Are We Seeing a Revival of Christianity in the West?
There is Evidence that God is Moving in a Powerful Way
Are we seeing a major Christian revival in the West?
Are we on the cusp of a revival of the Christian faith in America and the West? Greg Laurie thinks so. “I haven’t seen anything like this in decades. The last time I felt such cultural stirring was during the Jesus Movement when an entire generation found hope and transformation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” The Jesus Movement was a phenomenon in the late 60s and early 70s which saw tens of thousands of conversion to Christ—including my wife’s. Laurie is featured in the outstanding film about the era—the Jesus Revolution.
In my American history classes at both secular and Christian universities I have lectured on the First Great Awakening in American history that started about 1735 and lasted a decade or more. It was spectacular. 80% of Americans heard the gospel form a single preacher—George Whitefield. Hundreds and hundreds of churches were planted, tens of thousands were converted to Christ. Many historians argue that without the First Great Awakening there would have been no American revolution.
God does things like this on a routine basis. There have been many other revivals and awakenings in Western history. Are we about to see another? Is there evidence that it is happening? I am addressing this issue because it is mostly secular publications who are raising the question.
What voices would those be?
My first notice of this came from a WSJ article on the increase in Bible sales. They are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same a year before. By contrast, total U.S. print book sales were up less than 1% in that period.
The Christian Post followed this up with an article stating, “first-time buyers are driving many of the sales, with a lot of Generation Z and younger Americans showing increased interest in the Bible. Plus, it’s not just Christian stores that are selling more Bibles, but also mainstream retailers, including Amazon. This is all consistent with a 2023 American Bible Society survey which found that nearly three in four Americans are curious about the Bible.”
What evidence is there for an awakening?
We now have many secular, public intellectuals predicting a comeback of the Christian faith. If they aren’t just predicting it, they are pleading for it. We see well-known public intellectuals and celebrities converting to Christ or becoming much more sympathetic to religion. [Chris Queen in Pajamas Media]: “Notable thinkers and media personalities like Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray, Joe Rogan, and Tom Holland have talked about the value of Christianity to Western culture. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, once heavily under the influence of the New Atheists, has embraced faith in Jesus, and Russell Brand has reportedly become a Christian as well. Even Richard Dawkins, one of the New Atheist heroes, has praised the positive effects of Christianity.”
There is a change in the titans of tech: Peter Thiel was the inventor of Paypal and is a tech billionaire. In the past he had espoused a vague spirituality but recently came down unequivocally on the side of God. “God has some kind of a plan for history… Maybe it’s a hidden plan; [but] He has a plan for your life.”
Young men are returning to church. In World magazine Albert Mohler wrote for the first time in living memory, young men are more likely than young women to attend church. He cited a New York Times article which said, “For the first time in modern American history, young men are now more religious than their female peers. They attend services more often and are more likely to identify as religious.”
The Christian faith has been denied a voice in the entirety of academia, in most of Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and in much of government and the corporate world. But it has a powerful online presence. Through a remarkable series of coincidences young Christian apologist Wesley Huff was interviewed by Joe Rogan on the most popular podcast in the world. It was amazing and powerful. Take time to watch at least some of it—I have linked it below. James Wood in First Things said of the interview: “Many have already speculated that this will be the most heard presentation of the gospel in world history. The conversation has 5.3 million views on YouTube, and untold millions of listens on Spotify and other podcast platforms—likely north of his 11 million listener average.”
Ryan Burge the guru on religious statistics says, “The religious nones have plateaued.” We are not seeing an increase in people who say they have no religious affiliation.
Then there’s the election: Statistically it was close. The difference in the popular vote was only 1.5%. But as Ezra Klein pointed out in the New York Times, the vibe change has been gigantic. The general feeling people have about America and religious faith has changed dramatically in just a few weeks.
There are long term trends that are beginning to bear fruit. Demography is destiny and Christians have more children than their secular counterparts—by quite a large margin. As time goes by these Christian children grow up and make a huge difference.
Then there is the revolution that I personally think will affect America socially, politically, and religiously more than anything else: The education revolution. America is going through the biggest upheaval in its history on how we train the next generation. 22 states now have educational voucher systems. That means parents, even those who are very limited financially, can send their children to schools that reflect their values. The Marxist, Progressive Left hate this development more than any other. Since they don’t have children their future power depends on brainwashing other people’s children. And they are losing their grip on that.
There are other interesting developments that suggest a surge in Christian faith. Consider the popularity of The Chosen, the story of Jesus’s life and His disciples. It has been watched by more than 200 million people and is extremely popular in the U.S. and many other countries around the world. It is the #1 show streamed by Amazon Prime and Netflix. This suggests that it is reaching many people who know little about Christianity. It also shows there are a lot of Christians who love well done re-creations of shows about the origins of their faith.
