So I've been listening to all of the talk about the Pew Religion Survey results with bemused exasperation. Because, as usual, the discussion misses the real news.
The real news....the growth of the "unaffiliated"/"nones" is racially/ethnically/culturally connected.
Yes...white Christianity (of all stripes) is on the decline. But so is the white proportion of the general population. Why is this news?
The Pew report shows that while there is a marked (statistically significant) decline in religious affiliation amongst white millennials and a corresponding rise in the number of nones/unaffiliated, there is not the same corresponding decline and rise amongst millennials of color.
ta-da.
If religious organizations that have been primarily white want to have any relevance going forward, those organizations must face the reality that demography is destiny. In other words, they must change or die.
UUism is not alone in this need for change, but it might be the most resistant to it.
