Myths about U.S. Christianity dispelled by stats
By Ed Vitagliano
American Family Association Journal
November 15, 2008
“This is a must read article for great encouragement”
– Rev. Mark Creech
The litany of woes concerning Christianity in America is well-rehearsed: church attendance is declining; churches are losing their young people; Americans prefer the comfort of Disneyland-like “megachurches” to the Bible-believing, traditional, smaller church setting; and so on.
But these well-known “truths,” which have provided the fodder for countless jeremiads in recent years, aren’t so true after all. Baylor University sociologist Rodney Stark insists these are myths that have become like religious versions of the popular “urban legends” that spread via the Internet.
Stark has posited his contentions in his fascinating study of American Christianity titled What Americans Really Believe. Stark’s new book is anchored in research he’s done on religion in the U.S. for more than 40 years, and relies on recent surveys conducted in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by the Gallup Organization for Baylor University. Read the rest of this entry
