The Fastest Growing Religion in America

A recent global survey conducted by National Geographic shows that the worlds fastest growing religion is “No Religion” – more commonly referred to as Atheism. Based on this survey, not only is it the worlds fastest growing religion, it is now the second largest religious affiliation in North America, and is the majority in Europe. In the U. S. alone, approximately 22.8% of the population now identifies as Atheist. This figure is up from 6.7% as recently as 2007. Parsing that even further, Atheism now represents a larger portion of the U.S. population than Catholics, mainline Protestants, and the followers of all non-Christian faiths. This study also indicates that the millennial generation is the largest demographic of non-religious affiliated people on Earth.

While most Atheists will chafe at my assertion here, it is interesting to note that along with the growth of Atheism has come a massive increase in homelessness (see HUD statistics), drug addiction (see drugabuse.com), lower education levels in the population at large (see the National Center for Educational Statistics), as well as greater unhappiness (see the recent Gallop survey). All of these negative consequences have been documented, and I believe are the direct result of the moral relativism associated with atheistic beliefs.

There is another issue that has also become a big deal in America – the increasing attacks on traditional religious beliefs and Christian morality. Every day we see media reports reflecting serious hostility toward people who hold traditional moral beliefs. We also see this at colleges and universities that frequently allow attacks on those with traditional beliefs. And in society at large, we see social and legal pressure being put on Christians to support various forms of immorality.

Beyond that, we see a massive increase in the number of people who support Socialism/Communism. Rather than seeking to provide the greatest opportunity for individuals, this economic approach, based on an atheistic worldview, puts a priority on the collective. In this system, those who hold various positions of power are able to determine how resources are allocated throughout society. Interestingly, this not only takes away individual liberty, but increases the poverty rate – the exact opposite of their stated goals.

But can we honestly say that an increase in the number of Atheists is responsible for all of this? Again, most Atheists will chafe at this characterization, but the moral basis for Atheism leads exactly to this result.

Explanation of Atheism
Atheism is a naturalistic belief system. It begins with the notion that the natural universe is all that exists, and that there is no such thing as a transcendent reality – thus no God. Concerning man, Atheists believe that he is a naturally evolved animal that has developed the largest and most complex brain of all animals.

In Atheism, morality is a human construct, as there is no objective foundation for making moral claims. What that means, in practical terms, is that morality becomes merely what those in power want it to be – and the means for accomplishing people’s desired outcomes is based on an “ends justify the means” philosophy.

Perhaps you are familiar with Saul Alinsky. He is considered the Father of Community Organizing, and wrote the book (literally – Rules for Radicals) on how to overcome the obstacles that Social Justice Warriors encounter as they try to radically change society by wealth redistribution and by changing society’s power structure. Alinsky actually dedicated his book to Satan, and his entire approach is based on an “ends justifies the means” mentality. He believed that those who consider themselves “the oppressed” can do anything they want as they seek to “right the wrongs of society” – and whatever tactics they decide upon are moral. This could include destroying businesses, attacking innocent people, infiltrating and disrupting events, harassing customers and clients of businesses, and anything else.

Explanation of the Christian Faith
Christian Theism is essentially the opposite of Atheism. Christians believe that a transcendent reality does exist, and that the God of the Bible is the true God. They also believe that man was created by God, in his image, but is fallen and separated from him. God, not wanting that separation to stand, provided a way to fix the consequences of the Fall. This was done by the atoning sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. All who turn from their sin and receive Christ into their lives have their sin forgiven and enter an eternal relationship with God. Christians are called by God to be salt and light in the world. Specifically that means bringing the love of Christ to a world that is lost and separated from him.

Christian Tactics to Fight Against the False Beliefs of Atheism
Just as those trying to promote an atheistic belief use tactics to accomplish their goals, Christians must also use tactics to accomplish the work of Christ – only Christian tactics are of a completely different nature.

The Christian faith is built upon the belief that God actually exists as an objectively real person, and that the teachings in the Bible have been revealed by him to mankind. The purpose of the Bible is to share God’s heart and mind in order that mankind may understand how to know God, and live rightly for him. The moral beliefs expressed in the Bible, then, are objective truth.

As just noted, Christian tactics for changing the world are very different from the tactics advocated by people like Alinsky. Christian tactics, are based on TRUTH. In fact, the only way to legitimately beat those who believe in relativism is to force the relativists to look truth in the face.

And this is what Christians must grasp – they must learn how to express the truth in the face of falsehood. Doing this is not, though, merely an academic exercise – it is a spiritual effort. That said, there are things that believers must learn. We must master the knowledge that help us expose the lies of false belief systems. This knowledge is different for each worldview system, because each one has its own unique way of understanding what is real and what is fantasy. We must learn how to communicate actual truth to people who believe that our message is a fantasy. If we don’t learn how to communicate across worldview barriers this way, our message will not be understood.

Many Christians are not willing to make the effort to learn these things because they think it is unnecessary. They are satisfied to continue using the mind set that existed when America was homogenous and we didn’t have to take into consideration the variety of worldview beliefs that are now prominent in our country. We simply can’t do that anymore if we are serious about sharing the message of Christ in our current environment.

Many people think Atheism is a “lack of religion.” It is not! It is legitimately a religious system that sees the material universe as reality, and God as a fantasy. When sharing Christ with Atheists, we are not trying to convince non-religious people to accept our religion. We are attempting to help them to see the emptiness of their current faith, and sharing Christ as the answer to their emptiness. But to do it will require a willingness to learn a new paradigm for sharing our faith. Continuing on our traditional path will not cut it anymore.

© 2019 Freddy Davis