Regardless of tradition, churches that espouse heavy, right-leaning politics will be difficult places for exvangelicals to feel at home. They are also likely to experience tension in deeply progressive congregations, particularly where a departure from historic orthodoxy has taken place.

Among evangelicals in our study, there is a higher rate of marriage among the dechurched (77%) than there is among people who are still actively churched (62%). Dechurched evangelicals in our study also have a lower rate of divorce at 8 percent compared to 13 percent among still churched evangelicals.

Only 1 percent in our survey embrace the truth that “Jesus is the Son of God,” and just 22 percent believe “the Bible is the literal Word of God.”

They probably won’t oblige your

IN THE UNITED STATES, WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING THE largest and fastest religious shift in the history of our country, as tens of millions of formerly regular Christian worshipers nationwide have decided they no longer desire to attend church at all.

Before now, the largest religious shift in church attendance in the US occurred during the twenty-five-year period after the Civil War.5 From 1870 to 1895, church attendance more than doubled as people resumed their postwar lives.6 That religious shift pales in comparison to what we are seeing today, only instead of going back to church, people

same study found that 86 percent of LGBT persons were raised in a faith community, and more than “three-fourths were raised in theologically conservative religious communities.”13 Further, of those willing to return, only 8 percent of respondents indicated a desire for the faith community to change their theology as something that would influence

They also enjoy a high level of racial diversity, while many other Protestant traditions are still overwhelmingly white.

Of all the things people said would make them likely to return, this is the greatest felt need. We asked two vital questions to understand the animating concerns of the dechurched: What made you leave? And what would entice you to come back? The answers to these questions show us opportunities in front of us in this area of belonging.