The Vanishing Church and Why It's Hurting American Democracy with Ryan Burge

Good Faith

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Rise of the "Nones" and the Politics Driving People Out of Church

In this episode of the Good Faith Podcast, Ryan Burge joins Curtis Chang to explore The Vanishing Church and the decline of moderate American congregations, using hard data and his lived experience as a longtime pastor, political scientist, and statistician. Ryan and Curtis explore how evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Catholics, and the religious "nones" are changing—and what that means for polarization, social cohesion, and democracy in America. Burge offers a practical challenge for the lonely or spiritually curious—show up to church even if you don't believe—and makes a case for gratitude and community in an anxious age.

06:25 - Evangelicals: Political Shift and Homogeneity

13:59 - Mainline Protestants: Decline and Diversity

19:06 - Aging and Future of Mainline Churches

23:05 - American Catholics: Stability and Rightward Shift

28:31 - Priest Shortages and Cultural Challenges

30:36 - The Rise of the Nones

31:25 - Political Drivers of Religious Disaffiliation

40:17 - Polarization: Politics and Economics

47:54 - Addressing Polarization: Individual Responsibility

50:23 - Advice for Pastors: Preaching Beyond Politics

52:31 - Signs of Hope and Gratitude

Mentioned In This Episode:

Ryan Burge's The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us (Why the Culture Wars Led to Polarization and What We Can Do About It)
Read Ephesians 3:10 (ESV)
Read Colossians 1:16-18 (ESV)
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
Ryan Burge, Michael Graham, and Jim Davis' The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?
More about Dorothy Day

Transcript

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0:00.0	A lot of Americans are like, I'm lonely, I'm anxious, I'm miserable, I don't have any friends.
0:05.5	And I'm like, I have a solution for a lot of those problems, you know, and it's called going to church on a regular base. Like, no, no, not that. Like, they need to stop saying no, not that. That needs to be the thing that they choose. and they go, well, I don't believe.
0:17.3	And I say, I don't care.
0:18.3	Show up.
0:19.1	I was pastoring a church for 17 and a half years.
0:21.2	I would love if non-believers showed up.
0:23.3	Just show up.
0:24.2	You know, and, don't believe. And I say, I don't care. Show up. I was pastoring a church for 17 and a half years.
0:21.2	I would love if non-believers showed up. Just show up. You know, and guess what? You might get to
0:26.4	taste and see the Lord is good. And you might believe more because people believe in you. It's an amazing
0:31.7	thing. Welcome to the Good Faith podcast, where friends who follow Jesus help each other make sense of the world.
0:53.6	I'm your host, Curtis Chang, and this podcast is produced by a nonpartisan 501C3 organization.
1:01.3	Recent events have shown that democracy in America is under threat by this current administration.
1:09.1	The basic tenets of democracy, the rule of law, restraint on executive power, the respective
1:14.6	rights, and more are being undermined.
1:18.4	And while Christianity and democracy are not exactly the same thing, a recurring theme in
1:24.1	many good faith podcasts is to show how the two are very closely related,
1:29.4	how Christianity and democracy mutually uphold each other.
1:33.5	So in this moment, I frequently get this question from fellow Christians.
1:38.4	What can I do about it?
1:40.8	It's a question I ask myself.
1:43.2	But as I reflect on scripture, it increasingly seems to me that
	...

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