Post on 22-Feb-2016
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A Catalyst for Change: A Case Study & Reflection on Culture Shift in American EvangelicalismBy Dan Davis
The ‘Emerging Church Movement’ is largely a post-modern & post-boomer-generation Evangelical reform movement, reacting against 80’s & 90’s over-identification with Right Wing political agendas. It will either:
1. If rejected: Aid the erosion of Evangelical numbers and influence.
2. If embraced: Alter Evangelical political alliances.
A Nationwide Poll* Revealed:
In 1999, 65% of Americans believed that religion was losing its
influence in public life…
At the same time, a nearly equal amount, 62% claimed that the
influence of religion was increasing in their personal lives.
*Roof, Wade Clark. 1999. Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
And the Survey Says:GSS: In 1985, 4.6% of U.S. Christians claimed no official denominational affiliation. In 2004, this had arisen to 18.5%.A Barna Poll (2009) found that between 4% to 33% of the U.S. population will say they have attended a house church in the last 30 days depending on how the question is worded.
Nationwide:Gallup, 1964: “Have you undergone a religious experience of some variety?”
20% YesGSS, 2004: “Do you feel God’s presence on a daily basis?”
60% YesBaylor, 2008: “I felt called by God to do something.”
44% Yes“I heard the voice of God speaking to me.”
20% Yes
Richard Flory & Don Miller, USC
“Rationalistic apologetics are largely irrelevant to [GenX] religious commitments,
having been replaced by an experience-based epistemology.”
From: GenX Religion (2000)
Richard Flory & Don Miller, USC
The Key Findings, Shifts in Five Areas:
1. Church Service Style 2. Organizational Structure 3. Locus of Ministry Emphasis4. Issues of Diversity 5. Primary Source of Authority
From: GenX Religion (2000)
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-Boomer*Styl
eStructure
Focus
Diversity
Authority
*Post-Boomer Column Adapted from Flory & Miller (2000)
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-BoomerStyl
e
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-BoomerStructu
re
Assortive Networks Disassortive Networks
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-BoomerFoc
us
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-BoomerDiversit
y
Gene Robinson
Pre-Boomer BoomerPost-BoomerAuthority
Summarizing ThemesFuture of Evangelicalism?• As it recedes in religious market-share…• As it decouples from Right Wing political alliances…
Future of the Emerging Church?
The shifts can be linked to broader nationwide generational shifts. See Putnam’s American Grace (2010).