Christians need to face the bad news about Christianity

Sorry, the rise of the "nones" is actually a big deal

Church religion
(Image credit: REUTERS/Stringer)

Christianity is declining in the United States, according to new Pew surveys. And I have some news for my fellow Christians: This is actually bad news for Christianity.

That may seem obvious, but Russell Moore, an online acquaintance, a Baptist minister, and president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty commission thinks there is a lot of upside to the rise of people who don't identify with a religion, otherwise known as the "nones." For him, they indicate the falling away of semi-Christians, and the declining cachet of Christianity as an empty social-marker. He writes:

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.