Welcome to Bright Point, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of

Unchanging Truth.

The Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown seem, at least to most of us, like

an extended nightmare from yesterday.

However, at least some of the ways that our lives changed have stuck with us.

For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans working primarily

from home has tripled since 2019.

Many people will never go back to full-time commuting nor do they want to, although there

are signs of a reset on the horizon.

And another change, one even more consequential for individuals and our society at large, is

the large-scale exodus from in-person church services.

According to Pew Research, though nearly all houses of worship had resumed regular in-person

services by this time last year, disappointingly few Christians have returned.

There's the church, there's the steeple open the door, where are the people?

Researchers from the Survey Center on America Live and the University of Chicago found that

last year, one-third of Americans admitted to never attending religious services.

That's up from a quarter of Americans before the pandemic.

They also found no lockdown and do surge in atheism or drop-in religious affiliation

to explain those numbers, instead for the most part religious identity remains stable

through the pandemic.

Apparently, large numbers of people who once identified as Christians have now decided

...