PDF Summary:Losing Our Religion, by Russell Moore

American evangelical Christianity is facing a crisis of credibility. In Losing Our Religion, Russell Moore examines how the fusion of evangelical faith with partisan politics and nationalist ideology has eroded the moral authority of religious institutions. Moore argues that churches have strayed from their spiritual mission by demanding tribal loyalty over truth, protecting abusers instead of victims, and prioritizing political power over the teachings of Jesus.

Moore explores why people are leaving churches—not because they reject Christian teachings, but because they believe religious institutions fail to follow those teachings. He then outlines a path forward, arguing that renewal requires honesty about current failures, a return to core principles, and a slow process of rebuilding credibility through repentance and reformed practices. Moore contends that recovery means moving forward with refreshed faith rather than attempting to recreate the past.

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The Relationship Between Religion and Politics

Moore’s argument that religion’s politicization is driving people away from faith communities is a well-established topic in the sociology of religion. Sociologists have long studied the relationship between religion and politics, examining how religious beliefs influence political attitudes and behaviors, and vice versa. One influential framework is the “political backlash” theory, which suggests that when religious institutions become closely aligned with a particular political party or ideology, it can alienate members who don’t share those views. This theory is supported by research from sociologists like Michael Hout and Claude Fischer, who found that the rise of the religious right in the 1980s and 1990s led to a significant increase in religious disaffiliation, particularly among younger Americans.

Moore also observes that scandals and hypocrisy within religious institutions are causing disillusionment. People are leaving not due to disagreements with church teachings, but because they feel the church fails to follow those teachings. Religious organizations' concealment of abuse and other scandals reveals that they function with the same self-protective power structures as other institutions people already distrust. This destroys the trust and sense of inclusion that are essential for every faith-based community.

(Shortform note: Research in behavioral ethics helps explain why concealing abuse destroys trust and inclusion in faith communities. When leaders engage in “ethical fading”—downplaying the moral implications of their actions—and “motivated blindness”—ignoring unethical behavior that benefits them—they signal to members that the institution’s professed standards no longer govern real decisions. Members then rationally withdraw the trust and sense of belonging they once extended to the institution.)

Moore next discusses the entanglement of religion and politics and the erosion of character and truth.

The Entanglement of Faith and Politics

Moore argues that nationalist Christianity uses religious symbols to advance political objectives. It uses religious language, imagery, and rituals to serve its purposes, making it secular and identity politics. By using religion as a tool to promote political goals, a Christian nationalist approach distorts the true message of Christianity.

(Shortform note: Not all Christians agree that nationalist Christianity distorts the true message of Christianity. In his 2022 book The Case for Christian Nationalism, Reformed author Stephen Wolfe argues that “Christian nationalism is the ideal political condition for a Christian people, the civil arrangement in which a nation’s laws, customs, and institutions are deliberately ordered to the true religion, so that magistrates openly acknowledge the lordship of Christ and employ their authority for the earthly and heavenly good of a distinctly Christian nation.”)

Moore further explains that nationalism combined with Christianity is a means to shore up ethnic or national identity, rather than unite with Christ. This approach won't redeem the world because it isn’t true Christianity; it distorts the Christian message and won't withstand Christ's Judgment.

(Shortform note: Historians of white Christian nationalism in the United States have shown that, for over a century, many churches have received status and protection from the state in exchange for blessing racial hierarchies and national power as markers of Christian belonging.)

The Erosion of Truth and Character

Moore argues that members of the evangelical Christian community have shifted from valuing objective truth to prioritizing tribal loyalty. This shift is evident in their choice of the term “values” instead of “morality.” “Values” refer to the importance a community places on something, while “morality” is an external standard. Evangelicals must say things they know are false to prove their loyalty to their tribe and to remain silent on issues that don’t align with the tribe’s beliefs. This approach gives up long-term prospects due to current fears.

The Shift From Morality to Values

Moore’s distinction between “values” and “morality” has a long history in American public life. In the 1980s, sociologist James Davison Hunter argued that the rise of “values” language reflected a shift away from traditional moral frameworks. He traced this change to the early 20th century, when advertisers began using “values” to appeal to consumers’ desires rather than their sense of duty. By the 1980s, “family values” had become a rallying cry for conservative Christians, who saw it as a way to promote traditional norms without invoking the more rigid language of morality.

Moore also believes that the focus on winning has caused a disconnect between personal character and institutional integrity. The words "morality" and "virtue" have been supplanted by "values." As long as someone is successful, deficiencies in character are overlooked. Institutions are meant to shape character, but their leaders need to possess a strong sense of character. When institutions lack credibility and integrity, they initiate a cycle of failure.

