Religious without Religion

Religious without religion? In yesterday’s New York Times, opinion writer Jessica Grose responds to the perceived—and much reported—decline of religion in the US. She discusses a fact critics of religion have a hard time explaining: the large majority of Americans remain religious. Sixty percent of respondents in a recent survey said that religion was somewhat or very important to them, while only 19 percent said religion was not important to them at all. By contrast, in a widely reported Gallup survey, US church membership recently fell below 50 percent for the first time. Church attendance has declined in recent years, while the percentage of Americans who say they seldom or never attend services has risen to 57 percent. How can we be religious and yet not participate in religion? Grose cites Duke Divinity School sociology professor Mark Chaves, who notes that two things can be true at the same time: “The decline in religious belief and interest is much slower than the decline in organizational participation.” We can make such a distinction between belief and practice only by ignoring clear biblical teaching such as Hebrews 10:25: “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The clear precedent of early Christianity embraces corporate worship (Colossians 3:16), Bible study (Acts 2:42), and encouragement (Hebrews 10:24–25).