Why is Christianity declining in the US and other advanced / technological / educated nations?

[Zzyzx]

Why is Christianity declining in the US and other advanced / technological / educated nations (particularly among younger generations)?

New Pew survey finds self-identified US Christians dropped 12% in a decade, as number of those claiming no religious affiliation surged

Over the last decade, the share of Americans who say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month dropped by 7 percentage points, while the share who say they attend religious services less often — if at all — rose by the same degree.

Empty Tomb, a Christian organization based in Champaign, Illinois, that researches religious giving, says the decline is longstanding. According to its research, Americans gave about 3% of their disposable income to churches in 1968, and less than 2.2% in 2016.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/decline-o ... oll-finds/

The number of Americans who call themselves Christian declined from 77% ten years ago to 65% in 2019. What is worse (or better), the absolute number of Christians declined. In 2019, the country had thirteen million fewer Christians at one hundred sixty-six million.

Protestants have nine million fewer members, two million less born-again’s, and seven million less non-born-again’s. Catholics are down by two million. Mormons were up slightly, but their % remained the same at 2%.

People who identified themselves as atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular” increased by twenty-seven million to sixty-seven million people. Today, 17% of Americans say they never attend religious services up from 11% a decade ago.
The data also shows a wide gap between older Americans and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation and attendance. People born between 1928 and 1945 describe themselves as Christians 84% of the time. Baby Boomers only 76% of the time. In stark contrast, only 49% of Millenials describe themselves as Christian. Four-in-ten Millenials described themselves as “nones,” and one-in-ten identified with non-Christian faith.
http://churchandstate.org.uk/2020/06/u- ... apid-pace/

[Zzyzx]

It should be illuminating that Jesus was supposedly run out of his own hometown as a fraud.

Do you have a source for this revelation?

Glad to help Bible believers learn about their Bible.

Luke 4:28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

[Quantrill]

Glad to help Bible believers learn about their Bible.

Luke 4:28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Sure appreciate your helping us Christians understand our Bible. What would we do without unbelievers helping us understand our book?

So, where in (Luke 4:28) did it say that the Jews in the Synagogue were furious and threw him out of Nazareth as a fraud?

I realize it must say that, as that is what you said. And Christians must turn to you to know what the Bible is saying. But I just don't see it. So, school me. Teach me the Bible here.

Quantrill

[Zzyzx]

Sure appreciate your helping us Christians understand our Bible. What would we do without unbelievers helping us understand our book?

So, where in (Luke 4:28) did it say that the Jews in the Synagogue were furious and threw him out of Nazareth as a fraud?

I realize it must say that, as that is what you said. And Christians must turn to you to know what the Bible is saying. But I just don't see it. So, school me. Teach me the Bible here.

Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.


According to the tale the crowd evidently considered what Jesus said to be false teaching – in other words, a fraud.

Or maybe they thought he was so wonderful they should kill him?

[Quantrill]

Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.


According to the tale the crowd evidently considered what Jesus said to be false teaching – in other words, a fraud.

Or maybe they thought he was so wonderful they should kill him?

No. The people were angry because of Jesus words against them. He told them they were not the ones He was sent to save and cleanse. (Luke 4:25-27)

This was Jesus entrance into His public ministry. They hadn't yet had time to determine if His words were true concerning what He said in (Luke 4:18). See (Is. 61:1-2)

Nothing is said about them believing Jesus was a fraud.

Quantrill

[historia]

Neither of the sources you cited says China identifies itself as a developing nation.

What part of this is difficult to understand?

Apologies, I had based my comment on what you had initially quoted.

However, the article itself argues that China is disingenuously claiming this status at the WTO just to get preferential trade terms, when it is, by several measures, a developed country.

So how are you defining an "advanced / technological / educated nation?" You've implied it is tied to per capita GDP. So are you asking about countries like Qatar, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait?

[Zzyzx]

However, the article itself argues that China is disingenuously claiming this status at the WTO just to get preferential trade terms, when it is, by several measures, a developed country.

Agree. Judgment calll (preferably by experts in the field).

So how are you defining an "advanced / technological / educated nation?" You've implied it is tied to per capita GDP. So are you asking about countries like Qatar, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait?

I am not an economist -- do not define their terms -- just consult information supplied by economists.

[Zzyzx]

No. The people were angry because of Jesus words against them. He told them they were not the ones He was sent to save and cleanse. (Luke 4:25-27)

Is this to say that the crowd considered his words truthful?

[historia]

So how are you defining an "advanced / technological / educated nation?" You've implied it is tied to per capita GDP. So are you asking about countries like Qatar, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait?

I am not an economist -- do not define their terms

Okay, but you have made the claim that Christianity is declining in the US and "other advanced / technological / educated nations." How can you make that claim with regard to "other nations" if you are unable to define which ones are "advanced / technological / educated"?

[Zzyzx]

So how are you defining an "advanced / technological / educated nation?" You've implied it is tied to per capita GDP. So are you asking about countries like Qatar, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait?

I am not an economist -- do not define their terms

Okay, but you have made the claim that Christianity is declining in the US and "other advanced / technological / educated nations." How can you make that claim with regard to "other nations" if you are unable to define which ones are "advanced / technological / educated"?

We can play definition games here if you like; however, according to Religion News

As 2019 begins, the world is becoming more religious, not less. Faith from diverse traditions grows as population expands throughout most of the Global South. Last year, nearly 50 million more Christians were added in Africa, making it the continent with the most adherents to Christianity in the world, 631 million.

In the U.S., a narrative of religious decline and growing secularism is now culturally popular. The percentage of “nones” — those claiming no religious affiliation — is growing, particularly among millennials. But what are the deeper trends and challenges, beneath the headlines, that are likely to shape the future of faith?

White U.S. congregations are withering. From 1991 to 2014, the number of white Protestants declined by a third, a trend that will continue as they age: Though 20 percent of Americans are 18 to 34 years of age, only 1 in 10 white Protestant congregations reflects that in their attendance. As a result, more than half of U.S. congregations now have fewer than 100 members. Hundreds will close this year.

Where there is growth in American Christian denominations, it is driven mostly by nonwhites, whether Catholic or Protestant, evangelical or mainline. Over the past half-century, 71 percent of growth in Catholicism, for instance, has come from its Hispanic community. In the Assemblies of God, one of the few U.S. denominations to show overall growth, white membership slightly declined while nonwhite membership increased by 43 percent over 10 years.

Multiracial congregations are also expanding to draw 1 in 5 churchgoing Americans, and surveys report a higher level of spiritual vitality among them compared with racially homogeneous congregations.

Globally, thanks to dramatic geographic and demographic changes, Christianity is recentering its footprint and becoming a non-Western religion. For 400 years, the faith has been molded by the largely European culture that came out of the Enlightenment. But today its vitality is coming from emerging expressions of Christianity in Africa as well as in Asia and Latin America.
https://religionnews.com/2019/01/10/whe ... from-2019/

Bold added for emphasis.

[Quantrill]

Is this to say that the crowd considered his words truthful?

It is to say exactly what I said it does. They were angry at His words against them. They offered no accusation of His being a fraud as you have...... due to your bias against Him and your ignorance of the Bible. I'm still waiting for all this help you're going to provide for Christians concerning our Book, the Bible. Let me know when it starts.

They were in opposition to Him. And He was in opposition against them. His teaching and the miracles He performed supported His testimony. See even (Luke 4:14-15).

If you need some help...let me know. Maybe you can go to a junior 'Sunday School Class' in a Church in your area. I'm sure they could help also.

Quantrill