Ross Douthat’s new book, Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, is very helpful for Christians seeking to understand why the Church is in decline in the U.S. Before the book’s publication I gave a high-level look at its basic theses. In these next posts, I’ll share more details of Ross’s proposals and interact somewhat with his material.

I had the pleasure of reading the manuscript of Ross Douthat’s new book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics (The Free Press, 2012), slated to be released April 17 of this year. I am going to honor the publisher’s request that I not quote or review the book until it is published because it is still being edited. Nevertheless, I want to interact with Ross’s basic ideas because I think they are provocative and because this is essential reading for all Christians seeking to understand Christianity’s relationship to culture in the U.S.

Every week it seems I read  more authors and scholars who are pointing to the increasing importance of cities. The theme in most of these articles is that cities are where the future will be forged.  Jim Clifton, CEO and Chairman of Gallup, points to the vast shortfall in new job creation. What is the solution? He writes, “My answer would be… cities…[as] goes the leadership of the top 100 American cities, so goes the country’s economic future.” (Clifton, The Coming Jobs War, p.63 ) The journal Foreign Policy did a special issue on cities near the end of 2010. The lead article announced, “The 21st century will not be dominated by America or China, Brazil or India, but by the city. In an age that appears increasingly unmanageable, cities rather than states are becoming the islands of governance on which the future world order will be built.” (Parag Khanna, “Beyond City Limits,” Foreign Policy, Sept/Oct 2010.)