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Most Americans claim to be religious, yet the nation flounders around for spiritual meaning. As reported in USA Today, researchers compiling the American Religious Identification Survey have discovered some profound shifts in attitudes towards religion.
One discovery is that many Americans are moving away from traditional Christianity. Adherents to Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are on the rise. Even the number of people claiming to be Wiccans, self-proclaimed witches, jumped from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001.
Barry Kosmin, one of the researchers involved in the survey, concludes, "More people see religious identity as a recreational option." Has religion become a recreational activity like a day at the beach or attending a baseball game? Has the nation drifted so far from its spiritual moorings?
In response to religious pluralism, mainstream Christianity is going through profound changes, with many churches becoming a sort of doctrinal pick-and-choose smorgasbord more in tune with pop culture, political correctness and accommodating personal lifestyles than the solid teachings of the Bible.
There was a time when ministers in most Christian denominations taught parishioners to fear sin and its consequences. Messages about sin and resulting judgment were known as "hellfire and brimstone" sermons. The preacher would describe the horrors of punishment in an everlasting hellfire and call on the audience to accept Jesus and save their souls.
American Protestantism is grounded in a history of religious motivation through the fear of unforgiven sin. In the mid-1700s the American colonies experienced the "Great Awakening"—a religious revival spurred by itinerant preachers. They crisscrossed colonies working audiences into frenzied crying and shouting by describing the torments of hell.
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