Time magazine famously announced that “God is Dead” on April 8, 1966. While their cover story captured the zeitgeist percolating through university classrooms and philosophical debates, Time failed to anticipate how grassroots the religious impulse remains. Mainline denominations caught in the theological currents of the sixties (Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians), did experience significant decline. But the evangelicals who stuck to their core convictions during a time of great upheaval saw profound growth over the following forty years. God joined Mark Twain in suggesting that “The tales of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Now, during another Holy Week and Passover observation, a national newsweekly has announced “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” Jon Meacham’s argument in Newsweek doesn’t put God or Christianity on trial. He wrote an additional piece to clarify his intentions (beyond a brilliantly timed strategy to drive sales and light up the blogosphere during Holy Week). Instead, Meacham points to the rising tide of individuals claiming no religious affiliation in the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. Those who consider themselves outside of faith have doubled since the 1990 survey, from roughly 8% to 15% (with another 5% refusing to even answer the question). Dispute that rising tide, America remains comprised of a remarkable number of Christians. But those Christians must figure out how to navigate a world in which their morality may no longer be a majority.