(Shortform note: In After Virtue, philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre argues that the modern talk of “values” belongs to an emotivist culture in which moral judgments are treated as expressions of preference rather than as rational claims about what is good for human beings. In such a culture, bureaucratic and managerial institutions are organized around external goods like power, success, and money, so that they measure performance in terms of effectiveness and control.)

How to Regain a Cruciform Faith

The next section outlines foundational principles for recovering faith and practical pathways to renewal.

Foundational Principles for a Recovered Faith

Moore believes that revival should be about refreshing the faith for what's ahead, not a revisiting of previous eras. Many people think of revival as a return to earlier times, but this is not possible because the past is gone and the world has changed. Instead, revival should be a refresh that may connect with history but will frequently look quite different.

(Shortform note: In Ancient-Future Faith, theologian Robert E. Webber argues that the primary path to the church’s renewal in a postmodern world is a conscious return to the theological vision, worship patterns, and spiritual practices of the ancient Christian community, so that the classical faith of the early church becomes the guiding model for shaping the church’s life, worship, and mission in the present.)

Practical Pathways to Renewal

Moore argues that renewal requires honesty and creativity. It requires hope for the unseen and the candor to recognize reality. Imagination is also necessary to see that things can be different. Renewal occurs gradually, person by person.

(Shortform note: One way to participate in renewal is to attach a small action to a daily habit. For example, if you check your email every morning, you could take 30 seconds to pause in silence before opening your inbox.)

Moore adds that renewal starts with hope, which focuses on what is yet to be seen, rather than on what's visible or what's been visible in the past.

(Shortform note: In The Psychology of Hope, psychologist C. R. Snyder explains that hope is a cognitive process that involves setting goals, finding ways to achieve them, and having the motivation to pursue those paths. To strengthen hope in your everyday life, choose a specific goal that’s meaningful to you, break it down into smaller steps, and take one small step toward it each day.)

Moore also believes that renewal is a slow, deliberate process. It requires acknowledging our losses and an extreme reform that will address the core of our spiritual and moral ailments, tackling the root rather than the effects.

(Shortform note: While a slow, deliberate renewal process may be necessary in the long run, there are situations where a more urgent approach is needed. For example, in the immediate aftermath of institutional abuse, the church may need to take swift action to address the effects of the abuse, such as ensuring the safety of victims and removing abusers from positions of power.)

Next, Moore outlines internal and external pathways to renewal.

Internal Reformation & Credibility

Moore believes the Christian community must embody repentance to restore its moral authority. It has lost this credibility because it failed to hold its members accountable for their immoral actions and injustices. The church's moral standing has declined, hindering the outside world's ability to truly see Christ and understand the gospel. It has become overly critical of non-church members while being insufficiently critical of insiders. Moore argues that the church has become morally relativistic, warning of the perils of moral relativism while practicing it themselves.

(Shortform note: Research in moral psychology supports Moore’s claim that a group’s moral authority erodes when it’s tougher on outsiders than on its own members. Studies show that people judge groups more harshly when they perceive them as holding others to high standards while quietly excusing their own members’ misdeeds.)

The church has also become too focused on saving face and not enough on repentance, too focused on the present and not enough on the future, too focused on the institution and not enough on the character needed to protect and build those institutions, too focused on the base and not enough on the souls of those playing the game, too focused on the movement and not enough on the cause, too focused on the theology and not enough on the living faith, too focused on the position and not enough on the platform, too focused on the brand and not enough on the reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ, too focused on the pseudo-orthodoxy and not enough on the new birth, and too focused on the renewal of the mind and not enough on the reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

In Surprised by Hope, N. T. Wright explains that the “Judgment Seat of Christ” is a reference to the New Testament’s teaching that God has appointed the risen Jesus as the one before whom the whole world must one day appear. This event is modeled on ancient law-court imagery, where a ruler would sit on a raised platform to judge the people. Wright argues that this final judgment is not a denial of grace but its completion, because the crucified and risen Lord who will preside over that great assize is the same one who has borne sin in his own body and now comes to finish, openly and definitively, the work of rescue and new creation that began at Easter.

External Engagement & Witness

Moore believes that evangelism should emphasize convincing people rather than intimidating them. It should remind us that our neighbors are an opportunity for mission, not a site for combat. The church should be taught to testify to the message of the gospel and to reassess the nature and boundaries of power.

(Shortform note: Moore’s emphasis on convincing rather than intimidating people, seeing our neighbors as a mission field rather than combatants, and reassessing the nature and boundaries of power, can be understood as a redefinition of power. Instead of using power to coerce others into behaving a certain way, we can use it to serve others and help them make their own decisions.)