Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion attributes Christianity’s decline in the U.S. to: 1) the political polarization which has sucked churches into its vortex, 2) the sexual revolution that has undermined the plausibility of Christian faith and practice for an entire generation, 3) the globalization that has made the exclusive claims of Christianity seem highly oppressive, 4) the materialism and consumerism that undermines commitment to anything higher than the self, and 5) the alienation of the cultural elites and culture-shaping institutions from Christianity.