CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Over the next few days, many in the Coastal Bend will be doing what they always do on Easter weekend: celebrating their faith. But a survey released by the Gallup organization this week, tells us that many of those people won't be doing so in a religious setting.
In fact, for the first time since they began asking the question more than 80 years ago, Gallup has concluded that less than half of the adults in the U.S. -- 47-percent -- have a formal membership with a specific house of worship.
It is a downward trend has been clear for decades.
Dr. Mark Adams with the King's Crossing Church in Corpus Christi said some of it may have to do with the loosening of social norms.
"Part of what we're seeing is (that) a lot of people who might, you know, 20 years ago have gone ahead and said, 'Yes, I am a Christian,' without that really meaning anything, at this point they don't feel the social pressure to claim a particular faith," Adams said.
Synagogue, mosque or church, the trend away from religious affiliation seems to be affecting all age groups, and faith-based communities are being forced to stretch in order to meet the challenge.
"When I think about what my church is," Adams said, "I've got to start thinking a lot bigger and a lot differently than just the people who show up in a room on a given day."
Whether those folks will ever actually be back in the room and the trend reversed is for others to debate. In the meantime, Adams said that those who make a claim to faith must be the "real deal" when it comes to leading with their lives.
"The way Jesus says we are to be characterized is by the loving compassion that we have for others, and that's supposed to be our defining mark," Adams said.
Not only on Easter, but always.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com: