The Christian Nation with a Declining Christian Majority

Our country is often referred to as a Christian nation despite the principle of a separate
church and state. In God We Trust decorates our currency, and one nation under God is
recited in our Pledge of Allegiance. With an overwhelming majority of citizens falling under the
Christian faith, these religious ideals slip into our government and policies. However, the
Christian majority is changing. Numbers of citizens choosing not to identify with any particular
religion are growing while numbers identifying with traditional Christian factions are shrinking.
It appears that overall, especially in the Millennial generation, people are moving away from
some of the more dogmatic religious principles.
According to a demographic study by Pew Research Center, the Christian majority
declined 7.8% from 2007 to 2014 (78.4% to 70.6%). This striking decline came with increased
numbers among non-Christian faiths such as Islam and Hinduism and, most notably, numbers of
those unaffiliated. The study mainly connected falling Christian numbers with rising unaffiliated
numbers and stated that non-Christian faiths have grown modestly. Although a majority of those
unaffiliated did not identify as atheist or agnostic, the percent atheist/agnostic among those
unaffiliated did increase 6%.
Where is the change?
Michael Lipka, editor with a focus on religion at Pew Research Center, identifies
Millennials as driving this change in religious demographics. Of the younger section born 19901996, 36% identified as unaffiliated with religion, and of the older born 1981-1989, 34%
identified as unaffiliated. While it is commonly held that younger people to be less interested in
religion in general, these numbers still represent a real and substantial cultural shift in America.
Only 17% of Baby Boomers were unaffiliated when surveyed at the same age as Millennials

today. Modern youth doubles that percentage and triples the percentage of the Silent Generation.
Any way you slice it, the religious nones are rising.
What is the change to?
Despite speculation that the decrease in religious affiliation does not necessarily
constitute a decrease in spirituality, Professor Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University led
a study showing that spirituality has declined as well. The study analyzed results from four
nationally representative surveys. It included 11.2 million respondents age 13-18 from the years
1966 to 2014 and concluded that the religious shift is generational and not simply due to age.
Millennials not only identified as unaffiliated with religion, but they were less likely to rank
religion as having a high importance in their lives. They were less spiritual and less likely to
spend time praying or meditating. Because of this information, it appears the Christian religion
isnt simply changing into a more liberal and less dogmatic religion, but that it is indeed
declining overall. Not only are the unaffiliated rising, but the percent unaffiliated are becoming
more secular. This cultural shift seems to show not only an increase in the unaffiliated but an
increase in the nonreligious.
Why the change?
Professor Twenge equated the generational change with the rise in individualism.
Because organized religion often follows a set of rules that may be seen as restricting personal
freedoms, a drop in religious affiliation correlates with heightened value on individualism. In an
article published in Salon, Valerie Tarico argues that the decline is due to the internet and the
Information Age. For many, although certainly not all, enculturation is the reason behind their
religion. Being able to access outside information easily has caused some to cast off the faith of
their families.

With the internet, access to scientific information as well as information regarding other
religions is able to be widespread. Many religious individuals consider science integral in
understanding and modernizing their own religious beliefs, but science has posed a challenge to
fundamentalists and those favoring a literal interpretation of religious texts. Even when religion
has not been cast off due to scientific information, it has, in many ways, been made more
progressive. A number of the Christians I know in my generation do not adhere to the same
religious principles as their parents. They doubt what they have learned in churches and think
critically on issues such as reproductive rights, equal marriage, and gender roles. In this way,
their beliefs are not a product of enculturation and dogma but of their own questioning and
critical thinking. Having access to the internet and scientific research I believe shapes the
religious of this generation as well as leading some to reject their religion all together.
Another possibility is the support for those leaving their religion. America still has an
overwhelmingly negative attitude towards the nonreligious. Technically in my home state and six
others, it is illegal for an atheist to hold public office. That being said, most universities and
many high schools now have organizations such as the Secular Student Alliance that offer a safe
place and community for those without a church community. UCFs Secular Student Alliance has
a mission to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote
the ideals of scientific rationality, secularism, democracy, and human-based ethics, and to
encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, bigotry, and superstition in our
society. The club also has a chapter called Recovering from Religion meant to support those
doubting their religion, wanting to leave their religion, or who have already left. The widespread

opinion is still negative towards doubters, skeptics, and the irreligious, but support groups such
as these allow for more people to come out of the closet regarding religious doubts.
How does a secular nation benefit the religious?
For an individual, being secular means having attitudes not based on religious or spiritual
principles. For a country, it means keeping any one groups religion out of government policies.
Nationwide secularism is inclusive of all religions. It goes back to the idea of separation of
church and state. Not only does this provide a society inclusive of the irreligious, but it is more
inclusive of all religious beliefs. The Christian ideals that work their way into campaigns are not
encompassing of all citizens. They are not even encompassing of all Christians. A nation led by
any groups doctrine is a nation excluding other religions. With a secular nation, religious ideals
and values do not need to vanish or be hidden. In fact, a secular nation with no religious
preference allows the free speech of all groups. This is why Christians, Muslims, Hindus,
Buddhists and other religions along with atheists and agnostics should all push for a more secular
society. We do not need to come together as one nation under one God. We can come together on
our shared human values such as love, compassion, kindness, tolerance, and acceptance.
Secularism may separate the church and the state, but it does not need to separate the religious
from the nones.