Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America
By Christian Smith.
Oxford University Press, 2025.
Hardcover, 440 pages, $34.99.
Reviewed by Phil Davignon.
The question of whether religion is dying in the United States has long intrigued social scientists and cultural critics. In 1967, renowned sociologist of religion Peter Berger predicted, “By the twenty-first century, religious believers are likely to be found only in small sects, huddled together to resist a worldwide secular culture.” It’s obvious that the meaning, function, and practice of religion is changing in the United States. But how exactly? And what does this change mean for the future of traditional forms of religion?
Notre Dame Sociologist Christian Smith’s most recent book Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America is the latest effort to explain the contemporary landscape of religion. Smith is the author or editor of over 20 books, many of which focus on issues related to religious faith in the modern era. Smith is perhaps most well-known for his four-wave National Study of Youth and Religion, which discovered and popularized the concept of moralistic therapeutic deism—an understanding of God as “divine butler and cosmic therapist.” In Why Religion Went Obsolete Smith examines how a host of social, economic, and cultural factors comprise a “cultural zeitgeist” that is inconducive for traditional religions in America (e.g., Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism).
It is important to note that for Smith obsolescence “does not mean ‘useless’ or ‘failed.’ It just means having been superseded by alternatives that most users seem to prefer.” Even though this cultural zeitgeist is antithetical to institutional forms of religion, it does not mean that some will maintain traditional beliefs and practices. Nor does it mean that those who leave religion behind will completely forsake religious belief and practice altogether, as many Americans maintain an amalgam of disparate religious beliefs and practices. But Smith does argue that for many Americans traditional religion and its institutions—denominations, congregations, doctrines—are no longer relevant. What led to the demise of traditional forms of faith?
Smith begins by noting that Americans tend to view religion functionally—what is it good for? Historically, religion was seen as beneficial because it helped people to be moral, fostering trust, a sense of community, and national solidarity. For many Americans being distinctively Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish was relatively unimportant, so long as one belonged to a religion that instilled these American values. But according to Smith, the latter half of the twentieth century witnessed numerous social, economic, and cultural changes—peaking in the 1990s and 2000s—which created an environment where people no longer could see the value of religion. Some of the changes described by Smith include the growth of higher education, women entering the workforce, the de-institutionalization of marriage and family, consumerism, expressive individualism, the ongoing sexual revolution, the digital revolution, geographical mobility, and the growing difficulty of attaining the American dream. Smith concludes that “the social and cultural conditions that had previously sustained American religion were eroding dramatically.”
Smith’s analysis of American culture is mostly successful, though some readers may occasionally find themselves frustrated by the amount of detail he provides. The trends and phenomena Smith describes could be the topic of book-length studies, meaning his relatively brief analyses cannot do justice to the complexity of these issues, perhaps leaving readers to quibble with his conclusions. Other times Smith presents long lists and data tables that seem unnecessary. For example, Smith offers 53 bullet points of public figures (everyone from Jennifer Love Hewitt to Beyonce to Robert Downey Jr.) who seem to embody the “millennial zeitgeist.” In another chapter he presents the number of Google hits per year for various search terms related to changing sexual practices, such as “polyamory,” “friends with benefits,” and “sex toys.” These statistics, presented over a 15-year span, tell us little more than the fact that the internet has grown and people have always been interested in sex.
Despite these digressions the book paints a clear picture of the modern cultural zeitgeist. Smith’s wide-ranging analysis is not intended to prove that this zeitgeist undermines traditional religion, but to describe how it is incompatible with traditional forms of religion. Chapter 9 presents 35 characteristics of this zeitgeist, which include:
Immanent: Focused on the here and now, not the transcendent or otherworldly
Individualistic: Envisioning society as a collection of atomistic, choice-making selves
Anti-Institutional: Avoiding structured social groups and institutions
Presentist: Captive to the contemporary, unmoored from history and tradition
Distrustful: Suspicious of most people’s and organization’s motives and agendas
Minimalist: Preferring to strip away unnecessary systems, particularities, creeds
Jaded: Bored by hype and defeated by disappointment, scandals, and dim futures
Entertained: Soaking up relentless stimulation, amusement, performance, spectacle
Smith concludes that in today’s world religion has “[felt] alien and disconnected from what mattered in life…The vibes were off.” For the average person, traditional religion was no longer seen as a trusted authority and essential gateway to moral formation and spiritual experience—quite the opposite. For many, traditional forms of religion are associated with stultifying doctrines and hypocritical practices. Smith concludes, “Religion had become superfluous, disposable, and morally objectionable—and therefore obsolete.”
Of course, these tensions between institutional religion and culture are nothing new. In the 1960s, many denominations were questioning whether they should downplay their religious particularity to broaden their appeal and match the spirit of the age. The prototypical case study is mainline Protestantism, whose accommodation of the broader culture only hastened its decline. There seems to be a perennial tension between institutional religion and spiritual experience. At their best, the two are kept in a healthy tension, though there seem to be swings toward one direction or the other. The present decline in institutional religion has also been accompanied by a renewed interest in liturgy and church history for some evangelicals, as well as the growth of Calvinism and the Latin Mass.
Another question is whether this cultural zeitgeist will continue to undermine traditional forms of religion in the coming decades. Perhaps over time Christianity’s cultural baggage will lessen and people who have only a passing knowledge of the Christian faith will express true interest and curiosity. Recent studies (after this book was completed) suggest that the “rise of the nones” (those with no religious affiliation) has peaked, and there even seems to be renewed interest in religion in places like Silicon Valley. These examples do not disprove Smith’s larger thesis, but they do serve as a helpful reminder that history is not linear and that America’s religious landscape is diverse and complex.
Smith’s claims are sobering, but they do raise important questions related to how to be religious and pass on the Christian faith in the modern age. First, what does it mean to raise children to be religious in an era where traditional forms of faith seem obsolete? Raising children to be religious in today’s world is inviting them to be a part of a community and way of life that many people see as unnecessary and unhelpful. Parents and communities must consider how to form future generations to have the fortitude to embrace a way of life that contradicts the larger culture.
Next, how should congregations think about their efforts toward formation and evangelization? What does it mean to evangelize people who view religion as irrelevant—if not bad? When people tend to think religion is only about being good, how can Christians witness to the fact that the truth matters and that living in accord with the truth is desirable? Congregations must discern the extent to which their own members might embody this cultural zeitgeist, even if they continue to attend church and believe in God. How can congregations challenge their members to truly embody the Christian faith?
Finally, how should Christianity orient itself toward the broader American culture? Some Christians have begun to adopt a more aggressive stance toward secularism in recent years. Falling under the banner of post-liberalism, many argue that Christians need to actively seek to change the world by grabbing political power and using it for good. After all, if secular progressives are using power to promote their own vision of reality, why shouldn’t Christians? Sociologist James Davison Hunter presents a different approach in his 2010 book To Change the World, which argues that Christians are not called to cultural dominance, but faithful presence. Even if Christianity seems obsolete, Christians can still be “salt and light” in the places where they live and work, without attempting to regain relevance through force. Whether post-liberalism or faithful presence is the better strategy is open to debate, yet these differing approaches can be seen as efforts to grapple with religion’s obsolescence. Overall, Smith’s book serves as a helpful tool for understanding the challenges Christians face as they seek to live faithfully in the modern age.
Phil Davignon is Associate Professor of Sociology at Union University in Jackson, TN. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College and completed his Ph.D. in Sociology from Baylor University. He is the author of Practicing Christians, Practical Atheists: How Cultural Liturgies and Everyday Social Practices Shape the Christian Life.
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