Why would this happen?
There is one more question we need to answer. Why would this happen?
I love Al Mohler’s take on it: “There is a powerful hunger for what we used to call the normal life: What’s going on here? [Young men] want to be husbands, they want to be fathers, they want to work, they want to go to church, they want to commit themselves to a bold theology, they want to fulfill a courageous male role and they want to reinforce each other as brothers.” In other words, the Christian message touches the deepest needs of the human heart.
The Christian Post argues: “The more intently we look, the more we see that faith and religious expression are being restored across America. We think this has a lot to do with a seismic shift in the law favoring religious liberty—a change that’s reflecting in the broader culture. We’ve witnessed incredible momentum for religious freedom at the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years. These victories ushered in a new era of religious freedom unlike anything we’ve witnessed in our lifetime.”
On the other side of the coin is the failure of political solutions. Which is another way of saying the failure of alternative religions. Justin Brierly is an English podcaster who has broadcast much of the changes we are seeing: “All that our post-Christian society has delivered so far is confusion, a mental health crisis in the young, and the culture wars…It’s not surprising then that a movement of New Theists has sprung up.”
Finally, do not overlook the power of prayer. Millions of people in the West are serious Christians and they go before the God of the universe on a daily basis and plead with Him for revival. He will in time answer their prayers. Maybe it’s today.
Conclusion:
I love Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary: “At my advanced age… I get to be surrounded by thousands of young men every day. They make me incredibly happy. As president of a conservative seminary and college, I get to teach them, work with them, send them out into the world, and go to church with them. I get to see so many of them growing up as young husbands and new fathers. They amaze me. I thank God for them. They may be a perplexity to the world (and even to some of their own parents) but to me they are a sign of God’s favor. It’s our task to teach and encourage them for a life of faithfulness as men of God.”
The most important factor about the future is what God intends to do. He can bring a revival of Christian faith at the most astonishing times and in the most amazing ways. Remember, the Gospel is the most powerful message in the history of mankind, the Bible the most influential book, Christianity the most culturally powerful.
Let Justin Brierly have the last word: “As a Christian I believe things that are dead can come back to life…That’s the point of the story after all.” That’s why we should keep praying for people to come to faith in Jesus in Europe, in the U.S., and throughout the world.
More: “Why Christianity is the only hope for the future of Western civilization.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIxSvawjZmo
Why are young men returning to church? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_uTN-LylA
The Jesus Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN9WSJJvAks
Wall Street Journal on the upsurge in Bible sales: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/sales-of-bibles-are-booming-fueled-by-first-time-buyers-and-new-versions-d402460e
The Christian Post making the same observation as the Wall Street Journal: The boom in Bible sales:
https://www.christianpost.com/sponsored/bible-sales-are-booming-is-revival-coming-to-america.html
Justin Brierly podcast on Christian revival:
Could Christian revival be on its way in the West?
Spencer Klavan believes the revival is underway and he is trying to understand it:
The rise of interest in faith-based universities: https://firstliberty.org/news/rise-of-religious-nones-hits-a-plateau/
Contrary to what we commonly hear, the data shows that younger generations are surprisingly religious. One area where that’s being reflected is in the enrollment numbers of religious colleges.
“Religious schools are growing,” said Clark G. Gilbert, a co-chair for the commission. “This is counter to the narrative a lot of people have. From 1980 through today… the national average in university enrollments grew at 57% and religious schools have grown at 82%.”
Joe Rogan hears the Gospel: https://wng.org/opinions/christian-apologetics-on-rogan-1736939331?mkt_tok=NzEwLVFSUi0yMDkAAAGYCSJvN5WabYdrHGDRuY-AJ_E8Be1Ssgp-sXPNjs-C38Ocm-IVBRvfklvlT-67syOBRXHKwzPWFVH1twGCETw3OzEyKAUGXuN6Ey42D6K6xdPGpw
Niall Ferguson has become a Christian: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1870391930317639956.html
Albert Mohler in World on the disappointment of liberal parents raising conservative sons:
They didn’t see this coming. Liberals in America are scratching their heads trying to explain what happened in November’s election and the closer they look, the stranger it seems. There was a decided shift to the right among young men in America, crossing ethnic lines and shocking the political class.
For far too long, we’ve endured constant negativity from pundits and the cultural wrecking ball of woke ideology. Academia, media, and entertainment have worked tirelessly to dismantle the values that built this great nation. This ideology has become a runaway train, barreling through our institutions and preying on our most vulnerable — our children.
But here’s the good news: things are changing in America, and they’re changing for the better. It’s time to rebuild. Like Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, we must rise to the challenge and restore the spiritual foundation that has been eroded. Nehemiah faced opposition, ridicule, and even threats, but he pressed on. Why? Because he knew the task was worth it. And so must we.
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