The decline in Americans identifying as Christians could be “good news,” a podcast priest told Fox News.
“There’s something about that that’s potentially hopeful,” Father Mike Schmitz told Fox News. “Because for maybe the first time in generations, we actually know where people are standing.”
In 1990, 90% of American adults raised Christian still identified that way at age 30, compared with just 65% in 2020, according to a September Pew Research Center survey. Similarly, 31% of people over the age of 30 who were raised Christian identified as religiously unaffiliated in 2020, up from just 8% in 1990.
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“If people are going to be honest about ‘this is what I really believe,’ then we as a church can be honest and say, ‘okay, I can talk about it,'” Schmitz said. The Roman Catholic priest from Minnesota rose to fame in 2021 with the launch of his podcast, The Bible in a Year, which consistently ranks at the top of Apple’s religion and spirituality charts.
Pew predicted that if the decline continues, Christianity could become a minority religion by 2045. Still, Schmitz is hopeful that today’s youth will continue to believe in religious tenets, even if they are less likely to identify with a religion. specific organized.
“I wonder if people are ultimately not being honest,” Schmitz told Fox News. “It’s them finally saying, ‘My parents checked the box: I’m Lutheran, I’m Evangelical, I’m Catholic, but they didn’t do anything about it.'”
“They’re saying ‘I believe in the same type of God, but I’m not going to check the box,'” he continued.
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The number of American Christians fell from 90% to 64% between 1990 and 2020, according to a September bank research survey.
(iStock)
Schmitz’s position comes from firsthand experience. Despite growing up in a Catholic family, Schmitz disliked the church until shortly after graduating from college, when he suddenly became deathly ill. He had a spiritual awakening after a priest offered to hear his confessions.
Despite the drop in Christian affiliation, more than 81% of American adults believe in God, though that’s an all-time low, according to a Gallup poll in June. In 2020, more than half said that religion can still answer most or all of today’s problems.
Schmitz believes that an increasing number of young people believe in what is called “moralistic therapeutic deism,” a set of common spiritual beliefs that include a belief in some kind of distant God who wants people to be good and for good people to be good. go to heaven He fears that an increasingly secular population will result in a less moral and, as a result, less free society.
“One of the great messages of Christianity, particularly to this incredible country of the United States of America, is that we have been blessed with freedom.” Schmitz said. “We have also been given the responsibility of freedom.”
Father Mike Schmitz said he is “hopeful” despite the declining number of Americans identifying as Christians.
(Fox News)
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He believes that a less religious population will mean more chaos, leading to calls for more government intervention.
“The government can’t do much to keep its citizens morally upright,” Schmitz said.
“Religion is not meant to keep people in line, but to give them freedom,” he added. “But not the freedom to do what I want, the freedom to do what I must.”
To watch Schmitz’s full interview, click here.
