There’s a famous quote from a Hemingway novel that goes something like this. A character is asked, “How did you go bankrupt?” And his reply is: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” You may have heard the same idea expressed like this: Often, things will start to occur slowly at first, and then they’ll happen all at once. A catalyst will take place. The slow burn begins. And eventually — suddenly — everything changes.
Starting around the turn of the century, it became clear that a catalyst had occurred in American culture, and in particular, American spiritual life. Church attendance — which had remained steady at around 70% of the population from the 1930s all the way to the 1990s — began to plummet. That was one of the clearest signs that Americans were turning away from scripture, and away from any belief in a higher power than themselves. Similar changes in church attendance were reported all over the West.
At the time, it wasn’t clear exactly what the…
