Gone Fishing Lately?

By Kent Fillinger

When Jesus called his first disciples he said, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19, New International Version). Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (New Living Translation). Jesus also said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Mark 2:17). 

What Do We Know About Lost Sinners Today? 

If we’re serious about trying to reach lost sinners and fish for people like Jesus told us to, then it’s essential we understand the beliefs, behavior, and belonging of those we’re fishing for so we can use the right kind of “bait.”  

The 2023-24 Pew Research Religious Landscape Study found that religiously unaffiliated adults—those who identify as atheists, agnostics, or as “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion—account for 29 percent of the U.S. population. So almost one out of every three people you meet is religiously unaffiliated or unchurched.  

The size of the religiously unaffiliated population, which are sometimes called religious “nones,” has plateaued in the last five years after a long period of sustained growth. The numbers of both atheists and agnostics have doubled from 2013 to 2023 (from 2% to 4% and from 2% to 5%, respectively). 

Like the racial and ethnic breakdown of all Americans, almost two-thirds (65%) of the religiously unaffiliated are white.  

Younger Americans remain far less religious than older adults. Today, about four in 10 Americans ages 18-29 identify as religiously unaffiliated (38%), according to the 2024 PRRI Census of American Religion. Over one-third of Americans ages 30-49 identify as religiously unaffiliated (34%). The share of older Americans who are religiously unaffiliated is smaller: 22 percent of those ages 50-64 and 18 percent of those ages 65 or over.  

The 2024 PRRI Census of American Religion also noted almost half (43 %) of Democrats overall identified as either religiously unaffiliated or some other religion compared to 16 percent of Republicans. But the percentage of Republicans who are Christian slightly declined by two percentage points from 2013 to 2023 (86% to 84%), with a seven-percentage-point decline in white Christian Republicans (75% to 68%). 

Religious Switching 

Nearly one in five Americans (18%) left a religious tradition to become religiously unaffiliated. A July 2024 report from researcher Ryan Burge identified that there’s a crucial window between the ages of 15 to 25 when over half of those surveyed left religion behind. An additional 25 percent left religion between birth and 14 years old, so three-fourths of those who leave religion do so by the age of 25. These statistics serve as stark reminders of how important investing in children’s and student ministries in the church continues to be today. 

The top three reasons cited for why these people left religion included: religious hypocrisy (42%), religion doesn’t make sense (35%), and religious bigotry (31%).  

Of the 80 percent of U.S. adults that were raised Christian, 22 percent no longer identify as such based on the Religious Landscape Study. Nineteen of this 22 percent now identify as religiously unaffiliated. Only two percent now identify with other religions. 

Of the six percent of U.S. adults that were raised in other religions, less than one percent now claim to be Christian. And of the 13 percent who were raised religiously unaffiliated, only three percent are now Christian. 

There are six former Christians for every convert to Christianity in the U.S. according to the Religious Landscape Study. Protestants also lose more people than they gain through switching, by a ratio of 1.8 to one. In stark contrast, the religiously unaffiliated gain nearly six people for every person they lose through religious switching. 

Among Restoration Movement churches, 42 percent of U.S. adults who were raised in a Christian Church still identify with our churches, while 31 percent now identify with a different Protestant denomination, and 23 percent now are religiously unaffiliated.  

Only three percent of Americans who grew up without a religious identity join a religion later and less than one-in-10 religiously unaffiliated (9%) said the statement, “I am looking for a religion that would be right for me” currently describes them “very” or “somewhat well.” 

Who’s Sharing their Faith? 

According to the Religious Landscape Study, when it comes to sharing their views about religion with people from other religious backgrounds, nine percent of U.S. adults say they do this at least once a week compared to 17 percent of Evangelical Protestants. An additional nine percent share their views on religion once or twice a month compared to 15 percent of Evangelical Protestants. Sixteen percent say they share their faith several times a year compared to 21 percent of Evangelical Protestants. But almost half (46%) of Evangelical Protestants report “seldom” or “never” sharing their views about religion with people from other religious backgrounds. 

If you’re a church leader, you’re responsible for modeling evangelism for your congregation. Nathan Lorick said, “A pastor must lead by example if his people are to follow. If a pastor does not have a heart and burden for the lost, neither will the people he leads.” 

Chuck Lawless encourages church leaders and Christians to ask the following tough questions to evaluate their evangelistic fervor: 

• What keeps me from doing evangelism today? Honest evaluation is a good start toward improvement. 

• What are the names of the non-believers for whom I am praying regularly? Your prayer life is a starting place to determine your evangelistic passion. 

• What intentional connections am I making with non-believers? It’s so easy for church leaders to get cocooned in the church world that we must intentionally choose to connect with unbelievers. 

• How many genuine friendships with non-believers do I have? We won’t reach non-believers if we don’t really know any of them.  

• When was the last time I personally shared the gospel with someone?  

Lawless also added, “It’s hard to do evangelism when nobody’s really talking to anybody. As believers, we—beginning with me, for I’m guilty, too—must take the initiative to engage people, draw their interest and attention to the gospel, and speak the good news clearly to them in the few minutes they might grant us. That means we create opportunities by initiating conversations, listening closely to others, and taking those conversations clearly and concisely to the gospel.”