Only God’s movement through love, prayer and evangelism can change the steady decline in the number of New Zealanders identified as Christians.
It is a team of Dr. Stuart Lange, national director of the New Zealand Christian Network (NZCN), and a leader who says political protests, legal reforms, or government policies may bring about some positive change, but it cannot deal with the country’s deeper spiritual crisis.
In an email update to supporters yesterday (July 11th), Lange said that New Zealand was not entirely Christian in the formal sense, but the current rise of secularism has brought new challenges to Christian faith and values. He stressed that enduring transformation would require a “significant turning of spiritual flow” across all cultures.
“This can happen only in God’s hand. God’s Spirit must move sovereignly in the hearts of many believers, bringing us to a deeper level of faith, prayer and disciples.
“We need more love and more evangelism. The Spirit of God needs to call upon himself hundreds of thousands of unbelievers and renew the churches and Christians in New Zealand.”
Christians in New Zealand generally recognize that they live in a free and diverse society with religious freedom, Lange said.
“At the same time, many of us want to see a growing Christian faith among New Zealanders of all cultures, an increasing number of dedicated Christians, an increasing number of New Zealand’s thriving churches, and a greater expansion and more positive impact of the Kingdom of God in this country.”
Is New Zealand a Christian country?
The answer to the question about whether New Zealand was a “Christian state” was both “yes and no.”
“Until rather recent past, the majority of New Zealand’s population, both Maori and Pakeha, have identified themselves as ‘Christians, but the degree of faith, understanding and commitment varies widely,” Lange said.
This is evidenced by the fact that around 80% of New Zealanders identified them in Christian form in 1966 census figures. This fell to 32.3% in 2023, with the latter census saying 51.6% of citizens said they had “no religion.”
“They acknowledged Christian ethics and morality, recognized the continuity with British religious affiliation, and attended churches at least occasionally,” Lange said of their fellow-people and women in the 1960s. “Many churches had strong ministries between children and young people.”
The general identity with Christianity in the 1960s meant that the laws and customs of the New Zealand Association “a broad reflection of the fundamentally underlying Christian beliefs and values.”
Lange was reflected in school assembly, school Bible, Anzac rituals, funerals, weddings, original parliamentary prayer language, and later popular national anthem, “God defends New Zealand.”
“Nevertheless, New Zealand wasn’t just a Christian society. It was always the case that some people in New Zealand were nominally Christians or not Christian at all,” admitted Lange.
Despite the growth and encouragement in some churches, many churches appear to be struggling, and many young people and children should be found in many churches.
“New Zealand is now often publicly claiming to be “post-Christian” and “secular.” Many new laws and policies allow or promote things that go against the values of the Bible.
However, in New Zealand, church attendance in this country has never been stronger than ever before compared to other countries. Attendance at the peak of 1896 was 30%. Lange said the exception was between the Maori in the 1840s and 1850s.
He says that the influence of Christianity is still felt in the structure of the domestic society, its politics and cultural diversity.
“As a 13:1 expression to the Romans, there is certainly a lasting spiritual element in the way the crown is constructed with British customary law and understanding, which was understood by many Maori chiefs of Waitangi.
New Zealand always enjoyed religious freedom
Yet, Christianity has never been fully recognized as a national official or only religion, Lange warned. Instead, the emphasis on religious freedom was a hallmark throughout.
“New Zealand law never expressly recognizes Christianity as New Zealand’s “official” or sole religion. In 1840, despite the fact that both Maori and Pakeha were identified as Christianity, there was religious freedom and no official national church or religion.
“The 1990 Bill of Rights confirmed the freedom of religion, thinking and expression among New Zealanders. Such freedom is consistent with New Zealand’s Christian foundations.”
