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In The Great Dechurching, Jim Davis and Michael Graham along with renowned sociologist Dr. Ryan Burge examine the largest and most comprehensive study of dechurching--the largest and fastest religious shift in US history--to drill down to exactly why people are dechurching with respect to beliefs, behavior, and belonging.
About the author
Jim Davis is teaching pastor at Orlando Grace Church (Acts 29). He is the host of the As in Heaven podcast on The Gospel Coalition podcast network and serves as a writer for The Dechurched Initiative. Jim writes frequently for The Gospel Coalition, Acts 29, and Family Life. He and his wife, Angela, speak for Family Life’s Weekend to Remember marriage getaways.
Michael Graham is Program Director at The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is also the executive producer and writer for the As In Heaven podcast. He received his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. He is a member at Orlando Grace Church. He is married to Sara, and they have two kids.
Ryan Burge is an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, where also serves as the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside four books about religion and politics in the United States. He written for the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared in an NBC Documentary, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, as well as 60 Minutes which called him, "one of the country’s leading data analysts on religion and politics." He has served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years and has been married to his wife Jacqueline for over fifteen years. They have two boys.
Summary
We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in US history.
It is greater than the First and Second Great Awakening and every revival in our country combined...but in the opposite direction. Yet precious little rigorous study has been done on the broad phenomenon of dechurching in America. Jim Davis and Michael Graham have commissioned the largest and most comprehensive study of dechurching in America by renowned sociologists Dr. Ryan Burge and Dr. Paul Djupe.
The Great Dechurching takes the insights gleaned from this study to drill down on how exactly people are dechurching with respect to beliefs, behavior, and belonging.
This book gives the church in America its first ever deep dive into the dechurched phenomenon. You'll learn about the dechurched through a detailed sketch of demographics, size, core concerns, church off-ramps, historical roots, and the gravity of what is at stake. Then you'll explore what can be done to slow the bleed, engage the pertinent issues winsomely and wisely, and hopefully re-church some of the dechurched.
