Such declarations are regularly pronounced by social scientists, pollsters and even clerics. Reviewing today’s Christian membership rolls, they appear to be right.
During the past decade, as a percentage of the population, American Christianity declined by 8%. Most of the decline came from mainline Protestants, some Catholics and fewer evangelicals. Although several American Christian religions are still growing, their rates of growth are trending downward.
But is it really true? Is the decline of American Christianity the result of external, secular forces victoriously overwhelming it? Are Christian clerics right when they blame secularism for their failures to convert new members and retain old ones?