Posted by Helen on: 06.09.2008 /
Are 25% of Americans Evangelical Christians? I saw that statistic twice in news articles last week. Yet in her latest book The Fall of the Evangelical Nation: The Surprising Crisis Inside the Church Christine Wicker says it’s way too high. investigated the sources and discovered the number should be 7%, not 25%.
Evangelicals believe themselves the bearers of Good News for the rest of America. Ironically, the rest of America sees Christine’s discovery as better news than any message Evangelicals bring. Why? Because people are scared of what Evangelicals do when they have enough clout to do anything. The less Evangelicals there are, the less they can influence the political process.
As Christine writes
Once we understand evangelical numbers in context we begin to understand that American is a very different place than many of us have been led to believe it is. And Americans themselves are a very different kind of people. More thoughtful. More reasoning. Less doctrinaire. More changeable. More flexible. Less religious.
You can get an idea here of Christine’s reasons for adjusting the percentage of Evangelicals way down.
I’ve enjoyed Christine’s stories about the people she’s met in other books and was pleased to find plenty of those in this one. As Christine writes about specific Evangelicals she vividly portrays the hope, purpose and comfort their faith brings them. Christine enables us to be there when Hurricane Katrina victim Michelle Tauzin, now resettled in Texas and recently converted to Evangelical Christianity, returns to her debris-filled house. Michelle is there with her pastor and a filming team to record her ‘testimony’ with a powerful backdrop. The video they’re making will encourage church members to continue giving money to help Hurricane Katrina victims and other people in need.
Michelle cries when she sees her ruined house and car but she does not blame or curse God. Inside the house, which is very difficult to make her way through, Michelle is overwhelmed with thanks to God when she discovers a book of her baby pictures.
Christine comments
Perhaps you’re scoffing at Michelle’s joy. Baby pictures? you’re thinking. That’s all God gave back? Better if he’d taken strong action, like diverting the hurricane and letting the Tauzin family go on with their lives. But that’s not how evangelicals think, as the Tauzins are learning. God worked his wondrous ways that the Tauzins might come to know him and be saved. Knowing him, obeying him, seeing his presence in life—that’s all that matters.
Christine is not being sarcastic. She’s simply reporting how it is for Evangelicals. In fact Christine admits she envied Michelle’s ability to be encouraged by God through finding baby pictures while surrounded by all she’d lost. Christine writes as one who has been there and sometimes wishes she could go back. I doubt she ever will. In my experience people who’ve lost the belief in that framework don’t regain it again. No wonder the Bible warns about ‘falling away’.
I enjoyed the subtle humor throughout the book. Like this
I know from living in the South more of my life that it isn’t so hard to get a southerner to accept Jesus. They’ll do that just to be polite – if not to you, to Jesus.
Christine tells me that this book is not being well-received by the Evangelicals it’s about. In my opinion that’s unfortunate because this book gives them a valuable opportunity to see themselves through the eyes of outsiders. Not any outsider but a very thoughtful and insightful one who is much more generous towards Evangelicals than most outsiders would be.
Whatever your beliefs, I hope you’ll read Christine’s book. Christine is an excellent writer. Her stories are compelling and her research is substantive. She deserves a hearing.
Check out Christine’s latest guest post over on our Justice and Compassion blog: An idea to help poor Americans - from Focus on the Family.
Comment by: Walking Away
1 06/9/08 11:35 AM | Comment Link |Excellent review. I had just added this to my “must read” list, I think I will bump it up to the top :)
Comment by: Helen
2 06/9/08 2:28 PM | Comment Link |Thanks Walking Away!
Comment by: Christine
3 06/9/08 2:42 PM | Comment Link |Helen,
Thank you. You pointed out elements of “The Fall” that other reviewers have ignored, which were very much the heart of the book to me. I am so grateful. Just this morning as I’ve responded to radio callers and participated in a live chat, I’ve been reminded of how gentle and perceptive and good many evangelicals are.
I am not able to believe in God each and every day. But when I encounter such Christians, it feels as if God is near.
Believing versus feeling. That’s a topic for post-modern musing. Another time….
