The Decline of Christianity? Or was it Newsweek?

Newsweek predicts the end of Christian America based on a ten percent decline in self-identified Christians over the last 20 years.  Ironically, the article makes no mention of Newsweek's own mortality despite a 17% circulation decline in just two years.  Oh the irony. The terminally ill patient is worried the doctor looks a shade pale.

The Newsweek issue of which I speak will hits stands on Monday April 13th, the day after Easter--the day with the greatest church attendance of the year--and the very day that my new book, Faith-Based Marketing: The Guide to Reaching 140 Million Christian Customers begins shipping to stores.

If you're a Christian, then you may be looking for water cooler ammunition come Monday and be interested in the following facts lifted from the first chapter of my book.  If you're not a Christian, but are interested in getting your facts straight, then you should take note as well.  To paraphrase Mark Twain, it seems reports of Christianity's death have been greatly exaggerated.

• There were more Americans in church Super Bowl Sunday morning than watched the game itself worldwide.
• There are more Christian Americans than white Americans

If the Newsweek cover story bothers you and you're looking for ways to let others know, then let me suggest some ideas.

1. Post this church sign photo on your blog, Facebook page, MySpace, or print it and hang it by your desk as a sign of protest.  Just right click it and choose "save image as" to save it to your computer.  Then upload it to your Facebook or Blog or print it the way you normally would.

2. Link to this blog post from your social media, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

3. Can't remember those statistics?  That's okay, just direct your friends to www.faithbasedmarketing.com where Bob Hutchins and I share them in video format.

4. Whenever you use Google from April 13th through Friday April 17, search the name "Jesus" before searching for anything else.  If enough people do this, then the name Jesus will rise to the top of Google Trends as the most-searched term that week and help reveal to America just how many Christians there really are.  Get your friends, family...your entire church to join you and then monitor the results at http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?sa=X

I'll watch Google Trends too and when I see Jesus on the rise, I'll alert the media with a press release.

To the 7.3% of religiously unaffiliated Americans hoping that America's 76% Christians are going away, I have another Mark Twain quote to consider.  "Let your sympathies and your compassion be always with the under dog in the fight--this is magnanimity; but bet on the other one--this is business."

Bet on believers.  Spread the fire. GS

Comments

[Name]

What a RIDICULOUS post.

Is this a marketing blog or a smug religion blog?

And adding Jesus to every google query? What on earth are you thinking.

Goodbye

[Greg Stielstra]

It's a marketing blog, though it should be noted that my latest book is Faith-Based Marketing. Those two worlds do occasionally intersect.

The blog at www.faithbasedmarketing.com is now up, so I plan to put my faith/marketing posts there. GS

[Lhood]

What point were you trying to make with this statistic?
"There are more Christian Americans than white Americans"

That was the most nonsensical post I have read in quite some time.

[Greg Stielstra]

I was trying to help people understand how large the Christian market really is. Many marketers, and especially those who are not Christians themselves, wrongly assume that Christians are a tiny niche they need not address, when in fact, they comprise the largest market segment in the United States (231 million) and also the world (2.1 billion). GS

[Name]

Hey Greg,

I left the first comment on this post a while ago, and I would just like to apologise.

This is your blog and of course you can post whatever you like, and I have no right to say what you should or shouldn't write about.

Keep blogging!

[Cara]

The decline of christianity has to do with the fact that it is a male-oriented religion, like all 3 abrahamic religions. All male oriented religions are based on WOMB ENVY. Women are the one who bring life into the world, and men don't have ANYTHING that is equal to that. Men don't have something that is exclusive to their gender that is powerful and as necessary as birth, so they created male based religions to make men as the "life givers." It's actually quite flattering to women, that there are men who want to be so much like us that they would design religions where only men 'give birth' so to speak, if not for that whole pesky domination of woman thing. Yes, men have to be the spiritual leaders and the head of the household, yadda yadda, so men can feel important. Few men admit the whole womb envy thing, and only sexist men have it, but it is why men discriminate against women, and why religion is anti-female. Gotta make those insecure men feel important!

Yea, a woman brought sin into the world (sure, that's why the majority of crime are committed by men) and we need to be 'born again" within a male so he can take it out of us. Adam "gave birth" to Eve, but every man on this planet was born from a woman. Yes, we have to be "born in Christ" within a man, yet another example of womb envy. Yes, men and women have different body parts but that isn't what this is about. It's not uterus envy, but the fact that for the past couple thousand years, men have been trying to compensate for their feelings of inferiority over knowing women do something they cannot!

[Cara]

And let me add the focus on abortion is yet another example of womb envy, as most of the activists are men! We have proof of the one them during the presidential debates on you tube (brownback), constantly motioning to his pretend uterus as he speaks of the life inside.

Abortion is focused on because it is the only thing women do wrong. In every other area, men are the evildoers. But where is the focus on honoring women for being life-givers? The whole world of human beings is here due to women's strength.

[Greg Stielstra]

Enough already with the womb envy.

Christianity doesn't favor men or women. Jesus came to save everyone who accepts him as savior--men, women, black, white, etc--and the Bible is quite clear on this.

The point of my post--which you've badly missed--is that, contrary to Newsweek's claims, Christianity is not shrinking. In fact, it's larger than ever with 2.1 billion adherents worldwide who are too busy worshipping Jesus as Lord to envy anyone's womb. GS

[Vicky Silvers]

Hi,

This is Vicky Silvers, Asst. Editor for Christian.com which is a social network made specifically for Christians, by Christians, to directly fulfill Christian's needs. We embarked on this endeavor to offer the ENTIRE christian community an outlet to join together as one (no matter denomination) and better

spread the good word of Christianity. Christian.com has many great features aside from the obvious like christian TV, prayer request or even find a church/receive advice. We have emailed you because we have interest in collaborating with you and your blog to help us spread the good word. I look

forward to an email regarding the matter, Thanks!

God Bless,

Vicky Silvers
vicky.silvers@gmail.com