Who Are the Dechurched in America and Why Did They Leave?

In this episode of As In Heaven, host Jim Davis welcomes guests Ryan Burge and Michael Graham to discuss the dechurched in America—who are they and why did they leave? They discuss detailed insights about the 40 million adult Americans who have dechurched in the last 30 years and talk in-depth about the four different profiles of dechurched evangelicals.

Episode time stamps:

• Episode and guest introduction (0:00)
• Defining "dechurching" and why it matters (2:36)
• The research and how to understand the data (7:36)
• Six main profiles of the dechurched in America (14:04)
• A deeper look at cultural Christians (17:36)
• Understanding mainstream evangelicals (22:15)
• Demographics of people leaving the church (28:03)
• Opportunities to better engage the dechurched (33:06)
• Defining and understanding the BIPOC group (38:18)
• Understanding dechurching among the Catholic group (42:22)
• The role of education in the dechurching movement (44:49)
• College students and religious literacy (47:01)
• Closing thoughts and looking forward (48:02)

This episode is part of As In Heaven’s third season, devoted to The Great Dechurching—the largest and fastest religious shift in US history. To learn more about this phenomenon upon which the episodes of this season are based, pre-order The Great Dechurching by Michael Graham and Jim Davis.