Instead I’ll go back to why your review was so important in getting at the full truth we need to be looking at.
I wanted readers to understand that the real question isn’t “Why do people become evangelicals?” but in light of all that evangelical faith offers, “Why doesn’t everybody?”
I believe the collapse of the Evangelical Nation offers the best chance for American Christianity in my lifetime.
But in order for Christians to capitalize on this moment, they must ask the second question, “Why doesn’t everybody join us?” and listen with full, humble attention.
America is rapidly becoming a post-Christian nation. Is that God’s plan?
Some evangelicals rather proudly think so. And wait eagerly for the rest of us to be incinerated. (These are spiritually immature evangelicals. Milk Christians, we used to call them. No matter how much age or power they have.)
Most of evangelicals aren’t like that. Those “Left-Behind” books were Christian porn. They flourished for the same reason Internet porn does. Because they catered to people’s basest, most childish selves.
America’s fastest growing spiritual category in numbers and in percentages is made up of those who say they are “spiritual but not religious” or who answer “none of the above” on religion polls.
I believe many evangelicals will be too doctrine-bound to really seek the answers to “Why doesn’t everybody become an evangelical?,” too doctrine-bound to truly listen and even if they can seek and listen, they won’t be able to respond because they worship the Bible, not God.
I don’t mean to sound harsh here.
But many evangelicals believe God requires them to cling to the idea that they own The Truth, that God has given it to Them and only Them. A lot of Them don’t particularly like that idea. But They fear giving it up because They’ve been falsely convinced that They must hold that line.
I’m capitalizing all those “T”s because I think these believers are unwittingly putting themselves in the middle of the picture instead of God. I don’t think they know it. But it’s exactly the kind of holy sin that Jesus warned against again and again.
Okay. I’ll stop preaching.
I’ve been amazed to see how much fire I have on these issues.
Who knew?
(You’re probably thinking “Who cares? No, you’re too nice to think that. I am the one who is thinking that.)
Comment by: Jim Henderson
4 06/9/08 3:20 PM | Comment Link |This is such a great quote from Christine. It captures in just a few words why we want to work with her.
Comment by: Helen
5 06/9/08 3:49 PM | Comment Link |Thanks Christine. I feel honored by what you said, that I picked up what’s the heart of the book to you.
Isn’t it great to be able to say that? I totally felt they were. Instead of feeling uplifted and inspired by their spiritual content I felt rather disgusted with them.
What you said about feelings fascinates me because in the last few years I’ve noticed I first experience something as a feeling then I try to unpack it into words.
Looking back, much of my Christian experience was very feelings-based but I was supposed to call it something else. The Holy Spirit. Whatever. Maybe it is the Holy Spirit but it feels like feelings.
Now I can unpack my feelings myself the way which seems to fit best, but back then I was told what those feelings meant. I like this way much better.
Comment by: Christine
6 06/9/08 5:11 PM | Comment Link |Thank you, Jim.
In truth, I remembered that this morning talking with evangelicals who were so humble themselves. Brought me back to my true size.
Helen,
I’m curious. Can you put your finger on a difference between your unpacking then and now?
Because you seem Christ-like in all the best ways. It doesn’t seem as though you’ve left much goodness behind.
But you are very alive. And delightfully free. Were you this much alive before?
Some God-feeling used to speak to you, right? Does it still?
Or was it all merely church-talk that puffed up and then defined everything?
Comment by: Jim Henderson
7 06/9/08 6:17 PM | Comment Link |Helen
Christine is getting ready for her next book :-)
Comment by: Benjamin
8 06/9/08 6:28 PM | Comment Link |That’s a pretty big statement.
I’m terribly curious as to what you mean by “American Christianity”
‘Cause it looks to me like the former (that is, Christianity) has to seriously trump the latter (that is, American). (Kind of like “Christian” sort of trumped “Roman” or “Jew” for Paul, perhaps) And … further, it looks to me like the trumping I just described is *very* nearly impossible for American evangelicals. Hence your statement, perhaps.
BICBW.
