The Future of Christianity

What is the future of Christianity? Can Christianity be more experiential, more nuanced, and more respectful of science?

What is Happening?

In the West, we assume that Christianity has dominated world history, and we assume that the United States will always be the leader of the free world.

However, if we take the long view, we know that demographers estimate that approximately 120 billion humans have lived on earth and that over half of them lived before the common era (BCE.) Also, we realize that eight billion people live here today and that less than one-third of them are Christians. (Of course, Christianity has existed for only 2,000 years of our 250,000 year history.)

Global dominance has shifted approximately every 100 years. In the future, dominance will likely shift to the East, and Eastern beliefs and practices will likely become more relevant:

• In the 1700s, France had the world’s largest economy.
• In the 1800s, Great Britain had the world’s largest economy.
• In the 1900s, the United States had the world’s largest economy.
• In the 2000s, China will likely have the world’s largest economy.
• In the 2100s, India may have the world’s largest economy.

Worldwide, it is NOT likely that English will be the common language or that the dollar will be the common currency or that Christianity will be the most popular religion in the future.

By the end of this century, analysts predict that Christianity will no longer be the majority religion in the United States or the most populous religion in the world. By 2050, Pew Research Center estimates that four in ten Christians will actually reside in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, the Christian population in Europe is expected to shrink by 100 million people.

Why is It Happening?

Jim Palmer, a friend and mentor who wrote the foreword to The Way, suggests that Christian theism is declining. Thus, fewer people believe in a Supreme Being who manages human affairs.

Jim recently posted a podcast episode called, “Is Christian Theism Dead?” for the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. So, here are some of his observations:

• Scientific discoveries like evolutionary biology and quantum physics can explain the operation of the Universe without a Supreme Being.
• Postmodernism and secularization can lead to a deconstruction of Christian theism and a distrust of organized religion and other institutions.
• More critical thinking, more information availability, and more multiculturalism can support beliefs other than traditional Christian beliefs.
• The prevalence of Eastern religions introduces non-theistic understandings of God as the “ground of being,” rather than a being.
• Many modern people question speculative beliefs, supernatural doctrine, and unkind practices associated with traditional Christian beliefs.
• Some modern people think that theories such as panentheism, pantheism, and panpsychism better explain Ultimate Reality.
• All of these factors support kinder, gentler forms of spirituality that emphasize love, rather than sin.

What are the Implications?

Today, some of the world’s two billion Christians still embrace many of Christianity’s speculative beliefs, supernatural doctrines, and unkind practices. In fact, organized religion is unique among institutions in continuing to advance beliefs that were developed by Iron Age priests, despite subsequent advances in history, philosophy, psychology, theology and the natural sciences.

Imagine where we would be as a society, if our academic, business, legal, medical, and scientific institutions were as intransigent as our religious institutions.

Here, I asked what beliefs are fundamental to Christianity. Indeed, Christians have been asked to believe a lot of unbelievable things, many beliefs stand on shaky foundations, and the theological structure becomes shakier as more beliefs are open to question.

Sometimes, I challenge people to think about the “original” Christianity. The earliest Christians were Jewish Christians, led by Jesus’ brother, who worshiped in the Jewish temple. At the time, there was no Bible, no clergy, and no creed. Doctrines such as original sin, the Trinity, and substitutionary atonement would not develop until centuries later.

Would a first-century Jewish Christian even recognize a twenty-first century Christian? Has anything been added? Has anything been lost?

What Can Christians Do About It?

What is the path forward that preserves the timeless and essential core of Jesus’ message, while reflecting the relevant and timely lessons that Christians have learned in the last 2,000 years.

• Christianity could acknowledge mysticism, which would require that we seek a direct experience of God or Ultimate Reality. As Catholic theologian Karl Rahner famously said, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.” Seeking to experience Ultimate Reality is a good thing, not a bad thing.
• Christianity could become comfortable with paradox and embrace the mystery, which would require that we hold doctrines loosely and pursue experience of God, rather than simply engage in speculation about God. We live in a mysterious and paradoxical Universe, and we cannot have all of the answers. No one should pretend that they do.
• Christianity could recognize advances in culture, history, philosophy, and science, which would require that we rethink some of our ancient beliefs and practices. In coming years, we can no longer expect modern Christians to believe in global floods and talking snakes, just as (eventually) our forefathers no longer believed that the sun revolved around the earth.

Recently, I talked with a Catholic priest about the challenges in contemporary Christianity. And he assured me that the church will change for the better in the next 100 years.

So, here’s the problem with that. I won’t be here in 100 years. My children and grandchildren won’t be here in 100 years, either. None of us have time wait 100 years for the church to catch up.

What is the future of Christianity? Can Christianity be more experiential, more nuanced, and more respectful of science?

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The Way is a Silver winner in the 2024 Nautilus Book Awards in the Religion/Spirituality of Other Traditions category.