The Rise of the Nones and the Decline of Denominational Christianity

In his debut, Miller identifies how modern attitudes in organized Christianity can turn off potential parishioners.

The author has had an on-again, off-again relationship with organized religion. In his young adulthood, he referred to himself as a “none,” since, although he still had faith, he didn’t feel at home in the Pentecostal Church. He couldn’t reconcile the teachings of the church with what he knew to be truth. Later, he discovered he enjoyed the connection of active worship and returned, although he still disagreed with certain teachings and practices. The author uses his personal history, detailed in the introduction, to identify what he sees as bothersome themes in organized Christianity and evaluates them in historical context. In an engaging scholarly essay, he draws on writings by Christian leaders from the years 100 to 1000; during that era, the Bible took official form, and church leaders calmly debated the tenets of the religion as they shaped it. Miller argues that many of Christianity’s most controversial positions are modern creations that wouldn’t have found support earlier in Christianity’s history. Early church leaders rejected an all-or-nothing view of the Bible, he asserts, and might have contested notions that the Bible must be taken literally, that Scripture trumps science, and that homosexuals and minorities are lesser humans. This personable, well-written book stands out for its numerous historical references. Despite its compelling style and well-reasoned arguments, however, it likely won’t win over readers who have opposing viewpoints.

An intriguing, wide-ranging essay on some of the most contentious issues in modern Christianity.