Christians in Name Only?

An amazing number of Americans (84 percent) still call themselves Christians. But when only half that number read the Bible or go to church and even fewer believe in the Bible’s accuracy or act on its moral values, can they truly be Christians?

On July 25 Christian pollster George Barna began releasing statistics on how American’s faith has shifted in the past 20 years. Here are a few highlights:

• Now an estimated 40 percent of adults read the Bible outside of church during a typical week, down 5 percent in the last 20 years.
• Since 1991, adult church attendance dropped from 49 to 40 percent.
• “In 1991, just one-quarter of adults (24%) were unchurched. That figure has ballooned by more than 50%, to 37% today.” The biggest increase was among Baby Boomers (up 18 percent).

In spite of these major shifts, 84 percent of Americans still call themselves Christians and 56 percent still say their religious faith is very important in their life.

Belief in God and the Bible declining rapidly

Belief in the Creator God and His inspired Word declined as well. Specifically:

• “When asked to choose one of several descriptions of God, the proportion who believe that God is ‘the all-knowing, all-powerful and perfect Creator of the universe who still rules the world today’ currently stands at two-thirds of the public (67%). That represents a seven-point drop from the 1991 level.
• “In 1991, 46% of adults strongly affirmed that ‘the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.’ That has slumped to just 38% who offer the same affirmation today.”

Mr. Barna points out on his blog that some trends have leveled off, while others seem to be accelerating. “The biggest share of the decline in church attendance occurred between 1991 and 2001,” while people’s “views of the accuracy of the scriptures held steady until the latter part of this past decade.”

These changes, of course, continue trends that began many decades before and that have had even more powerful effects in Europe. Yet many Americans still call themselves Christians, even if that label has little to do with their personal lives. In the United States, Christian remains a safe, majority label—not a description of real allegiance or commitment.

What Christ expects of Christians

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ obeyed God and never sinned (Hebrews 5:8; 4:15). He wants His followers to walk as He walked and to obey His commandments (1 John 2:6; John 14:15). Christians are those who have repented of sin, been baptized and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). They use God’s help to overcome sin and “sin no more” (John 8:11).

Paul told Christians, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

Yet a number of past studies have shown “Faith Has a Limited Effect on Most People’s Behaviors” in things such as viewing pornography, sex outside of marriage, divorce and getting drunk.

Does it matter?

If God doesn’t exist, none of this matters. If the Bible is not inspired by God to tell us the best, more beneficial way to live, it wouldn’t matter whether we believed it or obeyed it. If Jesus Christ isn’t the Savior and Lord—the Master who tells us how to live because He loves us and wants what is best for us—we wouldn’t have to worry about His definition of what a Christian is.

But if you give the Bible a chance—if you blow the dust off it, so to speak—I believe you will find that it does matter. If you see how much God the Father loves you—that He was willing to give His Son, Jesus Christ, so we may live—it will inspire you to want to live as Jesus lived and to accept God’s awesome gift of eternal life.

Then you will understand that to be a Christian—a real follower of Jesus Christ—is a 100-percent, lifelong commitment.

For more about what it means to be a Christian, see “A Pair of What? Of Paraprosdokians and Christians” and our Frequently Asked Question “How Does Jesus Christ Live in Us?”

Mike Bennett coordinates the blogs for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. He and his wife, Becky, and two daughters attend the Cincinnati/Dayton, Ohio, congregation.