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The Pew Research Center reports that Christianity in the U.S. is declining at a rapid pace. But what can we learn from the data? Is there more to the story behind the numbers? Jeff Haanen, Joanna Meyer, and Dustin Moody discuss the takeaways from this recent report.

"Over the last 10 years, people who self identify as Christian in the United States has dropped from 77% in 2009, down to 65% [in 2019]. And the real big gain is in this group called 'religiously unaffiliated.'"

"The nation's overall rate of religious attendance is declining–not because Christians are attending church less often, but because there are now fewer Christians as a share of the population."

"Optimism doesn't have a very good basis in faith. Things actually might get worse in America in terms of what it means to be a person of faith in this culture. But hope is based on the resurrection and the promise of the second coming–something that we can continually live out no matter what happens."

Read Jeff's response to the Pew Research Center report.Download the full report from the Pew Research Center: "In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace."Read "Christians in the Age of Outrage" by Ed Stetzer.*Download the episode transcript.

*–Purchase with purpose. Amazon donates to Denver Institute when you shop at smile.amazon.com.