The fall of the evangelical nation : the surprising crisis inside the church

Evangelical Christianity in America is dying. The great evangelical movements of today are not a vanguard. They are a remnant, unraveling at every edge. Conversions. Baptisms. Membership. Retention. Participation. Giving. Attendance. Impact upon the culture at large. All are down and dropping. When veteran religion reporter Christine Wicker set out to investigate the evangelical movement, her intention was to forge through the stereotypes and shed new light on this highly divisive religious group. But the story soon morphed into an entirely new and shocking tale of discovery, as Wicker's research unearthed much more than she originally bargained for. Everywhere Wicker traveled she heard whispers of diminishing statistics, failed campaigns, and empty churches. Even as evangelical forces trumpet their purported political and social victories on the national and local fronts, insiders are anguishing over their significant losses and preparing to rebuild for the future. The idea that evangelicals represent and speak for Christianity in America is one of the greatest publicity scams in history, a perfect coup accomplished by savvy politicos and zealous religious leaders who understand the weaknesses of the nation's media and exploit them brilliantly. With her trademark vivid, firsthand reporting, Christine Wicker takes us deep inside the world of evangelicals, exposing the surprising statistics and details of this unexpected fall. Wicker shows us how the virtues of evangelicals are killing them as surely as their vices and that, to fully comprehend how and why this is happening, we'll need to understand both. Title Page 3 Dedication Page 4 Contents 5 Introduction 7 Part One: The Duping of America 13 Chapter One: God in Skin 15 Chapter Two: One Out of Four Americans? 27 Chapter Three: Becoming Heaven’s Beloved 45 Chapter Four: In the Year of “Everyone Can!” Everyone Didn’t 61 Chapter Five: Praying for a Miracle 79 Chapter Six: Sinners One and All 91 Part Two: Threats Inside the Evangelical Church 109 Chapter Seven: Giants Crashing 111 Chapter Eight: Scattering of the Faithful 129 Chapter Nine: Disillusioned Believers 135 Chapter Ten: Shy Witnesses, Doorknob Gods, Bad Politics 147 Part Three: Threats Outside the Evangelical Church 159 Chapter Eleven: Different Stories, Different Identities 161 Chapter Twelve: Different Morality in the Heartland 171 Chapter Thirteen: New Family Values 185 Chapter Fourteen: What Happens Next? 203 Notes 219 Acknowledgments 227 Index 229 About the Author 234 Credits 235 Copyright Notice 236 About the Publisher 237 Challenges popular misconceptions that evangelical Christianity is growing in America, revealing how politicians and religious leaders are exploiting media weaknesses to hide the truth about significant reductions in church membership. Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 28, 2008).