By FRANK REMKIEWICZ

This month, I will shake my column up a bit. I am doing this because what you will read later may be so depressing that my readers may give up on this column. If you can “hang in here,” please do.

So how are things going this month? Been to worship lately? Joined a community organization? Helped a neighbor by driving that person to a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment? If this has slipped your mind, that’s okay. Do not give up. We pick ourselves up, dust off, and start again this coming month. Remember, God will never give up on us.

The spiritually depressing facts come from the Pew Research Center. According to the website Media Bias/Fact Check, they rate the Pew Research Center as follows: “Overall, we rate Pew Research as least biased and very high for factual reporting due to excellent sources.” Pew created a fictional town of 100 Americans and then applied its nationwide findings of religious beliefs and practices to this town. For example, if 10 people in this town ate steak for dinner, that would mean 10% of Americans eat steak for dinner. If 48 people in this fictitious town were women, that would mean that nationwide, 48% of the American population would be women. I pray that I have explained the study clearly enough. To be reasonably accurate, there are 348 million people living in the United States.

I think this finding will help as I write about what this reliable research center found about American religious beliefs and practices. Much of the data just “blew me away!”

A striking finding is that in this made-up town of 100 people, 49 people seldom or never attend worship! The study covers all religions and all denominations. Practically, of 348 million Americans, 170.52 million seldom, if ever, attend any worship service. Arguably, the richest nation in the world will not give thanks to God for the many blessings we have. A quick story. In October of 1962, we came as close as I am aware of entering into a nuclear holocaust. October 27, 1962, was a Sunday in the middle of the “Cuban Missile Crisis”. That Sunday, you could not find an unoccupied seat in any house of worship anywhere in the United States. My uneducated guess is that 98.9% of all Americans were at worship that day! It is appalling to think that so many Americans routinely ignore our God, who is so gracious to us all.

The Pew report also states that of 100 people, 38 believe religion is not or not very important. In another Pew study, 71 out of 100 Americans believe that the most fulfilling thing in their lives is their job. 73 out of 100 people view family time as the most important thing in their lives, yet 49 do not visit their fathers more than once or twice a year. If it weren’t for Christmas and Easter, our Father in heaven might not have visitors at all.

In an astounding feat of illogic, 14 people believe in heaven, but not hell, and 3 of 100 people believe in hell but not heaven. Western thought and Western Christianity are pretty much founded on God and Satan, good and evil, right and wrong, and heaven and hell. In Western Philosophical thought, since ancient times, there has been a traditional idea that you cannot have one without the other, yet in a Pew study, we find heaven and hell separated.

Rounding out this study, we find that 24 of the 100 people seriously doubt or do not believe in God or at least a Universal Spirit.

Let’s look at America as a Christian nation. Based on this seemingly accurate and reflective poll of Americans, America is not a Christian nation. Here is why I draw this conclusion.

First, one in four Americans does not believe there is a God.

Second, the good news is that three out of four Americans do believe in God.

Third, though 75% of Americans believe there is a God, only 38% are willing to learn anything about God. Broadly speaking, religion is learning more about the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Advocate. In fact, about 75% of Americans value their jobs and their families more than religion. I translated that to mean spirituality.

Fourth, to support these ideas, we can consider the practice of attending worship demonstrates their commitment to God. However one defines worship. In that regard, less than 50% of Americans attend a regular worship service. Americans value their jobs and families, yet they fail to give thanks to the God who creates those opportunities. An American working five or six days a week, forty or more hours a week, and sometimes commuting for sixty or more minutes a day, but unwilling to attend a worship service for about forty-five to sixty minutes one day a week, is a real lack of gratitude. Choosing soccer, gardening, sports events, car shows, or whatever instead of attending a worship service is a clear indicator that God is second, third, or fourth in importance to Americans.

Approximately 215 million Americans, or 62%, consider themselves Christians. When it comes to practicing even the most basic of Christian principles, actions speak louder than words. The actions, in general, do not support that claim. America is not a Christian nation. But it would be easy to reverse these facts. How? Attend a regular worship service. The first of the two great commandments is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Jesus Christ gave us this commandment. The most basic way to God is to attend worship. Worship services glorify God and give thanks for all our blessings, and restore and strengthen our relationship with our Creator. I urge all Americans to make attending worship services their top priority. Only then can we begin to consider America a Christian nation.

Frank Remkiewicz is an area resident and contributes a monthly column focused primarily on faith and religion. He can be reached at fremkiewicz@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.