According to Time magazine online, researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Arizona gathered census data in nine countries – Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland – and found a steady rise in the number of people who claimed no religious affiliation over the past century. From this, they came to a rather radical conclusion. Religion is becoming extinct.
WeathersThe researchers believe that “the perceived value of joining a religious group has decreased significantly.” So as more and more people choose to be nonreligious, many others join their ranks. “For societies in which the perceived utility of not adhering is greater than the utility of adhering, religion will be driven toward extinction,” the study said. “People no longer see the slate of benefits as being as great as they probably did 100 years ago. It’s become less socially useful.”
Should you and I worry? Should we start renting out our churches as theaters and roller rinks? Not so fast. This report suffers from a major misunderstanding about human nature.
The researchers assume that people fade out of church because they are no longer religious. Not true. They just don’t like religion. That is, people need God, not ritual. We are wired to be religious (Ecclesiastes 3:11). People who sleep in on Sunday are just as religious as the people who are in church. They may lack a relationship with God, but they still worship something or someone. But they will not be satisfied apart from Christ.
People seek God, not religion. They may be bailing out on a particular expression of religion, but they desire fulfillment as God intended, in a right relationship with God through Christ. The distinction of Christianity, the one true God and one true message of hope, is that God has come in Christ. And he is alive. He is available. He is satisfying.
When we celebrate Easter, we are proclaiming the answer, the one possible satisfying answer that every person on the planet needs to hear. This is not a religion. Religion is a poor substitute. This is a chance to have a real and vital relationship with God through his Son and his Savior, Jesus Christ.
Religion may die. But Jesus is alive. Forever.