On September of 2013, LifeWay Research based in Nashville Tenn. found that 70 percent of Christian leaders, and even 70 percent of average Americans expressed concerns that religious freedom is on the decline in America. The research was carried out through telephone survey.
Many pastors expressed concerns at the drastic changes in the reputation of the American church. Experts pointed to a number of causes including a shift in culture. The General Survey announced that in the 1960s, Protestants made up about 60 percent of all Christians. Today, they make up half the population. Ed Stetzer, the president of LifeWay Research stated that the smaller number of Protestants meant less cultural power.
Stetzer pointed to past years, when the church was relied by many as a source of good and moral guidance. As a result the church received a great deal of benefits such as tax exemptions. Nowadays, however, Stetzer commented that, “They feel like in some ways there was a pact made at the founding of the country – between God and America. That pact has been broken.”
In today’s society, America and the church continue to clash when expressing their different views on matters such as homo-sexuality, abortion and divorce. As a result, experts including Stetzer emphasized the importance of a new strategy for Christians to defend and spread their faith.
More than half of Americans expressed in the survey that “Christians increasingly are confronted by intolerance in America today.” At the same time, however, 34 percent of the participants stated that they believe Christians complain too much about how they are treated.
Scott McConnell expressed his concerns for the increasing intolerance of Christianity in America. He said freedoms always have limits and that Americans have always disagreed on how to weigh religious freedom against other matters.
