a scholar whose vocation is driven by the hopeful promise that smart and well-informed church leaders can take positive steps.

Why is it so important that she covers the waterfront in current research?
Because we're not simply relying on Diana's own conclusions, leaving the reader to guess whether we should trust her. Instead, she fills in the other voices in a kind of panel discussion of top scholars, including as one example the widely known Harvard scholar Robert Putnam (famous for his work on Bowling Alone) and his colleague from Notre Dame David E. Campbell. Together, their latest book is American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, which I also recommend.

Ultimately, this is a terrific book for small-group discussion. Not only will it spark lively conversations, but there's an even more important reason to work this book into your congregation's small-group schedule this year. It's this: Rather than simply arguing about various opinions concerning change, reading Diana's new book will give everyone in your community a firm footing on the latest research into these questions. Oh, people still will disagree, debate and question each other. That’s the fun of small-group discussion. But, at least everyone will know the wide array of solid findings that now are available to help us chart the future.
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A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story
Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us