15 Reasons People Are Disillusioned with the American Evangelical Church

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The Vinedresser often prunes the vine so that the dead branches are cleared to make way for fresh, new growth.

I believe that may be happening within American evangelicalism. I’m not a prophet, so time will tell, but I do believe that the events of 2020 and 2021 (so far) have thrown back the curtains and shined the light on some of our greatest weaknesses.

People are leaving in unprecedented numbers, both church-goers and pastors, and it’s more than just fear of contracting a virus. There are numerous reasons why people have become disillusioned. Out of my own heart and with my ear to the ground, I’ve listed out at least fifteen reasons why.

1. We’ve rejected science unnecessarily — discoveries about origins, evolution, environmental issues, etc. We are needlessly afraid of what scientists discover that might threaten our status quo.
2. We’ve been superstitious — we’ve been enamored with anything suspected of being “dark” to the point of seeing tons of things as demonic in a superstitious way.
3. We’ve embraced Christian nationalism — we’ve believed that the survival of “our” faith and culture is dependent on the election of a strongman as our protector. We’ve married to patriotism and faith in an idolatrous fashion.