Religious Switching - A Wake-Up Call For The Church

Have you ever heard of "religious switching"? The Pew Research Center describes it as a growing "phenomenon" where individuals shift their religious identities from childhood to adulthood. This doesn't refer to changes within the same faith, but rather to those who either adopt a new religion or disaffiliate religious practice altogether.

Pew's latest report highlights a surge in this trend in recent years. Drawing from data on approximately 80,000 individuals across 36 countries, the study revealed that "a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised," with Christianity and Buddhism taking the hardest hits. 

The countries seeing these "religious switching" trends most commonly are East Asia, Western Europe, North America, and South America. And perhaps the real surprise is that the spotlight really isn't on religious "switching" so much as a complete abandonment of religion altogether.

"In other words," Pew wrote, "most of the switching is disaffiliation -- people leaving the religion of their childhood and no longer identifying with any religion." It turns out that "many of these people were raised as Christians," with "29% of adults in Sweden alone that say they were raised Christian but now describe themselves religiously as atheists, agnostics or 'nothing in particular.'" Pew further emphasized, "In most of the countries surveyed, Christianity has the highest ratios of people leaving to people joining -- the largest net losses."

According to David Closson, director of Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview, "This is a major study." On Friday's "Washington Watch," he explained that it's no small matter to survey as many people as Pew did in as many countries as they did, "and it shows that Christians in those 36 countries are one of the top religions that lose the next generation." As Christians, he explained, "we should be aware of this trend, and this should cause us ... to redouble our efforts of discipleship."

Closson elaborated with The Washington Stand: "The Pew study is significant for a number of reasons," he said. "First, it shows that, worldwide, churches and Christian parents are having a difficult time retaining their children when it comes to passing down the faith." 

But this study also reflects what FRC's research has found in a 2021 survey, which "showed only 6% of Americans have what you could call a biblical worldview." Naturally, Closson added, this raises the question: "What do the other 94% of Americans believe when it comes to their worldview?"

The answer, Closson explained, is syncretism -- a worldview that blends "various beliefs and convictions, even if those beliefs are internally contradictory." About 88% of Americans subscribe to this mindset, which he said "helps explain why the vast majority of young adults in this country, even those who grew up in the church, have not retained a consistent biblical worldview."

This raises another pressing question, he noted: Have Christians, "parents, and church leaders even attempted to pass down a consistent Christian worldview?" Closson found the results unsurprising, especially given FRC's corroborative research since launching its Center for Biblical Worldview in May 2021. Still, he stressed that it underscores the urgent need for Christians to reassess their approach to evangelism and discipleship.

As Christians, we understand that when it comes to sharing the Good News and planting seeds, God is ultimately in control of the increase. And yet, if you flip through the pages of Scripture, you'll see a command repeated time and again: "Go." What you won't see in Scripture is a command to be complacent or stagnant.

We're called to proclaim the gospel, to make disciples of all nations, tongues, and tribes. We're urged to be "doers" of the Word, not just hearers, letting its truth shape our hearts and lives. A survey showing Christianity with the highest rates of disaffiliation among religions shouldn't weigh us down with despair. Instead, it should act as 1) a wake-up call and 2) a reminder.

It's a wake-up call to the fact that our call is not to "go share the gospel as long as people are responding well to it." No, our call is, come rain or come shine, to share the gospel. Period. We share it despite opposition, hostility, and persecution, because we know it is the only truth that saves. No one is beyond redemption; no one lacks the need for it. Recognizing this, we press forward.

Thus, studies like Pew's serve as a reminder that, even when the outlook seems bleak or efforts feel futile, we serve a sovereign God. Jesus declared in Matthew 16:18, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." We don't bow to surveys signaling Christianity's decline or warnings that it's "going out of style." We heed God's promise that nothing can derail His plan, no force can snatch His children from His hand, and no power can thwart His Almighty decrees. He will build His Kingdom, and it will endure forever.

Closson is right. Christians should be aware of research that reveals the state of the church and Christianity. Not so we can be discouraged from its seemingly gloomy results, but so we can be encouraged to continue marching forth, just as He has called us to do. So, parents: preach the gospel to your children. Teachers: shine as witnesses to your students. Politicians: uphold Scripture in the public square. Doctors: point to Christ as the ultimate source of life and healing.

Christian: share the truth, be a light, and stand firm -- no matter the circumstances, no matter the cost.

Originally published at The Washington Stand