Last week, after scrolling a little too long on TikTok (again—don’t judge me), I stumbled on a heated debate about street preaching, public faith, and why no one wants to talk about hell anymore. It got me thinking about how, even in a supposedly ‘Christian’ America, some truths are too prickly to touch—at least out loud.

In addition to this, recent research is showing a weird moment in U.S. faith: Christianity’s decline has slowed, belief in Jesus (and even commitment!) is up, but the topics we’re most squeamish about are still the ones Jesus talked about the most. So, why do we avoid them? And what does all this mean for regular people like you and me?

 

A TikTok Confession: Why We Dodge Difficult Conversations

Okay, I’ll admit it—I spend way too much time scrolling through TikTok. It’s honestly embarrassing how much time I waste on that app. But a few weeks ago, my guilty pleasure led me down a rabbit hole that got me thinking about public perception of Christianity in America.

I stumbled across a video of street preachers at a public university in Oklahoma. Police showed up, telling them to stop, but the preachers knew their rights—this was constitutionally protected speech on public property. After some back-and-forth, the officers backed down.

Here’s what struck me: One officer told the preacher, she was not bothered by the fact this guy was talking about Jesus in a public square… but you know, you really can’t be in a public space telling people they’re going to hell.

Jesus? Fine. Hell? Crossing the line. This reflects our contemporary views on sin and judgment—we want the warm, fuzzy parts of faith without the uncomfortable truths. It’s social media’s impact on Christianity in action, filtering out anything that might offend.

 

Spiritual Trends, Real Stats: Are We Losing Faith or Just Changing the Subject?

Here’s what’s actually happening with Christianity growth in America versus the headlines. Yes, Christian population decline dropped us from 78% in 2007 to 62% today—but here’s the twist: it’s stabilized since 2019.

The religious unaffiliated plateau tells a fascinating story. Those “nones” hit 29%, yet 83% of Americans still believe in God or a universal spirit. Wait, what?

Even more surprising: commitment to Jesus jumped 12 percentage points since 2021, especially among younger adults. Research shows belief in Jesus and personal commitment to Jesus have risen, especially among younger adults, indicating a spiritual renewal trend.

So we’re witnessing something unprecedented—people ditching the Christian label while embracing Jesus personally. The spiritual outlook Americans maintain suggests we’re not losing faith entirely. We’re just changing how we express it.

Maybe the question isn’t whether America is becoming less Christian, but whether we’re finally distinguishing between cultural Christianity and authentic faith. The numbers only tell half the story.

 

Why Talking about Hell Feels Riskier Than Ever: The Roots of Our Awkward Silence

Something shifted in American Christianity during the 1940s and 50s. We wanted God, but not the uncomfortable parts. Not hell. Not judgment. What emerged was what evangelical scholars call “civil religion”—a neutered version of faith that fit nicely on currency and in pledge recitations.

This era added “Under God” to our pledge and “In God We Trust” to our dollars. Churches filled, but something was missing.

As C.S. Lewis warned: “If we do not believe in heaven and hell…our presence in church is a great tomfoolery.”[1] Lewis called our avoidance “spiritual prudery”—we’re embarrassed by doctrines that make dinner conversations awkward. Contemporary views on sin and judgment remain equally uncomfortable today.

Here’s my struggle: I want to speak truth without being needlessly offensive. There’s a difference between loving confrontation and just being a jerk. But when I avoid difficult topics entirely, what substance remains?

When’s the last time your faith made someone genuinely uncomfortable?

 

What Jesus Actually Said: Rediscovering Hell’s Place in the Message

Here’s something that might surprise you: if you cataloged every topic Jesus discussed—every parable, sermon, and conversation—two subjects would dominate the list by significant margins. Hell and money. The very topics most pastors feel uncomfortable addressing.

Jesus didn’t shy away from describing hell’s reality. In Scripture, hell appears throughout Matthew 13, 24, and 25, where Christ speaks of “gnashing of teeth” and “fiery furnace.” Revelation adds the haunting image of a “lake of fire.”

