The recent death of Christopher Hitchens brought agressive atheism back into the spotlight. The so-called New Atheism—which Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have front-lined—has been giving Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and other world religions a run for their theological money.
But a new article, published first in USA Today and reprinted in Religion News Service, points to an obvious, more pervasive adversary. That, of course, is apathy.
"The real dirty little secret of religiosity in America is that there are so many people for whom spiritual interest, thinking about ultimate questions, is minimal," the article notes, quoting Mark Silk, a professor of religion and public life at Trinity College.
So what?
The USA Today/RNS article cites sobering statistics about the size of what it calls the So What Set:
• "Forty-four percent told the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey they spend no time seeking 'eternal wisdom,' and 19 percent said, 'It's useless to search for meaning.'
• "Forty-six percent told a 2011 survey by Nashville-based evangelical research agency, LifeWay Research, they never wonder whether they will go to heaven.
• "Twenty-eight percent told LifeWay, 'It's not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose.' And 18 percent scoffed at the idea that God has a purpose or plan for everyone."
• And "6.3 percent of Americans turned up on Pew Forum's 2007 Religious Landscape Survey as totally secular — unconnected to God or a higher power or any religious identity and willing to say religion is not important in their lives."
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Heart-breaking news
If you believe the gospel is good news for all people, this has to break your heart.
Unfortunately — and tragically — many unbelievers can take pointers on living apathetically from supposed Christians. While few professing Christians would answer those research questions the same way the So What Set does, apathy is epidemic in the church. Far too many Christians live as if their faith doesn't really matter. They've bought their "fire insurance," and now they can go about their lives however they want.
So, who can blame an apathetic world when they don't seem all that different than their Christian neighbors?
Who cares? A loving God does. And we should, too.
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