The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research company located in southern California. Since 1984, it has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. If you would like to receive regular e-mailings of a brief overview of each new bi-weekly update on the latest research findings from the Barna Research Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna Research web site (www.barna.org).

All of the interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone interviewing facility. Households were selected randomly through a random-digit dialing procedure (RDD), and the household screened for the presence of one or more teenagers. In homes with a teen, only one teenager was interviewed. Quotas were also deployed to ensure accurate regional distribution and minor statistical weighting was used to ensure that the sample reflects national demographic norms. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of selecting a representative sample of households and teenagers.

Definitions

“Born again Christians” were defined in these surveys as people

who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and
who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior (out of 7 options with regard to life after death).

Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”

“Evangelicals” are a subset of born again Christians in Barna surveys. In addition to meeting the born again criteria, evangelicals also meet seven other conditions. Those include:

saying the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches;
saying their faith is very important in their life today;
believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
believing that Satan exists;
believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and
describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

Being classified as an evangelical has no relationship to church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church they attend. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”

“Non-evangelical born again Christians” are those adults who are born again, based on the definition above, but do not meet all of the evangelical criteria as described.

Baby Busters were born from 1965-1983. Baby Boomers were born from 1946-1964. Builders were born from 1927-1945. Mosaics were born from 1984-2002.

“Notional” Christians are defined as individuals who consider themselves to be Christian but either do not have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ” or do not believe that they will experience eternal favor with God based solely on His grace and mercy. Consequently they do not fit the “evangelical” or “born again” classifications.

“Unchurched” people were those who had not attended a church service, other than a special event such as a holiday service or a special event like a wedding or funeral, during the past six months.

“Theolographics” refers to the spiritual practices, beliefs and self-identification of individuals.

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New Study Identifies the Strongest and Weakest Character Traits of Christian Leaders (030113)

The leadership scandals of the past year have raised numerous concerns about the character of individuals who assume positions of leadership, whether they serve in the business, government, non-profit or religious sector. Understanding the character strengths and vulnerabilities of leaders is critical toward protecting organizations and the people who rely upon them from being crippled by unethical decisions and immoral behavior.

A new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, provides an unusual examination of the character of church leaders. Using the data from the Christian Leader Profile(tm), a 177-question diagnostic that was completed by a national sample of 1344 leaders involved in Christian churches across the nation, the study examines four aspects of people’s leadership: their sense of calling from God to leadership, the nature of their character, the strength of their competencies, and the aptitude they possess for leadership. Data released by Barna shows that the character of church-based leaders differs according to the position, age, gender, and leadership aptitude of the individual. The report also identified the character traits that are generally strongest among church leaders - as well as those that are most likely to be the weak links in their character.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Of the 13 “character clusters” evaluated by the Profile, the strongest attributes associated with Christians involved in church leadership were having a conscience that is sensitive to sin, morality, godly demeanor, humility, values, faith maturity, and trustworthiness. Attributes that were not as strong included using appropriate speech, having a controlled temper, and teaching ability. The attributes that rated lowest on the scale were possessing a loving heart, modeling servanthood, and having godly wisdom.

Digging more deeply into the three traits that reflect the most common weakness of church leaders, the Profile data indicate that the problems associated with servanthood center around not feeling a sense of responsibility to those who are needy and an unwillingness to sacrifice what they have for the good of others. The most serious challenges related to having a loving heart included the unwillingness to go out of their way to help the disadvantaged or to generously share their resources, and failing to do what is right because of the potential for suffering or personal disadvantage. Wisdom ranked lowest of all 13 character traits evaluated. Among they key difficulties related to that attribute were reliance on personal ability and insight rather than godly guidance, struggles balancing spiritual and worldly forms of wisdom, and inconsistently listening to God.

Character and Aptitude

The Christian Leader Profile(TM) categorizes leaders into one of four types: Directing, Strategic, Team-Building or Operational, based on the notion that every leader is incomplete in his/her skills and abilities and must therefore partner with leaders who have complementary capabilities. The Profile data indicate that these different types of leaders also have different challenges in the area of character.

Directing leaders, who tend to be the “big picture,” motivational leaders who focus people’s attention on vision for the future, are most likely to exhibit biblical values. However, they are more likely than others to struggle with servanthood and exhibiting a loving heart. They are the rivers of the organization, but sometimes lose sight of the fact that their aggressiveness and zeal for the vision may hurt some of the very people they wish to help.

