Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame. For the 2022-2023 academic term, he is also the Alonzo L. McDonald Family Chair on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and Their Impact on Culture. On October 6, 2022, he delivered the first of a two-part lecture series. The lecture was titled, “The Future of American Churches: Is the U.S. Finally Secularizing or Just Morphing Religiously?”
We know that Americans’ religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices have been changing dramatically in recent decades, especially among younger adults and youth. But what does this actually mean about where traditional, institutional Christianity is headed? What should we expect the future of churches to look like? The received sociological model predicts outright secularization. But the evidence in the American case suggests something different, more complex, and arguably more challenging for churches and ministry. This lecture will explore these changes and what we have reason to believe the future of religion and churches in the U.S. to look and feel like.