Missionaries in America

*What is a Christian Missionary?

"A Christian missionary is a person who dedicates his or her life to fulfilling the Great Commission: to preach the Gospel, baptizing and making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)...When we typically think of missionaries, we tend to imagine individuals or families going to Africa or heading to China or going to an unreached people group in a remote locale." https://www.compellingtruth.org/Christian-missionary.html

Being raised in America and of the Christian faith, I totally fell into this school of thought. In fact, in the early 1970's, I played with the idea that I might want to be a missionary and reach those who had never heard of Jesus. Can you imagine my shock and disbelief when I recently came across the following article from USA TODAY by Grace Doerfler, Updated Tue, December 26, 2023: African priests fill American pulpits as 'reverse missionaries,' revitalizing parishes

*What is a Reverse Missionary?

As author, Grace Doerfler goes on to explain in her article, "This missionary’s story reflects a fundamental shift in the American Catholic church. After decades of U.S. missionaries traveling to Africa to convert and preach, the trend is reversing: Across the country, parishes now rely on the ministry of international priests, many from East Africa and Nigeria.

The article further explains, "the number of American priests is tumbling: there are 10,000 fewer priests now than there were two decades ago." And also, "The Archdiocese of Chicago, one of the biggest American dioceses, is a case in point – almost two-thirds of its priests under 50 were born outside the U.S."

"Okay", I thought to myself, that is the 'Catholic' faith in America." So,

*What is the story on Protestants?

Upon research, I came across this article from PEW RESEARCH CENTER, dated October 17, 2019: 'In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace, An update on America's changing religious landscape.' I found the article to be an excellent source as it breaks the statistics down in groupings according to geographics, gender, political leanings, and cultures. But to stay on focus, this only will I include from this particular article:

"Both Protestantism and Catholicism are experiencing losses of population share. Currently, 43% of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51% in 2009. And one-in-five adults (20%) are Catholic, down from 23% in 2009. Meanwhile, all subsets of the religiously unaffiliated population – a group also known as religious “nones” – have seen their numbers swell. Self-described atheists now account for 4% of U.S. adults, up modestly but significantly from 2% in 2009; agnostics make up 5% of U.S. adults, up from 3% a decade ago; and 17% of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular,” up from 12% in 2009. Members of non-Christian religions also have grown modestly as a share of the adult population."

*What specific Americans have most swayed away from Christianity/Belief in God?

I found another very relevant article, written by Jeffrey M. Jones, in POLITICS, dated June 17, 2022 (https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx) and I would like to (highlight this food for thought from it and later expound on its implications:)

Younger, Liberal Americans Least Likely to Believe in God

"Belief in God has fallen the most in recent years among young adults and people on the left of the political spectrum (liberals and Democrats). These groups show drops of 10 or more percentage points comparing the 2022 figures to an average of the 2013-2017 polls.

Most other key subgroups have experienced at least a modest decline, although conservatives and married adults have had essentially no change.

The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62%), young adults (68%) and Democrats (72%). Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94%) and Republicans (92%), (reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the U.S.")

*Why Does All This Matter?

I'm so glad you asked that (I've always wanted to say that!) I just so happened to find another great article written by Frank Newport for POLLING MATTERS on February 4, 2022, titled, 'Religion and Wellbeing in the U.S.: Update.' The article says, "The very religious rate their lives more positively, are less likely to have ever been diagnosed with depression, and experience fewer daily negative emotions. … The very religious also make much better health choices than do those who are not as or not at all religious...research shows that people who are more R/S [religious/spiritual] have better mental health and adapt more quickly to health problems compared to those who are less R/S." Koenig's list of psychological outcomes that appear to be related, in a positive way, with religiosity included coping with adversity, hope, optimism, self-esteem, depression, suicidal tendencies, anxiety and psychotic disorders."

Anyway, my takeaway on all of this is simple: "God please help us." It's sad that America has to have missionaries come from across the world to bring the good news. And, as you can see, Americans need more good news and less depression and other negative outcomes. We need to be less divided, for sure. Maybe we need to change the way we think about spirituality and religion? For just one more thought, for a further delve, I recommend this study: Spirituality and Religion in the United States,1998-2020 https://www.norc.org/content/dam/norc-org/pdfs/Spirituality%20and%20Religion%20in%20the%20United%20States,%201998-2020.pdf