TUPELO, Miss. — American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) responded to a just-released study on the appalling erosion of church attendance in the country today with a powerful plea for church leaders and church members to look hard and honestly at the bleak realities of American culture and at themselves. The study said the crumbling of Christianity in America is driven by those who were once religious but have abandoned faith and did much less than previous generations to ensure that their children were trained with a robust belief system.

Gen Z, the demographic following millennials, leads the way in identifying as atheist or agnostic, the study found. A whopping 34% of Gen Z claimed to be religiously unaffiliated, while only 18% of baby boomers identified as unaffiliated with religion.

AFA Executive Vice President Ed Vitagliano said the study is an unmistakable road sign that America is headed in the wrong direction.

“America’s relationship with religion has sometimes been a complex one but this report continues to sound an alarm that has been blaring for at least two decades,” said Vitagliano. “Too many churches refuse to exhort their members to be salt and light in our decaying and dark culture. And far too many individual Christians seem unwilling to admit that hell has unleashed a torrent of ungodliness against America that requires a call to arms, not another night streaming Netflix. The church needs to wake up. Political freedom and religious liberty are two things that can be lost. Such tragedies aren’t always something that happens on the other side of the world.”

For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission.  Founded in 1977, AFA has long been on the front lines of America’s culture war. Today, AFA is one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with nearly a million online supporters and approximately 110,000 subscribers to The Stand (formerly known as the AFA Journal), the ministry’s monthly magazine.  Find AFA Action Alerts here.  In addition, AFA owns and operates nearly 180 radio stations across the country under the American Family Radio banner. 

View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.       

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To interview American Family Association Executive Vice President Ed Vitagliano or another AFA spokesperson, contact [email protected], Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.  