Last month I posted a brief article about the Pew Forum's extensive research on Religion in America. http://garysweetenblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/02/who-is-who-in-pew.html
Now the Wall Street Journal is weighing in on the topic at http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0006.html?bcpid=86195573&bclid=212338097&bctid=1442385103
To the complete shock and surprise of Europe America is a very active Christian nation. We do religion in the USA the same way we do business and politics; we are capitalists.
In Europe there has been a state church arrangement since the Dark Ages. Maybe that is one reason things were so dark. When there is no competition fstandards fall. Competion for our money, our business or our souls is good. The organizations and people responsible for running those non competitive groups become less in touch with the "customers" or members and the quality of their services is lowered.
Competition is good for lowering prices and raising the quality of the product in every endeavor of life. People vote with their pocket books for goods and services and with their feet and hearts when it comes to eternal issues.
One reason I am so strongly opposed to nationalized health insurances comes from this same philosophy. Where there is no competition standards fall. In America the Federal bureaucracy is a nightmare to deal with. The state church has always been a nightmare to deal with. They are removed from the people and decide for the people not with the people.
In a more democratic and competitive arena churches must continually reinvent themselves and meet the needs of the people. In a democracy people flock to those tgroups that have high standards and high demands. It is the opposite of what one might assume.
The Pew Research says that some 44% of adults in America are in a different place spiritually than their parents. Many Catholics have switched to new groups and a very high percent of Mainline Denominations are bleeding badly as they lower standards and the new Evangelical groups raise them.
So, the fretting and wringing of hands by conservative Believers is premature. Americans are doing in religious life exactly what they are in the rest of life: looking for the best for themselves and their kids.
Gary Sweeten
We help churches grow
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