The United States of America was founded, in part, on the desire for religious freedom. Religious freedom has been a major part of who we are as a people and it is largely the lens through which most of the world sees us. It can be a contentious subject, depending on where you are, but religion–Christianity, in particular–is at the heart of what makes up our identity as a nation.
More than 80% of Americans believe that religion is somewhat important to their lives. Perhaps they might not go to services every week, but they might attend for important religious holidays or expect themselves and loved ones to be married in a religious ceremony. Still, 56% of Americans, a majority, when talking about religion say that it is very important to their lives.
While religious freedom might have first meant the ability to practice Christianity without harm, these days, religious freedom is known to protect everyone. Whatever religion you wish to practice is a right that is protected by the Constitution and our laws of the land.
There is no denying, however, that Christianity still holds the distinction of being the most popular religion practiced in the United States. While one out of every five Americans is raised with a mixed religious background, the majority of those mixed backgrounds are some form of Christianity itself. Catholicism and various forms of Protestantism have been the practice of the majority of religious observers in this country since it began.
Inside of Christianity, there is Catholisicim, which has been orchestrated from Rome for centuries and continues to be managed in the same manner. Protestantism, however, has seen many different changes over the last two hundred years in America. In today’s times, there are any number of non denominational Churches that practice slightly different or altogether different forms of the religion.
Anywhere in the country, you can find a congregation that has a viewpoint that will challenge you, edify you, and spur you on to good works, if you look closely enough.
A non denominational church in your area might be exactly what you have been looking for in your spiritual searching. A congregation that has a non denominational worship service will not be affiliated with any larger association like the Catholic Church or a Protestant body like the Lutheran Church or Pentecostal Church.
Since the years 1972-1976, there has been a 400% growth in Christians who identify as non denominational. In many of these churches, the congregation is its own independent entity, meaning, each congregation governs itself, having no allegiance to a greater body.
When you think about it, this kind of independent Church structure is very much in keeping with the spirit of independence to that Americans have in general. Finding a church congregation that thinks the way you think and has a church service and mission that falls in line with what you feel is important in your walk of faith makes sense to many people and is making more sense to them daily.
In our modern world, it is a very strange thing to encounter a person who does not read. There are still many who cannot, but it is not the norm as it was until relatively recently. May people, for many centuries, relied on the Church for many things, including knowledge. They took the word of those in charge as the words of God and followed the teachings as they were given.
In America today, we have a distinctly American outlook on the way we see Church. It is as unique as it is American in that we want to investigate and try to understand things for ourselves. This is why the non denominational church model has become so popular over the last 50 years.
