Americans Still Believe in God … “But”

Christianity,

Statistical data from the General Social Survey shows that, contrary to what many think, the overwhelming majority of Americans—a whopping 86%—believe in God at some level. For every American that doesn’t believe in God, there are seven who do. 

Of course, just because 4 out of 5 Americans think God exists doesn’t mean they believe in the same God or, for that matter, in the God that actually exists. What we believe about God is a defining aspect of our lives. As A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  

What we believe about God shapes what we believe about the rest of life, including those ultimate, worldview-shaping questions of origin, identity, meaning, morality, and destiny. And the more a group of people is unmoored from the truth about these things together, the more disconnected they are from those essentials of a healthy and functioning society, such as justice, human dignity, and the care and protection of children.

Copyright 2023 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Young Men Now Outnumber Women in Church

Faith, , , ,

In September of 1989, Rev. Billy Graham preached to tens of thousands of people gathered at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock over the course of several nights.

In one of his sermons — which you can listen to hear — Rev. Graham shared these words:

Christ did more to liberate women than any other person who ever lived. Women in many cultures today are exploited … It was Jesus Christ who treated women with honor and courtesy in a nation in which they were despised.

Theologians have noted over the centuries that the gospels list several different women as some Christ’s prominent followers during his earthly ministry and in the New Testament Church.

For many years church in attendance in America has been higher among women than among men. Today, however, young women seem to be leaving the church.

Christianity Today reports that women born after 1990 — women in their 20s and early 30s today — are no more likely to attend church than men their age, and women born after 2000 are actually less likely to attend church than men.

Among Americans age 18-25, 49% of women identify as non-religious, compared to just 46% of men.

John Stonestreet at the Colson Center recently addressed this trend, writing,

Battered by church controversies and scandals, and shaped by cultural messages, women are increasingly heading for the exit. In doing so, they are rejecting a faith that, in the words of my colleague Glenn Sunshine, has done “more to improve the status of women than any other historical force.” The Church is meant to enable and empower men and women to live as image bearers, according to God’s design.  

In this day and age, there are even many believers who think they can follow Christ without the church.

But being part of a local group of believers is an important part of discipleship. Christians help each other grow in the faith.

Put simply, men and women both need the church.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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