The official web site of A.H. Lloyd

Back in May I looked at the changing demographics of Conservatism, and noted that there is considerable unease in Protestant circles at the ongoing Catholic revival.

Timon Cline has stepped up to dispute this, and instead predict that we are in already in the Evangelical Century.

What’s remarkable is the massive amount of question-begging on the part of the author. Catholics are losing ground but:

By contrast, evangelical Protestants boast remarkably high conversion and retention rates and healthier levels of practical piety—church attendance, Bible reading, catechesis. Through the upheaval of the past half century, evangelicals have remained numerically and spiritually stable, have repeatedly reformed their institutions, and consistently outperform their counterparts.

Right, but Evangelicals are also hopelessly fragmented. There is massive variation between the sects which can range from an a single proprietorship run out of a store front to a megachurch and its satellites.

The entire piece acts as though there was any sort of unity or collective action on the part of Evangelical Christians. But there isn’t, and Evangelicals are essentially fallen away Catholics and Mainline Protestants on the last stop before leaving the faith entirely. It’s Christianity’s “easy button,” perfect for people who like live music and light shows with a dollop of feel-good faith.

There are indeed Catholics who defect, and without exception they are ones who rejoice in giving up Lent and like to go to church when the feel like it rather than as an obligation.

More importantly, for all this Evangelical faith and growth, the culture war has been an unmitigated defeat for Christians until very recently. Indeed, a big part of the tide turning has been Catholic laity refusing to submit and leveling withering critiques against wokeness. It was Catholic justices who overturned Roe, not Evangelicals, who famously have a problem with their elites – because they don’t have any.

For all their numbers, Evangelicals punch well below their weight. By virtue of their unity, Catholics have far greater influence.

All Protestant institutions are transitory. Schism is built into the very fabric of their theology. If everyone can interpret scripture, there is no unity.

In that context, surveys about numbers, church going and other metrics are meaningless. A charismatic leader like Billy Graham will rise up and build a movement, but without him, it vanishes.

I will give the author this: we may indeed be in an Evangelical Century, but we are leaving it behind. The rise of Evangelical Christianity saw the normalization of abortion, divorce, homosexuality and the persecution of outspoken Christians. Many self-identified Evangelicals cheered all of this on.

Indeed, there is something of a “no true Scotsman” fallacy in the arguments for Evangelical adherence to “Biblical teachings.” Whose teachings?

I think we are in a Catholic moment, and I see a lot of encouraging signs, not the least of which is in the vocations. The Church has much work to do, but such housecleaning usually sets the stage for a generational revival.