CHRISTIAN EVOLUTION
What Americans believe and how they practice those beliefs is undergoing a dramatic shift. Religiously speaking, we are identifying less and less with Europeans—historically, our cultural ancestors—and more with Asian, South American, and African people. With the explosive growth of new evangelical sects, older traditional churches—particularly mainline Protestant—are on the decline. And although no one yet knows all the implications of this dramatic shift, there's no doubt that it will be profound.
“We've all grown up believing in something called the West,” says Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history and religious studies. “But in the past 20 or 30 years, the West has been dying because there is a fundamental cultural shift that, above all, is a religious difference between the United States and Europe. ”
What we currently believe, how we believe, and the significance of those beliefs on our public and private lives are markedly different from how Europeans view religious beliefs. And this development is a radical departure from the past with no small consequences.
In fact, says Jenkins, religiously speaking, Americans have much more in common these days with third world countries—where Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds.
“If you look at surveys of attitudes towards religion, they consistently show Africa as the most religious part of the world, Europe as the least religious part of the world, and American in the dead center,” Jenkins says.
Jenkins' perspective dovetails with another aspect of how religion in America is growing away from European beliefs and practices: the dramatic increase of newer churches, notably evangelistic, that are drawing away from the “mainstream” Christian churches. One of the reasons for this growth, says Roger Finke, professor of sociology and religious studies, is the way our country was formed and how our constitution is markedly different regarding freedom of religion issues.
“In this country, religion was seldom regulated by the state,” says Finke. “And if you look back, you see a very sharp increase in the percent of people's religious involvement from 1776 until the 20th century, where it has plateaued since that time.”
By regulating, Finke means the financial and legal restrictions required to start and operate churches. Examples of those restrictions may be that the state only provides subsidies for selective religious groups or it limits a group's ability to start new churches, seek new members, or even exist.
But the United States does not have restrictions like this, he says, and other than some limitations from the IRS, anyone can set up a new church tomorrow and be eligible for the same freedoms as any other church. This has created a competitive environment among churches, where no religious group has an advantage over the other. As a result, Americans have much more variety among churches than almost any other country.
“Sure, the older mainline churches have a historical advantage but the newer ‘upstart' sects—primarily new evangelical churches—force them to be much more aggressive in recruiting members,” says Finke. “And the newer sects are succeeding at a rapid rate.”
Looking at the ARDA (see Shifting Beliefs), the growth of these new sects in the U.S. is skyrocketing. What's fueling this growth? Finke says the usual reason is some members' belief that the church has turned away from its old traditions and they are unhappy about it. The Anglican Church of England has spawned many sects that were considered “upstart” in their time, including the Methodists who would later flourish in America. When its new members arrived in the United States it grew rapidly and instigated new rituals, such as camp meeting revivals.
“Their name comes from the desire to become more methodical, to return to earlier foundations of the church,” Finke explains. “In many instances, the groups split over theology or liturgy or religious practices. Over time, these groups would often merge and split apart again.”
The Anglican Church is an example that bears out Jenkins's viewpoint as well. Currently, there are approximately 77 million Anglicans worldwide. One-third are members of the original Church of England, but in the last twenty years, Africa's Anglican population has grown dramatically, with over 36 million members, more than reside in England. Finke says that generally, as churches evolve, they become more liberal and indeed the Anglican Church, traditionally dominated by the wealthy North American countries, has become more accepting of differences and began to accommodate greater cultural shifts. However, since more than half of the world's Anglican's now live in developing countries in Africa, South America and Asia, their power is being felt throughout the church.
And in 2003, this shifting power between global factions exploded over the issue of homosexuality. That year, the United States and Canada consecrated an openly gay priest as a bishop and gave their blessing to gay unions. The Anglican Church of Kenya widely condemned the consecration and moved to sever links with the Episcopal Church of America, demanding its expulsion from the global communion. In recent months the issue has garnered more attention as increasing numbers of Americans are agreeing with the African viewpoint. The issue is threatening to cause a split in the church and demonstrates a religious shift globally and nationally as evidenced by the evangelical sects.
Similar to the Anglican situation, people who are seeking out these sects tend to be much more heavily involved with their churches on a daily basis and more socially and morally conservative. One often follows the other, says Finke.
“With a higher level of involvement, you have more conservative views,” he says. “People tend to be much more motivated when they feel that social values are not going the way God wants.”
book, God vs. Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law , and has made many appearances on television and radio shows, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.