R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 428

The Great Clarification: Fuzzy Fidelity and the Rise of the Nones

Meet the unaffiliated. An increasing number of Americans identify with no church, denomination, or religious tradition, and this development represents a truly significant shift in the nation’s pattern of belief.

America’s religious landscape is changing, and the contours of that change will determine the shape of the church’s challenge for decades to come. An important study recently released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life points to several developments worthy of our attention — and some of these deserve rather urgent analysis.

The Continued Rise of the Nones

The Pew report reveals an increasing number of Americans who identify with no church or religious commitment. At present, one of five Americans is now “unaffiliated” and disconnected from any church or organized faith. More shocking is the fact that fully one in three Americans under age 30 report themselves as unaffiliated. “In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults,” the report reveals.

Of the unaffiliated, about 13 million Americans (about 6%) identify as atheists or agnostics, with another 33 million (14%) simply claiming no affiliation. The unaffiliated are not church shopping, according to the researchers. Instead, these Americans say they are very comfortable being disconnected from any church or organized faith.

The unaffiliated are not openly hostile to churches or religious institutions, but they are not planning to join one. Most are not atheists or agnostics, and many follow some religious practice such as meditation, but they do not see themselves as meaningfully connected to any faith commitment. Keep Reading

Revisiting Inerrancy: A Panel Discussion Considers What is at Stake

More than twenty years ago, theologian J. I. Packer recounted what he called a “Thirty Years’ War” over the inerrancy of the Bible. He traced his involvement in this war in its American context back to a conference held in Wenham, Massachusetts in 1966, when he confronted some professors from evangelical institutions who “now declined to affirm the full truth of Scripture.” That was nearly fifty years ago, and the war over the truthfulness of the Bible is still not over — not by a long shot. Keep Reading

The Briefing 10-15-12

Obama, Romney Face A Truly Crucial Week… Sky Diving, At Mach 1.24… Arlen Specter Dies At 82… Federal Deficit Tops $1 Trillion For Fourth Year… A Global Perspective: More Economic Slowing… A Debate in California Gets Physical Keep Reading

James 1:19-21

The Briefing 10-12-12

Biden And Ryan Quarrel Aggressively In Debate, Offering Contrasts… More People Choose To Go Solo Keep Reading

The Briefing 10-11-12

Biden-Ryan Debate Highlights Nation’s Catholic Political Divide… Will Biden-Ryan Debate Be A ‘Catholic Smackdown’?… Transgender Voters Left In Cold With Patchwork Of ID Laws… Pakistan Erupts In Anger Over Taliban’s Shooting Of Schoolgirl Keep Reading

The Briefing 10-10-12

As Protestants Decline, Those With No Religion Gain… Sandusky Sentenced To At Least 30 Years… Justices Face A Test On Race… Global Recession Risk Rises Keep Reading

The Briefing 09-25-12

Middle Schools Add A Team Rule: Get A Drug Test… Some NYC Schools To Offer “Morning After” Pills… Eastern Germany: The Most Godless Place On Earth… The Gospel Of Jesus’ Wife? When Sensationalism Masquerades As Scholarship… Let There Be Wife, Jesus’s Wife Keep Reading

And The War Came: A Conversation About The Civil War with Allen Guelzo

And The War Came: A Conversation About The Civil War with Allen Guelzo Keep Reading

The Briefing 09-24-12

Pakistan Hit By Deadly Riots Over Anti-Muslim Film… Pakistani Minister Offers Bounty Over Anti-Islam Video… Exploiting the Prophet… A 21st-Century Islam… Tariq Ali: The West ‘Created This Monster’… ‘Innocence of Muslims’ May Fail Free-Speech Test Keep Reading