The percentage of Americans self-identifying as Christian decreased from 72 percent in 2020 to 66 percent in 2025, a decline of approximately 15 million, according to the American Worldview Inventory 2025 report released this past May by George Barna of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
This fall begs the question: What happens to America’s democracy when its historic foundation begins to erode?
CBS News Editor Bari Weiss on her Honestly podcast interviewed Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Jonathan Rauch, a self-described secular gay Jew, who describes the breakdown of Christianity and its impact on politics, culture, and democracy in his book Cross-Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.
Why Christianity Matters
Weiss questions why Christianity, and not another religion, needs to be the foundation of liberal democracy in America. Rauch makes the historical argument that America was founded by Christians and “that the doctrines of the early liberal republic flow out of Christian doctrines.” As U.S. Founding Father John Adams wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People,” and this religion was historically Christianity. But Rauch goes further, and argues that “there was a deep interdependence between secular liberalism and Christianity … in America, it turned out that the soil of Christianity was good soil to grow a republic.”
Needless to say, the core argument of Rauch’s book is that the three core pillars of Christianity, as articulated by prominent theologians and pastors, also form the three pillars of liberal democracy. In Rauch’s words, these three pillars are “don’t be afraid”, “be like Jesus”, and “forgive each other”. For liberal democracy, these pillars translate to resisting fear engendered by election failures and demagogues, caring for the marginalized, and treating the other side fairly, avoiding animosity. Christianity Today Editor Bonnie Kristian notes “Rauch dismisses miracles – all miracles”. In light of his argument for Christianity’s core pillars, Rauch’s dismissal seems counterproductive, considering that Christianity is dependent on the miracle of the Resurrection.
Thin vs. Sharp Christianity
However, Rauch contends that contemporary Christianity has shifted from these pillars, and has become thin – it has lost its distinctive appeal by conforming to the surrounding secular society. Rauch pinpoints the roots of this secularization within mainline Protestant churches in the last century that “got unmoored from the teachings of the Bible. They kind of started pursuing a road of kind of social theology of doing good in society … it was very common to never even hear the word ‘God’.” In a well-intentioned effort to become socially relevant, the thin Christianity espoused by mainline churches has led to a decline in the faith. For illustration, the Mainline Protestant Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination’s membership has declined from 4.25 million in 1965 to less than 1.05 million in 2024.
Rauch also pinpoints another form of secularized Christianity that he coins “sharp” Christianity. He in part attributes the decline of Christianity in the twenty-first century to a sort of Christianity that, while counter-cultural and biblical, is almost indistinguishable from the Republican party: “At that church gets more and more politicized, people who are not there for politics … begin to drift away.” While political alignment alone does not define evangelical faith, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election 80 percent of American evangelicals voted for Donald Trump.
Political Implications
While Rauch suggests the church should be distinct from political parties, he notes that it is important for churches to disciple their members in Christian civic engagement. He argues “that’s where the church has really fallen down and that’s where [he thinks] it has the most to contribute a more Christlike tone of Christians in politics.” In Rauch’s view, proper discipleship would heal divisions in our country and the church.
However, he indicates that the Church has not fulfilled its biblical mandate and has instead identified more with Christian nationalism, which Rauch understands as a secular framework that teaches that Christians need political victory. To him, “it’s at odds with the teachings of Jesus who separated power in this world from power in the next.”
Referencing Senior Christian Scholar Matthew Taylor of the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, Rauch describes how Christian nationalists are particularly influential in Trump’s sphere, along with Pentecostal and non-denominational churches (Pentecostal Pastor Paula White-Cain is a prominent spiritual advisor to Trump and a leading figure in MAGA Christianity). However, as Hope College Political Science Professor Jeffrey Pole notes, Rauch seems to overestimate the role Christian nationalism in Christian circles: a 2024 pew research survey indicates that the majority of Americans have heard or read “nothing at all” about “Christian nationalism.” Nevertheless, despite the public’s lack of familiarity, the term’s prominence in political discourse warrants Rauch’s concerns.
Rauch offers a diagnosis of liberalism’s ills, but does not know how to advise Christians. On the other hand, he encourages secular liberals “to do more to create a welcoming environment for faith in our country.” His words are a timely reminder to consider: if the pillars of Christianity weaken, can America’s democracy thrive?
Readers can watch the podcast in full below on The Free Press YouTube channel below.
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