More than a quarter of Americans now claim no religious affiliation. That's

according to the Pew Research Center. That group now comprises the largest

block of Americans and follows decades of declining attendance among white Christians. of There's also been a growing political divide within some faith communities.

It's her latest installment of America at a crossroads.

We will walk with each other.

Across America... across America each week a familiar sound.

Christians of different denominations gathering to sing, worship, and fine community.

Yet in a growing number of places in the country, especially away from major cities,

that sound has been growing softer. And in some, like this American Baptist

church in southern Illinois, which has existed in some form since 1868,

it will soon grow quiet altogether.

I've done a handful of baptisms

while I've been pastor here, but I've done over 25 funerals.

So we're just not offsetting the losses at this point.

And once you get to a certain point, it's almost impossible to pull out of the nose dive.

We've had a bunch of birthdays because we haven't been really meeting the last couple of weeks.

For more than 17 years, Ryan Burge has been the pastor of First Baptist Church,

ABC in Mount Vernon, one of the many mainline Protestant denominations that once dominated the nation's cities,

towns, and countryside.

Yet since 1972, even as the country's population has grown over 60%, the proportion of white Americans

attending churches like these, or even identifying as a Christian has fallen precipitously.

This church will close for good in July.

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