Nominal Christian

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

A nominal Christian is Christian in name: they'd say "Christian" on a survey, were probably baptized, may have been raised in church, celebrate Christmas and Easter, and want a church wedding and funeral — but don't attend regularly, don't pray much, and don't experience faith as a personal commitment. A cultural Christian is similar, with the emphasis on heritage: Christianity as the tradition they come from and the values they hold, rather than a relationship with God. Catholics say "lapsed"; churches say "Christmas-and-Easter Christians" ("C&E," or "Chreasters") for those who appear twice a year.

The category is huge — by most surveys, a large share of self-identified Christians in Western countries.

Why people say it

Committed Christians use the term to make a distinction they think matters: Jesus warned that not everyone who calls Him "Lord" belongs to Him, and the church has always distinguished belief from belonging. Evangelicals in particular grew up in cultures where "everyone" was Christian and saw that it meant little; "nominal" names the gap. It's also, at its best, a pastoral category: these are people the church would love to see come back.

How to respond

If you're the nominal Christian — you'd say "Christian" but aren't practicing — that's an honest place to be, and you're allowed to be there; if a committed Christian calls you nominal, they're describing, not necessarily judging, though it can feel like judging. If a Christian friend describes their family as nominal, they're telling you they came to real faith later, on their own. If you're curious what the difference is, ask a practicing Christian what changed for them; that's usually the best explanation.

If you hear it in different churches

Evangelicals use "nominal" and "cultural Christian" most, often about mainline and Catholic populations. Catholics say "lapsed" or "fallen away," and the "New Evangelization" is aimed at them. Orthodox in traditionally Orthodox countries face the same reality on a national scale. Mainline Protestants speak of "inactive members." Everyone has a Christmas-and-Easter crowd, and everyone is glad to see them.

Where does “Nominal Christian” come from?

Jesus' warning in Matthew 7 ("not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord'…") and His rebuke of a church that "has a reputation of being alive, but you are dead" (Revelation 3:1) are the biblical roots. Augustine distinguished the visible church from the invisible; the Puritans distinguished "visible saints" from mere members. "Nominal Christian" as a phrase belongs to the 1700s and 1800s evangelical revivals, which saw Christian nations full of unconverted churchgoers. Sociologists adopted "cultural Christian" in the twentieth century; the term gained new life in the 2020s as some secular figures embraced it.

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