==ryan burge======
Ryan Burge is an American political scientist, statistician, and prominent data analyst specializing in the intersection of religion and politics in the United States. He currently serves as a Professor of Practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, a role he began in August 2025. Before his current role, Burge was an Associate Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University for 13 years. His research focuses on quantitative analysis of changes in the American religious landscape, particularly the rise of the religiously unaffiliated. Burge served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over two decades. He is known for his Substack, Graphs about Religion, contributions to major media, and has been recognized as a leading data analyst on religion and politics. Burge has authored or co-authored several books on American religiosity, including The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going (2021), 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America (2022), The Great Dechurching (2023), The American Religious Landscape (2024), and The Vanishing Church (January 2026).
Southern Baptists lose 390K members, despite shifting religious trends
“The share of Americans who are white evangelicals is falling, in part because the portion of the population that is white is in decline. However, the overall share of adults who are evangelicals today is the same as it was in 1972," leading religious statistician Ryan Burge said in his new book "The Vanishing Church." "Numerically speaking, outside of the Catholic Church, evangelicalism is easily the largest religious movement in the United States." Burge, a professor at the Washington University Danforth Center on Religion & Politics, added in a Q&A with The Tennessean that politics is another factor and that it's likely benefitting some Southern Baptist churches. For example,the denomination's right-wing stances on political issues may help draw in some new churchgoers. "Maybe on balance, the inflows and the outflows are evening out,” Burge said. (AOL 5/7/26) READ MORE>>>>>
“The share of Americans who are white evangelicals is falling, in part because the portion of the population that is white is in decline. However, the overall share of adults who are evangelicals today is the same as it was in 1972," leading religious statistician Ryan Burge said in his new book "The Vanishing Church." "Numerically speaking, outside of the Catholic Church, evangelicalism is easily the largest religious movement in the United States." Burge, a professor at the Washington University Danforth Center on Religion & Politics, added in a Q&A with The Tennessean that politics is another factor and that it's likely benefitting some Southern Baptist churches. For example,the denomination's right-wing stances on political issues may help draw in some new churchgoers. "Maybe on balance, the inflows and the outflows are evening out,” Burge said. (AOL 5/7/26) READ MORE>>>>>
How Evangelical Conviction Is Standing Strong Against Evil
What is the church’s actual effect in the world today?
Jesus taught us in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20-21 that His kingdom in the world is like leaven that quietly but powerfully enlivens a whole loaf. We don’t always notice its influence while it is working, but it is there. Jesus also said faithful Christians in the world are salt and light. As salt, we preserve and season the culture in life-giving ways. Sometimes we add flavor and other times we sting. We also illuminate, helping the world see the truth and beauty of God’s design. Some new sociology of religion data from Ryan Burge, a statistician and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, demonstrates the church’s essential role in the world. His findings are notable as they lie in stark contrast to new Pew Research Center data on what Americans think is moral and immoral. (Daily Citizen; 3.24.26)READMORE>>>>>>
What is the church’s actual effect in the world today?
Jesus taught us in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20-21 that His kingdom in the world is like leaven that quietly but powerfully enlivens a whole loaf. We don’t always notice its influence while it is working, but it is there. Jesus also said faithful Christians in the world are salt and light. As salt, we preserve and season the culture in life-giving ways. Sometimes we add flavor and other times we sting. We also illuminate, helping the world see the truth and beauty of God’s design. Some new sociology of religion data from Ryan Burge, a statistician and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, demonstrates the church’s essential role in the world. His findings are notable as they lie in stark contrast to new Pew Research Center data on what Americans think is moral and immoral. (Daily Citizen; 3.24.26)READMORE>>>>>>
Moderate churches 'hollowed out' as Christian Right’s 'extreme influence' persists
In an article published by The New Republic on February 1, journalist Sarah Stankorb compares the visibility of fundamentalist evangelicals to the visibility of non-evangelical Mainline Protestants. And Stankorb stresses that among Protestants, many Mainline churches are struggling.