Strategic leaders are those who analyze information, evaluate options and recommend the most effective courses of action. They are the strongest types of leaders when it comes to faith maturity and exhibiting biblical wisdom. However, they are most prone to difficulties with their temper and speech. They become so passionate about the paths they have discovered that they may lose patience with people who hold different opinions or who fail to understand why the path the Strategic leader suggests makes the most sense.

Team-Building leaders focus on mobilizing people around the vision, using people’s gifts and abilities to maximize productivity. While they do not outshine their fellow leaders in any particular character quality, they are most likely to have trouble teaching effectively. They are highly relational and able to get people excited about their role in pursuing the vision, but they are often ineffective communicators of transformational or strategic principles.

Operational leaders develop systems to facilitate the efficient and effective flow and continuity of the organization’s activity. While these leaders did not emerge as having a particular strength, they were notably weaker than their colleagues in the areas of temper, godly demeanor (e.g., being pleasant and respectful), servanthood and teaching ability. It appears that their focus on making the process work sometimes causes them to become overtly frustrated with the efforts of others.

Demographic Differences by Character Trait

Several demographic factors relate to people’s character profile. Gender did not make much of a difference, although men involved in ministry appear to have less of a struggle with temper and more of a struggle with wisdom than do women.

Generational differences are much more common. For instance, Baby Busters (i.e., adults 37 or younger) scored much lower than older church leaders in relation to faith maturity, being trustworthy, wisdom and appropriate speech. Baby Boomers (i.e., those in their late thirties to mid fifties) had relative difficulty with exhibiting a loving heart. Older church leaders tended to have higher scores on every attribute tested, but clearly struggle most with wisdom and servanthood.

Senior Pastors were different than church staff, and also different than lay leaders. In comparing these three segments who are involved in leading churches, Senior Pastors had substantially higher scores regarding teaching ability and having a controlled temper. Pastors were generally slightly higher than or equivalent to church staff or lay leaders on other traits, but all three groups exhibited similar weakness in relation to servanthood and wisdom.

Interpreting the Outcomes

The research offers both encouragement and challenges according to George Barna, who created the Christian Leader Profile(TM) and analyzed the data in the report. “It is affirming to realize that such a high percentage of church leaders have strong character in so many areas, especially dimensions such as values, conscience and morality. It is particularly pleasing to see that the character of lay leaders in the Church is just as reliable as that of the clergy.”

The researcher expressed the hope that leaders would invest effort into growing in the areas in which their character is most vulnerable or least mature. “Character is not like competencies, for which it is acceptable to ignore your weaknesses and run with your strengths. Weakness of character will eventually undermine your strengths, no matter how strong they are. Identifying character vulnerabilities is helpful because it provides an early warning signal of pending disasters.

“Churchgoers rely upon leaders to use their leadership role appropriately,” the author of several best-selling books on leadership and cultural trends continued. “The public expects leaders to treat their position as a means of serving people with godly wisdom, genuine love and with the understanding that leadership is about the privilege of serving, not about power, authority, perks or ego gratification. For the Church to be distinguished from other groups in our culture, and to have positive influence on the lives of people both within and outside of the local church, its leaders must model the difference that being a Christian leader represents.”

Barna also noted that the character of Christian leaders is one of the topics he will address in his forthcoming seminar tour in which he will visit 24 cities throughout the country to discuss his latest research on four key topics. “When it comes to leadership, if a person is called to lead they may still be disqualified by the weakness of their character. During the seminar, in addition to discussing issues related to worldview development, children’s spiritual growth, and trends affecting ministry, we will examine some of the dominant challenges that all leaders face. The discussion would be incomplete without exploring the quality of leaders’ character.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on a national sample of 1344 adults (age 18 or older) who completed the 177-questions involved in the Christian Leader Profile(tm). These individuals were either Senior Pastors, church ministry staff or lay leaders (deacons or elders; teachers were excluded unless they were also an elder or deacon). The Profile was administered online on a confidential basis during the third and fourth quarters of 2002.

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Evangelicals Are Ready to Re-Elect Bush, But Other Americans Are Not So Sure (030210)

George W. Bush is a popular president but that public favor may not be enough to return him to the White House for a second term according to the results from a new national survey by the Barna Research Group. The survey shows that if the election were held today the incumbent president would have a difficult time retaining his position.

