Christianity in the 21st Century

Christianity in the 21st Century

Christianity enters the twenty-first century in a state of profound transformation. In Western Europe, traditional church attendance has declined sharply, leading some to speak of a ‘post-Christian’ society. Yet globally, Christianity continues to grow — particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and East Asia. New movements such as new monasticism, the emerging church, Fresh Expressions, and digital church are reimagining what it means to be Christian in a rapidly changing world. This lesson examines the major trends, challenges, and innovations shaping Christianity today.

Decline and Secularisation in Western Europe

The most dramatic development in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Christianity is the decline of institutional religion in Western Europe. Key statistics illustrate the scale of the change:

• In England, regular church attendance fell from approximately 40% of the population in 1900 to under 5% by 2020
• The 2021 Census for England and Wales showed that for the first time, less than half the population (46.2%) identified as Christian, down from 59.3% in 2011 and 71.7% in 2001
• Those reporting ‘no religion’ rose from 25.1% in 2011 to 37.2% in 2021
• Similar trends are evident across Western Europe — in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, and increasingly in traditionally Catholic countries such as Ireland and Spain

Several explanations have been offered for this decline:

• The secularisation thesis — sociologists such as Steve Bruce argue that modernisation (urbanisation, industrialisation, scientific progress, pluralism) inevitably undermines religious belief and practice. As societies become more rational, affluent, and diverse, religion loses its social function and plausibility
• Cultural Christianity — Grace Davie has argued that the pattern in Europe is ‘believing without belonging’ — many people retain vague religious beliefs but do not attend church or participate in organised religion
• Scandals — sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church (particularly in Ireland, the USA, and Australia) have severely damaged the Church’s moral credibility and accelerated disaffiliation
• Competing worldviews — scientific naturalism, secular humanism, and the availability of non-religious sources of meaning and community have reduced the perceived need for religion
• Generational change — each successive generation is less religious than the last, suggesting that secularisation is a cumulative, self-reinforcing process

Key Definition: Secularisation — the process by which religion loses its social significance and influence. Secularisation can refer to declining church attendance, reduced influence of religion on public life and institutions, and a shift in individual consciousness away from religious explanations of the world.

Global Growth and the Shift South

While Christianity declines in Western Europe, it is growing rapidly in the Global South:

• Sub-Saharan Africa — the number of Christians in Africa has grown from approximately 10 million in 1900 to over 700 million by 2025. Africa is now the continent with the largest Christian population
• Latin America — Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity has grown explosively, particularly in Brazil, Guatemala, and Chile, often at the expense of traditional Catholicism
• East Asia — Christianity is growing rapidly in China (estimates range from 60 to over 100 million Christians) and South Korea (approximately 29% of the population identifies as Christian)
• The scholar Philip Jenkins, in The Next Christendom (2002), argues that the centre of gravity of world Christianity has shifted decisively from the North Atlantic to the Global South. The ‘typical’ Christian of the twenty-first century is not a white European but an African, Latin American, or Asian woman

This demographic shift has profound theological implications. Christianity in the Global South tends to be more theologically conservative, supernaturalist, and experiential than Western liberal Christianity. Issues such as biblical authority, miracles, spiritual warfare, and traditional sexual ethics are central to Southern Christianity in ways that may challenge Western liberal assumptions.

New Monasticism

New monasticism is a movement, primarily in the United States and United Kingdom, that seeks to recover the practices and commitments of ancient monasticism for the contemporary church. Unlike traditional monasticism, new monastics typically live in urban settings, are often married, and include Protestants as well as Catholics.

Key characteristics of new monasticism include:

• Intentional community — new monastic communities share life together, often in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, practising hospitality, shared meals, and mutual accountability
• The ‘twelve marks’ — the movement has identified twelve marks of new monasticism, including relocation to ‘abandoned places of Empire’ (neglected urban areas), sharing economic resources, hospitality to strangers, commitment to conflict resolution, care for creation, and formation in the common practices of prayer and worship
• Key communities — the Simple Way (Philadelphia, founded by Shane Claiborne), Rutba House (Durham, North Carolina, associated with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove), and various communities associated with the Northumbria Community and 24-7 Prayer in the UK
• Social justice emphasis — new monastic communities are typically committed to peacemaking, racial reconciliation, environmental sustainability, and solidarity with the poor

The Emerging Church

The emerging church (or ‘emergent church’) is a loose network of Christians, primarily in the English-speaking world, who seek to rethink Christianity for a postmodern cultural context. The movement flourished in the early 2000s, though its influence has since diffused into other movements.

Key themes of the emerging church include: