The Freedom to Choose Your Religion Comes With a Price

Lincoln Mullen, an assistant professor of history at George Mason University, writes about the distinctively American fascination and struggle with conversion experiences in his new book, The Chance of Salvation. Throughout the country's history, he argues, people have been choosing their religion. This shows up even in today's demographic data: According to Pew Research Center, more than one-third of Americans currently identify with a religion that's different from the one they grew up with, and that number is much higher depending on how you count. It's particularly fascinating to watch this trend among the young people who are turning away from religious institutions in large numbers, as we wrote about in our “Choosing My Religion” series last spring.