Odds and Ends (Part 2)

by Alan Langstaff

Odds & Ends are topics worth covering that do not necessarily require a whole article. This is part 2 of this presentation of our regular feature “Odds and Ends.”

‘RELIGIOUS SWITCHING’ OR RELIGIOUS REJECTION? A WAKE-UP CALL FOR THE CHURCH

“Have you ever heard of “religious switching”? The Pew Research Center describes it as a growing “phenomenon” where individuals shift their religious identities from childhood to adulthood. This doesn’t refer to changes within the same faith, but rather to those who either adopt a new religion or disaffiliate religious practice altogether.

Pew’s latest report highlights a surge in this trend in recent years. Drawing from data on approximately 80,000 individuals across 36 countries, the study revealed that “a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised,” with Christianity and Buddhism taking the hardest hits. The countries seeing these “religious switching” trends most commonly are East Asia, Western Europe, North America, and South America. And perhaps the real surprise is that the spotlight really isn’t on religious “switching” so much as a complete abandonment of religion altogether.

“In other words,” Pew wrote, “most of the switching is disaffiliation — people leaving the religion of their childhood and no longer identifying with any religion.” It turns out that “many of these people were raised as Christians,” with “29% of adults in Sweden [alone that] say they were raised Christian but now describe themselves religiously as atheists, agnostics or ‘nothing in particular.’” Pew further emphasized, “In most of the countries surveyed, Christianity has the highest ratios of people leaving to people joining — the largest net losses.”

According to David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview, “This is a major study.” On Friday’s “Washington Watch,” he explained that it’s no small matter to survey as many people as Pew did in as many countries as they did, “and it shows that Christians in those 36 countries are one of the top religions that lose the next generation.” As Christians, he explained, “we should be aware of this trend, and this should cause us … to redouble our efforts of discipleship.””

(By Sarah Holliday, washingtonstand.com)

END OF A DOWNTURN

“A decades-long decline in the number of Americans identifying as Christian seems to have finally leveled out. A new study from the Pew Research Center found that just over 6 out of 10 U.S. adults say they are Christians – and the rate has remained relatively unchanged for five years.

Pew’s Religious Landscape Study is the polling organization’s largest survey, with nearly 37,000 respondents. In its first such survey, conducted in 2007, researchers found that 78% of U.S. adults identified as Christians. That number declined precipitously to 63% by 2019.

With the rate relatively stable since then, some experts say religious affiliation in America may have reached a new normal. Others, though, are hopeful that renewed interest in faith could spark a rebound in Christianity.”

(By Lauren Canterberry, World Magazine, April 2025)

THE SURPRISING UPSIDES OF AGING

“The number of Americans living to at least 100 is expected to quadruple over the next 30 years, to about 422,000 by the mid-2050’s, according to the Pew Research Center. Laura Carstensen, founding director of Stanford University’s Center on Longevity, says research has made surprising discoveries about the way older people view their lives. With fewer “what-ifs,” they appear to gain more clarity on their place in the world. She added “…changes will be needed to make the most of those added years.”

Most people believe that growing older is associated with loneliness, depression, anxiety, and that mental health suffers. The very good news is, it looks like people do better emotionally as they get older. This has been so surprising to researchers and to the general public that it’s probably been the most scrutinized finding about aging.

A lot goes wrong as we get older. There are physical problems, loss of loved ones, and age discrimination. There’s a lot that isn’t good about growing older, but people seem to do better emotionally. Older people have shorter time horizons. For many years, people thought that must make people miserable and scared. The interesting thing is there’s a paradox. It actually makes people feel calmer not to have to prepare for this long and nebulous future, and to be able to live more in the present.”

(By PreachingToday.com)

STRENGTH IN SMALL NUMBERS: CHURCHES FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE

“A recent June 3 Lifeway Research report highlights a growing divide in American churches: large churches are expanding, while small ones continue to shrink. This trend paints a complex picture of church life in the U.S., where numerical growth is increasingly concentrated in megachurches, leaving smaller congregations struggling to stay afloat. Despite these hurdles, smaller churches are not without unique strengths.

According to Lifeway Research small congregations often demonstrate higher levels of commitment among their members. “Smaller congregations tend to have higher shares of churchgoers committed to attending weekly worship and higher rates of volunteering among church members,” said Aaron Earls, senior writer. He also notes that these churches boast higher per capita giving and greater generosity toward missions and charitable causes.

Still, the challenges they face are significant. A 2020 Faith Communities Today study revealed that 70% of U.S. congregations host 100 or fewer attendees each week, with the typical church drawing an average of just 65 people to its weekly services. Many small churches deal with aging congregations, limited budgets, and minimal staffing. These constraints contribute to “less certain financial futures,” putting them at risk of closure without strategic intervention.”

(By Christianity Report, June 14, 2025)

GOD’S MOVEMENT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES

“We ended up baptizing 350 college students. And it wasn’t a line-up and dunk. Some of them were 20-minute Gospel conversations…All of us knew at the end of that night that a movement had started.” – Jonathan Pokluda

“Gen Z is hungry for the very things the empty, desiccated temples of secularism, consumerism and global digital media cannot provide, but which Jesus can.” – Kyle Richter and Patrick Miller

WALT DISNEY HAD AN OBSESSIVE FEAR OF DEATH

“In the year 1909, seven-year-old Walt Disney was playing by himself in the backyard of his family’s farmhouse. He decided to sneak up on a big brown owl, but when he grabbed it the owl panicked, Disney threw it to the ground and stomped it to the death. According to his biographers, that owl haunted him for years, and produced a morbid fear of death.

…One scholar said, “If Disney was a mouthpiece for an American way of life, the force of his voice depended on a curious obsession with death.” Virtually every one of his famous films focused on the subject, from Snow White to Pinocchio.

His personal life was focused on decline and demise as well. Disney’s daughter Diane said that Disney hired a fortuneteller when he was in his early 30s to predict when he would die. The fortuneteller predicted the age of 35. Disney distracted himself by workaholism and success. If he stayed busy, maybe he could distract both himself and the Reaper. He survived 35, but never forgot the prediction. Shortly before his 55th birthday, he knew that maybe he had misheard, and the fortuneteller had said 55, not 35.”

(By PreachingToday.com)