The Unchurching of America?

American news website Axios featured an article by Russell Contreras titled “The Great Unchurching of America.” It begins with the statement, “The U. S. is undergoing its fastest religious shift in modern history.” The article notes a “rapid increase in the religiously unaffiliated” and “numerous church closures nationwide.” Is there an “unchurching of America?”

The article points out that “nearly three in 10 American adults today identify as religiously unaffiliated” (Also called “nones “). That figure rises to four in ten among Americans aged 18-29. According to a Gallup survey, 57% of Americans “seldom or never attend religious services, ” up from 40% in 2000. According to the article, 15,000 churches will shut their doors this year, while only a few thousand are expected to open. This results in empty buildings that were once community gathering places for AA meetings, town halls, or voting precincts. These abandoned buildings are difficult to sell.

It seems to me that many of the abandoned church buildings are affiliated with liberal denominations that have abandoned the gospel message. The article mentions that megachurches remain stable. Perhaps that is because they can offer more for families than small, aging churches. As we have said before, the church is not a building.

Are we witnessing the unchurching of America, or is this a shift away from religious liberalism toward more conservative, biblical Christian values? Could this also signal a return to political conservatism? Axios notes that only 12% of Republicans identify as religiously unaffiliated, compared to 34% of Democrats.

Axios asserts that “There is no widespread academic or mainstream evidence of a large-scale national religious awakening.” Time will reveal whether this so-called “unchurching of America” reflects a genuine loss of faith or an abandonment of hollow churches that have become mere social clubs, lacking belief in basic biblical truths. A return to fundamental biblical Christian faith and a renewed focus on evangelism and sharing that faith may be on the horizon.

— Roland Earnst © 2026

Reference: Axios.com