Mainliners

The following from Ryan Burge in a new post about evangelicals in the Democratic Party of the United States absolutely deserves some consideration for its implications.

Many have wrung their hands about the decline of Christianity in the USA. However, given that the US population is divided pretty evenly between Republicans and Democrats, with only a tiny ‘middle unaligned group,’ and given that % evangelical for Democrats hasn’t changed markedly (1970-2010s) and has increased significantly for Republicans over the same period, it seems clear what is declining in America is the more cultural Christianity. This leads me to three musings:

First, I view this decline as, in a sense, a good thing. When people are nominally part of Christianity, the sort of Christian influence aimed at them is of the “let’s wake up the sleeping giant” variety. But when people’s theological position (‘none’) is honestly known, then more appropriate Christian outreach can be made. The fact that someone declares that they are a ‘None’ is not the end of the story. It doesn’t mean they are lost forever.

Second, gives some evidence for my own hypothesis - there is a ‘floor’ to the decline. This seems to indicate evangelicals aren’t massively leaving evangelical belief.

Third, and more concerning, is the ‘politicization’ of evangelicalism. I am reminded of Lewis’ sage words in Screwtape Letters: