Religion as a global influence is not diminishing but expanding rapidly.
Religion has had an enormous influence in history. The vast conversions to Constantine’s Christian Church in the 4th century, and Mohammad’s great Muslim following in the 7th century, created a geopolitical atmosphere that led to war and bloodshed in God’s name. In the 16th century, Protestantism led to the Thirty-Year War (Rome’s last attempt to recover Protestant Germany), in which nearly 30 percent of the German population was destroyed.
A recent article in The Economist entitled “The New Wars of Religion” predicted that “faith will unsettle politics everywhere this century.” 1 Commenting on this point, The Atlantic pointed out that Catholicism and Pentecostalism are competing for adherents in Latin America; that Islam claims one fifth of the world’s population and that it is only a matter of time until it surpasses Christianity in numbers; and that Hindus and Buddhists make up another 20 percent of the world’s population and are growing. The Economist predicted that by the middle of the 21st century virtually 80 percent of the world’s population will adhere to one of these major faiths. 2 Religion is not declining, but expanding.
As religious zeal increases, so does religious conflict. “Where different religions bump up against one another…,” wrote The Atlantic, “the intense competition for souls could produce another era in which religious conflict leads to religious war, only this time with nuclear weapons. If we are really in for anything like the kind of zeal that accompanied earlier periods of religious expansion, we might as well say goodbye to the Enlightenment and its principles of tolerance.”
This prediction is insightful. Jesus predicted that there would be wars and rumors of wars as well as a terrible time of trouble and intolerance for His followers, who will be persecuted not by the secular world, but by religious zealots. (See Revelation 13:15-17.)
Most Americans don’t know much about religious history and are therefore doomed to repeat its intolerant mistakes. They think that secularism is the enemy. But they want a secular lifestyle with a religiosity that is emotional and lacks a deep understanding of God’s true principles.
It is no secret that poorer nations are more religious than richer ones. The current economic decline, if it goes far enough, could fuel a religious zeal to restore America to God’s favor. Amid threats of economic disaster and other fearful calamities, of which there are many, Americans are predicted to become more zealous and less tolerant. They will press for outward signs of religiosity, such as Sunday worship laws, to regain favor with God. In doing so, they will eventually turn their zeal on those who insist on obedience to the law of God, particularly the fourth commandment.