The survey also points out that the president would have no difficulty keeping his job if the only people voting were evangelicals. That group is twice as likely as the rest of the nation to say they would “definitely” vote for him in a re-election campaign, no matter who his opponent might be.

Stellar Job Performance

Nearly six out of ten adults (57%) say the president is doing an “excellent job of leading the country,” while one-third (36%) disagree with that perspective. Surprisingly few people have no opinion on this matter (7%), indicating that Americans are quite engaged in monitoring the president’s performance in office.

Three particular population groups emerged as those most likely to affirm the excellence of President Bush’s leadership. Four out of five people from each segment agreed that Mr. Bush is doing an excellent job: evangelicals (82%), Republicans (84%) and conservatives (79%).

Other groups who were more likely than the norm to give the president positive evaluations included people who are actively involved in their faith (66% of whom said he is doing an excellent job), whites (64%), married people (64%), residents of the western (64%) and southern states (62%), and those who are upscale (i.e., 59% of those who have a college degree and a household income exceeding $60,000).

Four segments stood out as having the least regard for the job performance of the president. Those groups included African-Americans (52% of whom disagreed that he is doing an excellent job), atheists and agnostics (43%), liberals (43%), and Democrats (43%).

Americans Like the President

Slightly less than half of all adults said they have an “extremely positive” or “mostly positive” impression of Mr. Bush. That was roughly three times the percentage of adults who had a “mostly negative” or “extremely negative” impression of him. Other people harbored mixed feelings - 20% felt “slightly positive” toward the president, 10% felt “slightly negative” toward him - or did not know what they felt about Mr. Bush (6%).

Again, the three people groups with the most positive impressions of the president were Republicans (78% were extremely or mostly positive), evangelicals (77%) and conservatives (70%). Other groups more likely than average to hold positive feelings about the president included upscale individuals (60%), whites (56%), married adults (54%), Protestants (52%), Baby Boomers (51%), and residents of the South (51%).

There were four specific segments of adults who were twice as likely as the national average to possess views of President Bush that were “extremely negative.” Those groups were liberals (26% held such an opinion), African-Americans (25%), atheists and agnostics (21%), and Democrats (20%).

A Challenging Election

At least six high-profile Democrats have already thrown themselves into contention for the Democratic nomination to run against Mr. Bush in 2004. While people’s knowledge of those contenders is generally slim-to-none, and most voters hold Mr. Bush in high regard, re-election will be no easy prospect for the sitting president. Asked how likely they would be to vote for him if the election were held today, just one out of every four registered voters (27%) said they would “definitely” vote for Mr. Bush, with another 20% saying they would “probably” do so. Just as many voters said they would “definitely not” vote for him as said they definitely would (25%), with one in seven saying they would “probably not” support him (14%).

The president draws his firmest support from the same three segments who give him the highest marks related to job performance and personal impression: evangelicals (56% of whom were likely to definitely vote for him), Republicans (55%) and conservatives (48%). Other pro-Bush groups included those from households making over $60,000 (32% of whom said they would definitely vote for him) and whites (30%). Married adults were nearly twice as likely as single adults to give the president their vote (30% versus 16%, respectively).

Several groups were firmly aligned in opposition to the incumbent. Liberals (45% of whom said they would definitely not vote for him), African-Americans (44%) and Democrats (43%) topped the list of those not supportive. Others lined up against Mr. Bush in above-average numbers include atheists and agnostics (34%), downscale individuals (i.e., no college education and a household income of less than $30,000 - 31% saying they would “definitely not” support Mr. Bush), single adults (30%) and residents of the Northeast (30%).

Movement in the Past Year

Compared to one year ago, people’s perceptions of President Bush have changed somewhat, presumably due to the fading memory of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the eruption of more recent challenges such as the pending war with Iraq, the sluggish economy and the emergence of North Korea as a military threat.

One year ago, four out of five adults (79%) said the president was providing excellent leadership, compared to the three out of five (57%) who say so today. People’s impression of the president has declined less substantially, dipping about nine percentage points (from 75% favorable to the current 66% favorability).

The president’s re-election prospects have dipped accordingly. A year ago one-third (32%) said they would definitely vote for the former Texas Governor, compared to one-quarter today (27%). Combining those who said they would either “definitely” or “probably” vote for him also produces a decline from 57% to 47%. Comparing those who would definitely vote for him a year ago with those who would do so today highlights softening support among several groups in particular. Those groups include people 57 or older (dropping from 42% who would definitely vote for him to just 27%); non-evangelical born again Christians (dipping from 41% to 24%); and independent voters (down from 31% to 17%).

