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I’m currently a “none” or, more precisely, a “nothing in particular.” But I want to be a something.
If you, like me, think faith in God and religious affiliation are generally good things for people, then you, like me, ought to feel unsettled by the findings of political scientist Ryan Burge.
King Charles III is the first British monarch to inherit a post-Christian kingdom. Less than half of his subjects identify themselves as Christian, and only about one in 20 adults in the UK go to church on Sundays. Since 1980 church attendance has more than halved – and that’s broadly the situation in most of Western Europe.
The decline in church attendance is not just due to young people. Large numbers of middle aged adults, including some who were once highly committed, are also dropping out of church, usually while still keeping their faith. I argue that evangelical piety encourages downplaying the church and that its emotionalism and activism often lead to burnout.