Green Shoots?

In brief

Theologian Gabriel Vahanian argued that Christianity undermined belief in God by making faith an inseparable part of culture, art, politics, and economics. According to an analysis by Commonweal, Vahanian suggested that when the surrounding world changes, the belief in a God tied to those specific cultural structures is also weakened.

This sociological perspective addresses a period in American religion where institutional strength remained high despite a decline in deep religious practice. A Harris poll cited in a Time article noted that while 97 percent of Americans professed belief in God, only 27 percent identified as deeply religious.

Peter Berger expanded on these ideas in his book The Sacred Canopy, proposing that religion relies on plausibility structures. These structures consist of social networks, institutions, and shared assumptions, such as families and schools, that make religious belief feel natural. Berger argued that when these social frameworks weaken, belief shifts from a shared reality to merely one of many individual options.