By Aaron Sseruyigo
Is churchgoing and faith in God really “declining”? The answer is no, according to findings by scholars at Harvard University and Indiana University Bloomington.
The study titled ‘The Persistent and Exceptional Intensity of American Religion: A Response to Recent Research’ led by Scholars Landon Schnabel and Sean Bock revealed that the number of evangelicals grew from 1972, when they made up 18 percent of America’s population, to a consistent number of around 28 percent from 1989 to 2016.
This research, according to CBN News, questioned the “secularization thesis,” which holds that the United States is following most advanced industrial nations in the death of their once vibrant faith culture.
Not only did their examination find no support for this secularization in terms of actual practice and belief, the researchers said that faith continues to enjoy “persistent and exceptional intensity”.
“We conclude that intense religion in the United States is persistent and exceptional in ways that do not fit the secularization thesis,” the report stated.
The research however did mention, a dramatic increase in those with no religious affiliation after the rise in the number of evangelicals.
