Contemporary Christianity

The twenty-first century witnessed dramatic shifts in both individual and cultural expressions of faith. In the United States, the proportion of those who identified as Christians decreased from 82 percent of Americans in 2001 to 63 percent by 2021. In addition, various lifestyle and moral reflections of faith saw a dramatic shift. Views of family, gender, and work increasingly departed from a biblical worldview in favor of secular, nonreligious perspectives. Notwithstanding these changes, various traditions saw a revival of interest and influence, including the prosperity gospel, megachurch evangelicalism, and Reformed Christianity, especially among younger generations. The twenty-first century also witnessed the proliferation of access to the internet and smartphones, which dramatically changed the cultural, economic, relational, and religious experience for billions of people around the world. In the milieu of heightened awareness of militant Islam (e.g., post-9/11) and societal changes due to a global pandemic (e.g., COVID-19), these changing cultural, religious, and worldview expressions led to what some are calling a revolution of faith and morals in the early part of the twenty-first century.

The attacks on September 11, 2001, not only brought heightened interest in religious faith (many churches witnessing record attendance the following Sunday) but also a heightened awareness of evil in a face of militant Islam. During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, various Islamic groups displayed their barbarism and their persecution of minority Christian groups across the Middle East and Africa.

But the persecution of Christians would also take more subtle forms in an increasingly secular West. With the cultural revolution centered around LGBTQ+ identities, those maintaining a historic, biblical view of gender and marriage increasingly found themselves facing ostracism, disparagement, and even (in some cases) loss of employment. Many of the mainline denominations battled these cultural pressures from outside, but also from within. Due to these denominations’ accommodation of a changing sexual ethic and an abandonment of historic, orthodox faith, they saw a continuing decline in membership during the first part of the twenty-first century.

The proliferation of access to the internet also brought change to the religious landscape. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a relatively small number of people relied on the internet for their everyday lives. Twenty years later, the internet had become the most important medium for sharing and receiving information and conducting business. With the growth of various social media sites, businesses and churches soon embraced the internet as a primary means to convey their messages. Colleges, universities, and even seminaries adapted their programs to online formats. This dependence on the internet only increased with the global pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020, seen in the utilization of livestream worship services, online meetings, and virtual small groups and prayer groups to keep things going during lockdowns.

The internet also allowed churches to spread their messages quickly around the world, though not all these messages were faithful to historic, biblical Christianity. One of these more unfaithful expressions is the prosperity gospel, which essentially teaches that God rewards people materially based upon the level of their faith and good works. The ultimate goal was to promote not the glory of God but the physical and material gifts of God, thereby elevating the gifts above the Giver Himself. This prosperity message struck a chord with many self-identified Christians, causing explosive growth in megachurches, popular TV programs, and book sales.

Notwithstanding the challenges of militant Islam, an increasing secular culture, and various forms of false teaching, the church witnessed pockets of resurgence and revival. Through various ministries and organizations, many young Christians came to embrace Reformed theology and its consistent teaching that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.