Churchlessness has been on the rise in American for quite some time growing from 30% during the 1990s to 33% during the 2000s before reaching 43% in 2014.
These statistics appear as a part of an infographic on the first page of Churchless: Understanding Today’s Unchurched and How to Connect with Them (2014) by the Barna Group with George Barna and David Kinnaman as general editors. That same graphic continues with the image at right, breaking both the churched and unchurched into subcategories
Currently, just over half of all Americans are churched:
- 49% are actively churched (attend at least once a month)
- 8% are minimally churched (attend infrequently).
Currently, just under half of all Americans are unchurched:
- 33% are de-churched (were once active in church but are no longer)
- 10% are purely unchurched (have never been a part of a church).
So What?
The de-churched are the “fastest growing segment” of all (p.7), and have a background that includes involvement in one or more churches. They have left the church for a variety of reasons (p.92). While it is valid to assume generation differences in why people drop out of church, the Barna group has significant data on just one age cohort: young adults. Among this group, the top six reasons de-churched people give for walking away from the church are
- churches seem restrictive and overprotective
- Christianity as practiced is too shallow
- churches seem antagonistic to science
- churches are judgmental and rigid about sexuality
- the exclusivity of Christianity is a turnoff
- churches are unfriendly to those who doubt
As someone who has been a lifelong member of mainline Protestant congregations, it seems the church the de-churched are avoiding is one that looks very different than ours. Progressive Christians must actively share who we are, what is we stand for, and how it is we differ from the popularized versions of Christianity commonly presented as the only authorized American version.
- Which (if any) of the items above accurately describes your current congregation?
- Which of the six items above is your local congregation currently best at debunking?
- How might progressive Christians work together to help the general public, especially the de-churched, better understand the diversity of American Christianity?