Although there are no segments that have increased their level of support for Mr. Bush, several have maintained the same level of support: evangelicals (56%); voters from the western states (29%); Hispanics (23%), atheists and agnostics (19%), and Democrats (14%).

Four More in ‘04?

George Barna, who directed the research, answered questions regarding the President’s ability to win another term by simply firming up his support in conservative, Republican and evangelical circles - his strongholds. “None of those segments is large enough to put the president over the top two years from now, especially given the overlap among those three segments,” the researcher explained. “For instance, only 6% of the public is evangelical. Only three out of ten adults consider themselves to be Republican, and three out of ten say they are mostly conservative on social and political issues. After accounting for the overlap across these three groups, even winning 80% of the vote from these groups would not be sufficient to place Mr. Bush over the top. Clearly, the president needs to expand the breadth of his base of committed supporters in order to return to the White House.”

Barna, a former campaign manager and for years a political pollster, was asked what type of coalition might be the easiest for the president’s team to piece together. “Political campaigns live or die on the basis of effective positioning and image. The president’s future depends on his ability to find the combination of issues and postures that win over key groups without igniting fiercer opposition among his detractors or losing lukewarm supporters. Taking a high-profile stance on abortion rights, for instance, might increase his waning support among Catholics, but would likely raise enough resistance from independent voters to offset the potential gains. Instead, because his presidency is largely disconnected from Baby Busters, he might be able to bond with them on issues such as facilitating future opportunities for leadership, support for families, and cracking down on companies that hinder health (such as tobacco producers). Similar issue clusters that might win over other swing groups need to be identified and the message clarified for the president to gain additional support.”

Asked to assess the president’s chances of being returned for a second term, the California-based author noted that such predictions are useless at this stage of the campaign season. “If history has taught us anything during the last seven elections, it is that voters are uninvolved in the process until the final couple of months,” he cautioned. “At this stage of the race, the campaign activity is merely second-rate entertainment, a kind of political background noise that titillates only political aficionados. It won’t be until the final three weeks of the campaign that millions of voters will wake up and make visceral choices regarding whom to support. Remember that unknown commodities such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton emerged from total obscurity to win the presidency, and George Bush, Sr. was wildly popular after the Gulf War but lost in his re-election bid. With an electorate as disengaged as ours, handicapping the races at this stage is foolish. The horse race statistics simply give us one further indication of how people are feeling about the current Chief Executive.”

Research Methodology

The data in this report are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by the Barna Research Group from its interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The OmniPollSM survey involved interviews among 1010 adults during the last week of January and first week of February. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Is America’s Faith Really Shifting? (030224)

Traditional measures of people’s faith, such as church attendance, Bible reading, commitment to Jesus Christ and belief in God, have been relatively stable for the past couple of decades. Do other, less traditional measures of religious activity and perception show much change over time?

To answer that question, Barna Research Group compared the results of a new nationwide survey of 1010 adults to similar surveys conducted during the past decade, examining less common indicators of faith. Examining eight different measures, the study indicates that adults perceive their personal faith to be shifting, and the role of faith in the U.S. to be changing, but a half-dozen factors examined over time suggest such a perception may be more illusion than reality.

Is Religion Losing Influence?

Two out of three adults (66%) contend that religion is losing its influence in American society. This figure has remained relatively stable for years, with the exception of the months immediately after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Oddly, people tend to view the nation’s faith as losing ground at the same time that seven out of ten (70%) argue that their own religious faith is “consistently growing deeper.” At least two-thirds of the people in each of the nation’s four adult generations maintain this stand.

Religious Affiliations

If change is occurring in people’s faith, it is not necessarily associated with the churches they attend.

Currently, 84% of all Americans consider themselves to be Christian. That proportion has remained unchanged throughout the past decade. Age does affect one’s perceived connection to the Christian faith, though. Among people 57 or older, more than nine out of ten (93%) claim to be Christian. That is substantially more than the four out of five younger adults (80%) who make the same claim. Interestingly, Baby Busters (ages 19 through 37) and Baby Boomers (38 through 56) had identical percentages on this indicator.

