Over the last decade, the number of Americans identifying as Christians dropped by 12%. A Pew Research Center study showed that the decline occurred in many demographics, but most of all in young adults.
Tim Keller, a founding pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, spoke of American secular culture and its current tendency to divert young children from Christianity. Keller explained, "What that means is we're the first culture not only that does not believe there's a truth out here, it's all subjective. Also, it's the first culture that doesn't just think Christians are wrong but they are the problem."
He further described, "The only sin is to tell people that they sin, which means the only way to be free is actually to liberate yourself from Christianity which means our modern secular culture is not just post-Christian. In some ways, it's actually very Christian because it has all the same Christian values. But it wants them without God, it needs to change Christians. ... It has to target us. We really can't be there because we're the problem, and so basically it's evangelizing us. Maybe I shouldn't say this ... they are trying to convert us into being secularists and it's extremely important that we convert."
Keller referenced great philosopher Charles Taylor in how "secularism moves forward not with argument but with saying things that are axiomatically taken as just truth." Keller also argues that such claims are "incoherent" but "they are put on you as a given and only evil people disagree with them."
Tim Keller also addressed the dropping numbers in Christian young adults. Pastor Keller spoke to parents saying, "We don't have as much control over what our kids hear now. ... So if you take them to church and to Sunday school or youth group, that's nothing compared to what they're getting." He urged parents to take control and lead by example. "I wouldn't change the doctrine, the Bible is the Bible. It's all the same doctrine, but how you present it has got to change otherwise we are not really inoculating our kids to the culture. We're not forming them as Christians."
