A Religious Renaissance

Articles

1

By Clayton Coates

Senior Pastor at GracePoint Church of Coppell and Advisory Board Member for ChristianMingle.com

Is America losing its religion? According to new findings from a Pew Report survey, the answer is yes. The survey reports one in four Americans today has no religious affiliation, and for the first time, the number of people who do not claim any one specific religion is nearly equal to the number of those who belong to a mainstream Protestant church. The survey findings go on to state that one-fourth of adults under 30 do not see themselves as members of any religion. While I can’t argue with the numbers in the report, I can argue that perhaps our country isn’t really losing its religion, but rather, finding new ways to keep the faith.

I believe this report only takes a surface-level look at what’s really happening in our country’s religious landscape. In my opinion, contrary to the study, we’re experiencing a religious renaissance where more and more people are actually finding a place within the Christian community; it’s just that we’re limiting where we search for other Christians like us. As young Christians turn to God, they’re also turning to the internet to find likeminded people who share their values and spiritual beliefs. The culture of faith within the United States is simply changing in this digital era to reflect our modern online lifestyle.

For example, take the popularity of sites like ChristianMingle.com

®. Nearly two million singles joined ChristianMingle in 2011 in hopes of finding God’s match for them. Now, with more than 7 million registered members, ChristianMingle is the largest and fastest growing online community for Christian singles. If the number of people who are calling themselves Christians is dropping, then how does that explain the large number of people flocking to a Christian dating site?

Perhaps it’s because singles are no longer going to church in the traditional sense, they now are finding new ways to associate and share their beliefs in online communities as well as the faith community. Katie and Kyle, an engaged couple who met on ChristianMingle in July of 2011, are devout Christians who found a home in this new online community of Christians.

“Looking back, I realize that when I first signed on to ChristianMingle, I doubted that anything would happen,” Katie said. “And now I am planning the wedding that I have dreamed about since I was a little girl, and marrying the man of my dreams. Nobody should doubt what God can do on this site!”

Katie and Kyle are part of a larger group of young people who joined ChristianMingle in hopes of meeting likeminded singles who share their love for Jesus. In fact, the number of young people in their twenties who joined ChristianMingle in the last year alone grew by 86%, according to the site. Perhaps our young adults may not want to choose a specific religious denomination, but they are certainly still finding ways to identify as lovers of Christ.

Finding ways to share the faith online is no longer restricted to checking to see if your place of worship includes this week’s bulletin on their website. You can now “check-in” to services on your favorite social media site, send Christian eCards, or get a daily Bible verse delivered straight to your inbox. God is now as present online as he is in the church greeting line.

Religion certainly isn’t being ignored in popular culture either. We are seeing a move towards openly displaying faith and values in a place where we once did not: On the playing field. From Olympic athlete Lolo Jones to breakout-NBA star Jeremy Lin, Christianity is getting some serious media attention in the sports world.

Tim Tebow may be the most obvious example of this new move by Christian athletes to become more vocal about their faith. Tebow, quarterback for the New York Jets, is regularly quoted in major media outlets across the country about his Christian background and religious beliefs. Generally he is very open about his love for the Lord, even spreading the Lord’s message via Twitter. For example, his Tweet before a recent game read, “Looking forward to giving God all the glory in tonight’s 666th Monday Night Football game. Romans 8:37-39.” Tebow is only proving more Christians (even famous ones) are finding a place to share their love for Jesus online.

Perhaps it’s a part of a larger desire to connect with likeminded Christians who share the same background and moral standards, but there is no denying the large number of Christians who are finding a place within the faith-based community online. This new way of sharing God’s message through the World Wide Web may at first leave religious organizations wondering where their members are going, but when used effectively can encourage members to return to the local church. Christians can strengthen their relationships with one another (and even with God) simply by connecting with each other online. And the growing number of online communities for Christians is proving that. While fewer people may be calling themselves a Catholic or a Presbyterian, there’s no doubt in my mind that more and more people are calling themselves a “Child of God,” and they’re doing it in some bold ways.

Clayton Coates bio:

Clayton Coates is the Senior Pastor at GracePoint Church. Prior to coming to GracePoint, Clayton led the Single Adult Ministry at Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, California. At that time, Saddleback’s Single Adult Ministry included over 13,000 single adults in the greater Los Angeles area. Prior to that, he was a pastor at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. Clayton earned his Bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University in 1998 and a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004. Clayton and his wife, Allison, have five children, Ella, Karis, Tatum, Tyler, and Annabelle.

As a ChristianMingle Advisory Board member, Coates is a trusted leader and influencer within the Christian community and provides strategic guidance to facilitate a deeper connection between ChristianMingle and the broader Christian community.