When scholars debate whether these descriptions are literal or metaphorical, people often sigh with relief at the mention of metaphor. That completely misses the point.

If a lake of fire is really bad, and that’s the metaphor, hell is really bad. The role grace, mercy, and salvation play becomes clearer when we understand that Jesus wasn’t using scare tactics—he was offering warnings wrapped in love, emphasizing the importance modern faith places on honest biblical engagement.

 

Modern Questions, Honest Confessions: Is Hell Fair? Is It God’s Choice or Ours?

Here’s a question that keeps me up at night: Is hell simply separation from God? It’s become common Protestant language, and honestly, it sounds… gentler somehow. Less harsh than fire and brimstone.

But Scripture complicates this neat explanation. Psalm 139:8 declares, “If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” Even in hell’s depths, God is present. Jeremiah reinforces this—God is everywhere, period.

So maybe hell isn’t God’s absence, but experiencing His wrath without His grace and mercy. That’s terrifying in a different way. It shifts the question: Is this human choice or divine judgment?

C.S. Lewis suggested hell’s door is locked from the inside—we choose our spiritual trends and eternal destiny.[2] Yet current spiritual outlook among Americans shows we’re still wrestling with these uncomfortable truths about salvation’s role.

I don’t have clean answers. Maybe that’s the point—authentic faith grows in the wrestling, not in easy certainties about grace, mercy, and ultimate justice.

 

The Hypothetical Church That Only Tells the Nice Half

Picture this: You walk into a church where sermons only cover God’s love, never His judgment. Where sin gets a polite mention, but hell? That’s off-limits. The public perception of Christianity might seem appealing at first glance.

But what would this community actually look like? I imagine endless encouragement without challenge. People feel good about themselves while avoiding the uncomfortable truths that drive real transformation. Churches that only offer comfort may produce shallow faith journeys.

How might lives shift over time? Without wrestling with hard truths, faith becomes surface-level. People might drift away when real trials hit, unprepared for life’s harsh realities. The Christian cultural shifts we’re seeing reflect this exact problem.

Honestly? I’d probably leave searching for something deeper. Soft faith ultimately feels hollow, like drinking diet soda when you’re genuinely thirsty. The modern evangelism importance lies in presenting the whole gospel—both comfort and challenge—because anything less leaves people spiritually malnourished.

 

Conclusion: Embracing the Whole Story—Even When It’s Tough to Swallow

Here’s what I’ve learned: Christianity’s growth in America isn’t slowing because people reject Jesus—it’s stalling because we’ve been serving up a sanitized version that nobody actually needs.

Facing uncomfortable truths is necessary for genuine belief in Jesus and church renewal. Modern America isn’t as allergic to faith as we think. They’re just tired of the Hallmark movie version when life feels more like a thriller.

We can’t honestly confront what we believe without facing the uncomfortable parts—even (or maybe especially) when American culture just wants the Hallmark version of Christianity.

Hope and warning aren’t opposites—they’re dance partners. The spiritual outlook Americans crave includes both the promise of redemption and the reality of consequence. That’s not scary evangelism; that’s honest evangelism.

Find courage in the awkward truth: uncomfortable realities have a habit of showing up anyway. The evangelism of modern faith isn’t about scaring people—it’s about offering them the whole story before life writes the ending.

We can’t honestly confront what we believe without facing the uncomfortable parts—even (or maybe especially) when American culture just wants the Hallmark version of Christianity. Turns out, talking about tough truths is as necessary now as ever.

 

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Footnotes:

1. C.S. Lewis, “Learning in war-time: A sermon preached in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, Autumn” (1939), retrieved from https://www.christendom.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Learning-In-Wartime-C.S.-Lewis-1939.pdf.
2. C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (1945; Reprint, San Francisco: HarperOne, 2001), 72.