The State (Columbia) does a great job looking into the predictable decline of the Church in South Carolina, the South, and the West:

FAITH BY NUMBERS

The South is slowly catching up to national and European trends shifting toward what many call a “post-Christian” culture — that is, a society with characteristics no longer dominantly rooted in Christianity.

Studies and surveys have documented the decline of self-identified Christians and the rise of “nones,” or the religiously unaffiliated, across the United States for years.

The Pew Research Center describes the United States as in the midst of “significant religious change. ”The share of Americans who identify with Christianity is declining, while those who say they have no religion is growing rapidly.

This isn’t new but it is still a little surprising in the Bible Belt. The Southern Baptist numbers are interesting, if alarming: adding 11 churches while shedding 78,516 members… This partially illustrates one of the problems with Protestantism: when does the schism stop? At this rate, in a few years, SC might only have 50,000 Southern Baptists, each attending his own, individual church…

This is the result of decades of decline, confusion, and degeneracy in society generally and in the parishes. In a time and place where literally anything goes (unless it makes sense), people look for refuge from the Church. Increasingly what they find is more anything goes, worldly conformity, postmodernism, tattoos, taboos, rock n’ roll services, Churchianty, cotton candy theology, and, in many cases, outright evil. It’s not a recipe for success.

The State is correct; it is starting to look like Post Christian America. This is change we don’t need.

We are assured long-term survival though it may be a little painful.

“No Moshing in the Pulpit…” The State.