Christianity After Religion

Diana Butler Bass, one of contemporary Christianity’s leading trend-spotters, exposes how the failings of the church today are giving rise to a new “spiritual but not religious” movement. Using evidence from the latest national polls and from her own cutting-edge research, Bass, the visionary author of A People’s History of Christianity, continues the conversation began in books like Brian D. McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity and Harvey Cox’s The Future of Faith, examining the connections—and the divisions—between theology, practice, and community that Christians experience today. Bass’s clearly worded, powerful, and probing Christianity After Religion is required reading for anyone invested in the future of Christianity. This essential guide to the future of faith explores: The Great Reversal: Discover why the old model of believe-behave-belong is failing and how a new generation is finding faith by starting with community and practice first. The Next Great Awakening: Learn how today’s spiritual shifts fit into the historical pattern of America’s great religious transformations, offering a hopeful map for the future. Spiritual but Not Religious: Go beyond the cliché to understand the deep spiritual longing behind the movement and what it means for the institutional church. Experiential Faith: Explore the surprising trends from national polls and sociological research that reveal a vibrant, personal faith emerging from the ashes of institutional church decline.