The changing religious demographics of the United States. I was not previously aware that Christian orthodoxy had experienced this much of a decline. It also appears that in the future Christian orthodoxy may be the domain primarily though not exclusively of ethnic minorities. The possible political implications of that are interesting to consider.

By Rod Drehr

The American Conservative

There’s new research out from Pew showing that the United States continues to leave Christianity behind.

Pew asked Americans about their beliefs in God. By “belief in the God of the Bible,” here’s what Pew meant:

The survey questions that mention the Bible do not specify any particular verses or translations, leaving that up to each respondent’s understanding. But it is clear from questions elsewhere in the survey that Americans who say they believe in God “as described in the Bible” generally envision an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving deity who determines most or all of what happens in their lives.

So it’s very vague. It’s a definition that would include the pseudo-god of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. I’m sure if Pew drilled down even a little bit, the numbers for even rudimentary Biblical orthodoxy — that is, a historical orthodoxy that would be affirmed by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox — would be much lower. Keep that in mind before you get too excited about the numbers below.

Highlights of the survey:

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