A recent cover story in USA Today revealed that "the percentage of people who call themselves some type of Christian has dropped more than 11% in a generation" ("Almost All Denominations Losing Ground, Survey Finds," March 10, 2009). These findings are based on a recent study by the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), which began in 1990. The article also stated that "faith is shifting, drifting or vanishing outright."

People are either freelancing religiously or dropping their faith entirely—perhaps partially due to the increasing spread of secularism. Almost all religious denominations have been adversely affected with declining numbers.

Today about 15 percent of Americans do not claim any faith—almost double the 8 percent in 1990. According to the USA Today article, this reduction in Christendom's numbers "does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of religion."

Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising, since much if not most of mainstream Christianity is based not on the teachings of the Bible, but instead on the traditions of men. To understand the principle and gain insight as to how it is being played out today, please see Mark 7:7-9. Over the last 2,000 years a culture of paganism has gradually encrusted itself onto Christendom and changed the basic teachings of the Bible almost beyond recognition.

If you would like to know what really happened to true Christianity, read our free booklet The Church Jesus Built. (Source: USA Today.)