While most Americans still
celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday, ironically, more and more are doing
so in an entirely secular manner. In fact, by all accounts, there has been a
shocking rise in the number of people ditching Christianity, people sociologists apparently
call “nonverts.”
So much so, the Pew Research
Center now estimates that Christians will be a minority in America by 2070 if
current trends continue. And that will be the end of America, as it was founded
on natural law, Biblical values, and the Judeo-Christian work ethic, the very
reasons it was the most successful nation in history.
Stephen Bullivant, a practicing
Catholic who teaches at St. Mary’s University in London and the University of
Notre Dame in Sydney, recently spoke to Grid News as to why Americans
are leaving Christianity in droves. (Bullivant’s new book, “Nonverts: The
Making of Ex-Christian America,” was released in the U.S. on December 1st.)
He said that a kind of “cultural whiplash”-- from religion to secularism-- has taken
place in the United States much faster than it has in other parts of the world.
Bullivant noted that this will
be difficult to reverse, as the largest demographic of nonverts are younger
adults, who are overwhelmingly likely to raise their children as “nones” —
people from nonreligious families. Only a tiny percentage of nonverts ever return
to religion, nor do a significant percentage of “nones” embrace religion at any
point in their lives.
By 2021, 42 percent of young adults (compared with 29 percent of all adults)
weren't religiously affiliated, a figure that has increased dramatically just since
the early 2000s. This is sad. And problematic.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the country.
Snow, lights, and decorated trees with gifts under them abound. Tunes such as “I
Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” are in
the air.
Might it not be better if more of us were singing “O Holy Night?”
And falling on our knees.
In any case, Merry Christmas.
And may God bless us, everyone.
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