Comment by: Christine
9 06/9/08 10:40 PM | Comment Link |Benjamin,
You’ve got what I meant. Exactly. For more than 20 years, we’ve been told that the only kind of Christianity that could flourish in this country was the most literalist, fundamentalist kind (check fundamentalist and evangelical beliefs on my website if this ruffles you), the kind that is so wedded to Americanism that it is actually a civic religion.
I’m not saying that kind of Christianity isn’t valuable. But if it’s the only kind of belief allowed, it limits God and it limits who can be close to him.
But now that we know that kind of Christianity hasn’t triumphed and isn’t the only brand that can triumph, the rest of the Christians, those who have been really trying to relate to the needs of human beings living here and now, who’ve taken the risks and gotten beaten up in all sorts of ways for it, can come out of the closet.
They can help us struggle to make Christlike values of some import in the society at large, of some use to people who need them.
It was Jim who first caused me to have this kind of hope. He said if God wants to be close to us, maybe he wouldn’t put all sorts of barriers between him and us. Maybe he wouldn’t make it as hard as many evangelicals are making it now.
Because it is getting harder every day for most Americans to have the kind of all or nothing belief systems that evangelicals require. That is not going to change.
Comment by: Helen
10 06/10/08 5:52 AM | Comment Link |Christine wrote:
Those are great questions, Christine.
When I look at my life I see it as having had a ‘Christian overlay’ for about sixteen years (beginning at age 20 when I became a Christian). I started questioning that at about age 36 which led to the removal of the ‘overlay’ after a while.
I can see continuity between my pre-Christian, Christian and post-Christian life. I have a few memories showing that at least one of my core values (kindness) predated my Christian life.
Before, during and after my Christian life I experienced life and learned and grew. The value of what I experienced during my years as a Christian was not taken away by the ‘Christian overlay’. Being Christian might have made it take longer for me to put together some of what I was learning and see its full implications. Or maybe not. I can’t say for sure.
As a Christian I would attribute any particularly good ideas (which are often ‘unpacked feelings’ btw) to the Holy Spirit - I’d assume he (or she) ‘told’ them to me through my thoughts. Christians often say “that idea was too good/too unusual to have been mine - it must have come from God”. I used to say that too. Now my official philosophical position is, I don’t know where my ideas come from. My practical experiential approach is to treat them as if they’re all mine and to go with them if it ‘feels’ right and is not contra-indicated by the opinions of wise people I trust. I moved to this mostly for reasons of emotional survival because it was too complicated and scary and stressful wondering if God was talking into my mind telling me things (and never really knowing).
If God showed up and said “I want credit for all those ideas” I’d say fine - you take it - I don’t mind at all.
I’m not expecting that to happen - after all, I’m almost an atheist - but who knows?
Comment by: Christine
11 06/10/08 10:58 AM | Comment Link |Helen,
Thank you. You pinpoint something that evangelicals don’t often talk about, which is the insecurity of relying on God. I’ve heard so many preachers warn that you may think God is talking to you when actually it’s your own ego or Satan. Or even more often they talk of those outside the church who are being deceived.
When I was a church member, I heard such sermons so often that I knew exactly how to react. But a year or so ago, during my research I went to a Bible study class where the teacher started talking about how easy it is to be on the wrong side of God’s will and how many people believe false doctrines. It was so scary to hear how tricky the whole process actually is. But no one else seemed scared.
They all left chattering away, looking happy. And I realized that in the years since I’d been in church, I’d lost the knack of it.
I was scared by what he said because to me it meant that what he was saying or anyone else was saying might be completely against God’s will and none of us would know it. But they, knowing the drill, were far more nimble. They knew the was affirming that they were right and the outsiders were wrong.
So while I felt more insecure (which is what he would have wanted me to feel), they felt more secure — as long as they followed him - which is what he wanted them to feel.
My research greatly increased my admiration for Christianity as a system. And heightened the mystery of its decline in this country.
Comment by: Helen
12 06/10/08 8:44 PM | Comment Link |Christine, you’re exactly right - it’s a self-reinforcing system. People who tell you your beliefs are wrong are of the devil. People who affirm them are from God.
It works as long as you keep believing in it. But if you start to doubt, that can begin a process which leads to it all unravelling. That was my experience, anyway.