What Happened to Christianity in America?

Have you noticed that the definition of Christianity seems to be changing faster than a ho on church on Sunday. 🤣 You could walk into a coffee shop, look around, and have zero idea who believes what. The cross necklace might be fashion, a political signal, or a sincere faith marker. The person with the tarot deck might also be praying at night. The loudest Christian voices are pushing laws and school policies, while millions of people are quietly slipping out the back door of church and not coming back.

So what actually happened to Christianity in America, and where does Christian nationalism in America fit into all of this?

The numbers under the surface

Let’s start with what changed on paper.

In 2007, about 78% of U.S. adults identified as Christian. Today, it’s closer to 62%. At the same time, the religiously unaffiliated – the “nones” – have grown to about 29% of the country.

That’s a huge shift in a relatively short time.

What's even more interesting is that: belief in something bigger hasn’t gone away. Around 70% of Americans still say they believe in God or a higher power, and about 22% now identify as spiritual but not religious.

So the story isn’t “America stopped believing.” The story is “America stopped trusting the way belief was being packaged and delivered.”

Weekly church attendance has dropped to about 1 in 5 adults, and formal church membership has fallen under 50% for the first time since Gallup started tracking it.

People are not rushing to sign up for the institutions that used to define Christian life.

Where Christian nationalism comes in

While a lot of people are quietly leaving, a different group is getting louder and more organized.

Roughly 10% of Americans qualify as strong Christian nationalism adherents, with another 20% leaning that way.
Christian nationalism in America basically says:
“America is, and should be, a Christian nation, and our laws and institutions should reflect one specific conservative Christian worldview.”

That shows up in:

• School board battles over curriculum and book bans

• Laws targeting LGBTQ+ rights justified as “biblical values”

• Political speeches wrapped in end-times language and “spiritual warfare”

So at the exact same time Christianity is shrinking as a broad cultural identity, one narrow expression of it is trying to tighten its grip on power.

Two things are happening at once:

• Fewer people are going to church.

• The faith that remains, in some corners, is getting more rigid and more political.

It’s not that Christianity disappeared. It split.

Two paths: the remixers and the revivalists

When I look around, I see two main paths emerging out of the old Christian center.

1. The remixers

These are the people who say things like:

“I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual.”
“I still talk to God, I just don’t do church.”

Their spiritual life might include:

• A little Jesus

• Therapy

• Astrology or human design

• Meditation

• A podcast host they trust more than any pastor

They’ll go to a sound bath before a Sunday service. They light a candle, pull a tarot card, read about trauma, and still whisper, “Okay God, I need help,” when things get real.

They haven’t abandoned meaning. They’ve walked away from shame, rigidity, and the sense that asking questions makes you a problem.

2. The revivalists

This is the world of:

• Trad-wife aesthetics and ultra-long hair

• Oversized cross necklaces as identity badges

• Churches teaching male headship (that pesky patriarchy just won't leave it's mantel) and female submission

• Language about “the enemy,” “spiritual warfare,” and “taking the culture back for Christ”

Christian nationalism lives here. It runs on certainty, hierarchy, and fear of decline. It promises order in the middle of chaos: clear roles, clear rules, a clear in-group and out-group.

Both groups are responding to the same thing: the feeling that the ground is shifting and nobody is in control.

Thought-terminating cliches in faith and spiritual exhaustion

Part of what pushed me to start asking harder questions about Christianity wasn’t Jesus. It was the way people talked when things got hard.

“God works in mysterious ways.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“You just need to have more faith.”

Those lines sound comforting until you’re the one in pain. Then they feel like a shutdown.

Psychologists call these “thought-terminating clichés.” They’re phrases designed to end the conversation, not deepen understanding.

They stop you from allowing yourself to say or feel:

“I’m angry.”
“I feel betrayed.”
“This doesn’t make sense.”

The same thing happens with constant talk about spiritual warfare. When every bad day, conflict, or doubt is framed as “the enemy attacking you,” there’s no room to talk about hormones, trauma, burnout, or the reality that living in late-stage capitalism is just a lot.

Sometimes it’s not demons. It’s being human.

And for a lot of us, that language crossed a line from helpful to manipulative. That’s when people start quietly slipping away.

What people really want: belonging

The data is showing something different

People will choose belonging over belief almost every time.

Research on identity and polarization shows that once your church, political party, or community becomes your main source of identity, you will twist yourself into knots before you risk being pushed out.

You see it when:

• Someone stays in a church even after a public scandal

• Family members defend harmful leaders because “he’s still God’s anointed”

• People double down on a political or religious stance even when it conflicts with their lived values

Christian nationalism is powerful because it offers a tight, high-definition belonging. You get a story, a purpose, a list of enemies, and a group that says, “You are one of us.”

Remix spirituality offers belonging too, just less overtly:

“Find your soul-aligned people.”
“Find the community that gets you.”

Same hunger, different language.

So what actually happened to Christianity?

Here’s my take:

Christianity in America has not only fractured, but it's turned into something different entirely.

• A big chunk of people quietly left the institutional version and took their questions, pain, and curiosity with them.

• Another chunk dug deeper into a very specific flavor of Christianity that’s more about control and cultural power than about the teachings of Jesus.

• In the middle, a lot of people are just trying to sort out whether their faith and their integrity can co-exist in the same room.

So where does that leave you?

If you grew up Christian and you’re confused, angry, or secretly relieved to be out, you’re not broken. You’re paying attention.

If you’re still in church and wrestling with Christian nationalism in America, purity culture, or how your community treats doubt, that wrestling is not a lack of faith. It might be the most honest faith you’ve had.

The question I keep circling back to is this:

Can you ask real questions where you are without being punished?

If the answer is no, it might be time to go.

If you want to go deeper, listen to the full Reinvention Room episode on “Religious Dystopia” and see what comes up for you. I’m not here to tell you what to believe. I’m here to name what we’re all swimming in so you can decide with your eyes open.

Listen Now: The Reinvention Room Podcast

Watch Now: Reinvention Room on YouTube

Big idea sections from the episode:

• Setting the scene: cross necklaces, long hair, and everyday signals of belief and identity

• My personal story: growing up Christian, never feeling “Christian enough,” leaving and circling back

• The data: decline of Christianity, rise of the “nones,” and the spiritual-but-not-religious surge

• Two emerging paths: remix spirituality vs revivalist, nationalist Christianity

• How language is used: thought-terminating clichés and spiritual warfare talk as control tools

• Politics as religion: where Christian nationalism and policy collide

• A different way forward: being human first, letting belief follow, and not letting controlling people stand between you and whatever you call God

If you’ve got a podcast or an idea that won’t leave you alone, here's your sign to take it seriously. Not just because it's fun (it is), but because it can change how people see you, connect with you, and trust you. That's the magic.

And if you're wondering how to make it actually work? Book a free clarity call with me at allisonhare.com/freecall. I'll help you turn that idea into a tight, bingeable, client-attracting machine.