I'm an atheist who was raised in a religious household. Despite leaving the church well over half my life ago, I'm still interested in trends in religion and understanding religion as a major social-political force in American culture. Despite not being a believer like Smietana, I found his reporting even-handed and compelling. His criticisms of secular culture, "nones," and the problems inherent with being "spiritual but not religious" were valid, well-argued, and respectful to people he's talking about.

My one issue with Smietana's reporting is a focus on churches and pastors who are focused on social justice issues and community outreach... supporting Black Lives Matter, supporting immigrants, helping rebuild after tornadoes, and maintaining food banks. There are certainly Christians involved in helping the hungry, the stranger, and the prisoner like Jesus commands, and they should be praised for it. But this social outreach seems (from the outside looking in) like a very small part of Christian identity and practice today, and certainly not the reason why people are leaving the church. Smietana offers this as "a hopeful reimagining of what the church might look like going forward," but it feels more like wishful thinking.