273: Is America's religious decline good or bad?

Religion has always been at the center of American life, but in recent years many Americans are turning away from faith.

The polling firm Gallup has been tracking trends in religion since the 1930s when church membership among Americans hovered in the 70 percent region. It stayed that high through the late 1990s, but in the last couple of decades, it has plunged.

In 2020, the percentage of Americans who said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque plunged to 47 percent.

Is this a good thing? A bad thing? And why is it happening?

Roxanne Salonen and Devyln Brooks are both Christians. The former is a Catholic; the latter a Lutheran pastor. They both write columns on spirituality, and they joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the decline of religion in America with the host, yours truly, who is an atheist.