Stankorb makes her points by referencing the Rev. Ryan P. Burge's new book "The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us." "His latest, 'The Vanishing Church,' is about the hollowing out of moderate congregations," Stankorb explains. "It isn't just the heartbreak of his own church's collapse that nags at Burge. It's the broader trends of which his church was one part, making it a data point for how the Christian Right's more extreme influence bifurcated American religion and relationships. Mainline churches, which Burge notes once represented much higher degrees of American political, ideological, and economic mixing, are disappearing as Americans shift to the extremes." (Alternet; 2.1.26) READMORE>>>>>
In an article published by The New Republic on February 1, journalist Sarah Stankorb compares the visibility of fundamentalist evangelicals to the visibility of non-evangelical Mainline Protestants. And Stankorb stresses that among Protestants, many Mainline churches are struggling.
Stankorb makes her points by referencing the Rev. Ryan P. Burge's new book "The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us." "His latest, 'The Vanishing Church,' is about the hollowing out of moderate congregations," Stankorb explains. "It isn't just the heartbreak of his own church's collapse that nags at Burge. It's the broader trends of which his church was one part, making it a data point for how the Christian Right's more extreme influence bifurcated American religion and relationships. Mainline churches, which Burge notes once represented much higher degrees of American political, ideological, and economic mixing, are disappearing as Americans shift to the extremes." (Alternet; 2.1.26) READMORE>>>>>
On My Shelf: Life and Books with Stephen O. Presley
I’m also reading Ryan Burge’s The Vanishing Church, which echoes several of these concerns. What’s clear across these studies is that the church in the West is undergoing dramatic transitions, both in its denominational character and in its relationship to the surrounding culture.(Gospel Coalition; 1.11.26) READMORE>>>>>
I’m also reading Ryan Burge’s The Vanishing Church, which echoes several of these concerns. What’s clear across these studies is that the church in the West is undergoing dramatic transitions, both in its denominational character and in its relationship to the surrounding culture.(Gospel Coalition; 1.11.26) READMORE>>>>>
He Left the Pastorate. But He Hasn’t Given up on Religion.
Ryan Burge “stumbled” into ministry, as he put it. He left the pastorate with his church in decline, but he has not yet given up on reviving religion in America. (Christianity Today; 1.8.26) READMORE>>>>>
Ryan Burge “stumbled” into ministry, as he put it. He left the pastorate with his church in decline, but he has not yet given up on reviving religion in America. (Christianity Today; 1.8.26) READMORE>>>>>
November 17, 2025: CBS News reported: "Nondenominational is actually the strongest force in American Christianity right now," said Ryan Burge, a professor who focuses on religion's impact on American life at Washington University. "They really talk about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of them preach a conservative gospel on things like abortion, same-sex marriage, but they don't lead with those things." In 1972, fewer than 3% of Americans identified as nondenominational Christians. Now it's 14%, or nearly 40 million people, according to the General Social Survey. Burge believes it's possible nondenominational Christians could overtake Roman Catholics in the next 15 years to be "the largest religious tradition in America." "I think it's, we're moving away from authority structure," Burge said.
December 8, 2025: Religion News Service reported: Ryan Burge, a professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, said something similar could be happening now. “I think it’s the calm before the storm,” said Burge, who writes about the religious landscape in his Graphs about Religion Substack. At some point, the decline will begin again due to generational shifts. “Gravity still goes down,” he said. Looking at the data, Burge suspects that in the future, just over half of Americans will be religious, with about 45% of Americans identifying as Christians and 10% as other faiths, while just under half will be nones. Religion in America isn’t going away, he said. But it won’t have the same social power as it did in the past.
December 11, 2025: Baptist News Global reported: MAGA Christianity casts a broad net. As religious statistician Ryan Burge frequently reminds us, white Catholics and white Mainline Protestants are almost as enamored of MAGA politics as white evangelicals. The difference is that MAGA voters who attend Catholic or Mainline Protestant churches are unlikely to hear Trumpian political themes reinforced from the pulpit. Since Mainline congregations are ideologically diverse, preachers generally hold their political cards tight to the vest. Similarly, Catholic churches are so racially diverse that partisan sermons are certain to stoke unwanted controversy. White evangelicals lead the MAGA parade because, after decades of ideological sorting, pastors and parishioners have a cozy relationship with MAGA-themed messaging.