In their sweeping report, Pew Research said that two-thirds of the people in the USA now claim to be Christian, down from over three-fourths just ten years ago. Meanwhile, US of Americans who say they have “no religion” (the “nones”) have risen from 17% to 26% during the same time.
religionnews.com/2019/10/17/pew-report-older-u-s-christians-being-quickly-replaced-by-young-nones/
We love reading Justin Long’s take on the news, however. In an email he sent us last week, he asked about timing. “Will the “nones” change as they age?” He also challenged the research in its definition of “nones” anyway. But in a third conclusion, he also admitted — “This might be the new normal.”
Meanwhile, while traveling in Birmingham (England), we were struck by the statistics there. The city is said to have 1.3 million now. Residents told us that 35% are currently Muslim. But 55% of those under 11 years of age say they are followers of Islam. In a park on the evening of a recent Islamic religious festival, 110,000 Muslims gathered to celebrate. As we prayer-walked in certain sectors of the city, there were times in which we didn’t see anyone who seemingly WASN’T Muslim.
We don’t view this as a dramatic and horrible shift. We view it as a tremendous opportunity to love and care for people who have immigrated from other lands where they might have lived their entire lives without ever knowing a Christian or hearing the story of Jesus and the hope He brings. However, if they STILL do so, even in England (or the USA or wherever immigrants are settling), shame on us.
(Learn more about Justin Long’s ministry of research and analysis at JustinLong.org.)
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