Even denominational affiliation has remained essentially unchanged in the past decade. While there has been a substantial degree of church switching during that period, the net outcomes show surprisingly little change. Adults who deem themselves to be Catholic have hovered in the 22% to 31% range, averaging something close to the current 25% who adopt the label “Catholic.” The largest Protestant denominational category – Baptist – has shown even less fluctuation, hovering in the 16% to 20% range, with one out of five adults currently adopting the Baptist label.

Mainline Protestant denominations have experienced the most significant slide, dropping from about one out of five adults a decade ago to one out of eight today (13%).

Surprisingly, there has been no discernible growth among non-denominational Christian churches. A decade ago they drew about 4% of the nation’s population. Today, that number is statistically identical (5%).

The Mormon church has remained quite active in the U.S., but its growth appears to have simply kept pace with that of the population overall. During the past decade, 1% to 2% of all adults have aligned themselves with the LDS church, and it currently stands at slightly more than 1% of all adults. In like manner, the Jewish faith has seen no shift in its size, remaining at about one-and-one-half percent of the adult public.

While there has been lots of discussion about the growth of the Muslim and eastern faiths, that growth does not show up in national surveys. People associated with faiths other than Christianity, Judaism and Mormonism have cumulatively registered in the 3% to 5% range for the better part of the past decade.

Those who claim to be atheist or agnostic have held firm at about one out of every ten adults, presently measuring 11%.

Church Size Unaffected

Even the size of the church people attend shows little change in the past decade. In 1993, 11% of adults attended a church that draws 1000 or more adults in a typical week. The figure is identical in the 2003 measurement. There are, of course, millions of people who transition from one church to another, causing a substantial degree of membership movement. However, the transitions appear to cancel each other out, in terms of the denominational affiliation and congregational size of people’s newly-adopted church.

Unexpectedly, the surveys show that the people most likely to attend large churches are not Protestants but Catholics. One out of every five Catholics (21%) attend a church of 1000 or more adults, compared to just one in twelve Protestant adults (8%). Attendance at Protestant megachurches is more common among blacks than whites or Hispanics.

Personal Faith Commitment

People’s personal commitment to the Christian faith has not moved since Barna Research introduced that measure in the mid-nineties. About half of the adults (48%) who consider themselves to be Christian say they are “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith. Such commitment is more common among those who attend a Protestant church (50%) than among those who attend a Catholic church (43%).

Similarly, the percentage of adults who strongly assert that their religious faith is very important in their life has not budged in since the mid-eighties. Presently, almost seven out of ten adults strongly agree that their religious faith is very important in their life, while 84% either strongly or moderately agree with that notion. Women are much more likely than men to agree with this idea (90% versus 79%, respectively), and young adults lagged the field (just 62% of the Baby Busters agree with this notion).

One further measure examined had to do with reliance on the Internet as a means of faith experience and expression. When asked how likely they were to use the Internet for at least part of their religious experience during the coming five years, there was no change apparent compared to a similar measurement taken two years earlier. Overall, 5% said they would definitely use the Internet for personal faith activity, and another 18% said would probably do so. The most surprising outcome related to this measure was the limited distinction between young and old adults: the differences between adults under 35 and those over 55 were not statistically significant.

Searching for Transitions

The research confirmed what more traditional measures have been suggesting: little is changing in the religious realm, despite a lot of discourse regarding new models of church experience and the need for a deeper faith commitment. “There is certainly a lot of evidence of people church hopping and experimenting with congregations of different sizes and theological persuasions, but the end result is that there is little evidence of outside-the-box activity,” reasoned George Barna, who directed the survey. “For the most part, people are staying put in their faith: a little tinkering here and there, but generally seeking stability and continuity. With all the instability in the economy and global politics, people are focused on fostering as much consistency in their lives as possible. Their risk-taking seems limited to how they spend their entertainment dollars rather than how they experience faith.”

Barna noted that his firm’s annual reporting of religious behavior and beliefs will be released soon and will seek to identify any people groups that are more adventurous in their faith explorations. The author stated that while people say their faith is front and center in their life, that does not mean they are seeking to change it in significant ways. “For most Americans, the faith dimension is a classic example of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Given what they are seeking to add to their life through their faith pursuits – comfort, security, relationships, and meaning – they see little need to push the boundaries of their current experience.”

Research Source and Methodology

“Stability in Religious Experience”

	2003	2001	1999	1997	1995	1993
Consider yourself to be Christian	84%	85%	85%	84%	86%	DQW
Go to a church with 1000+ adults attending	11%	10%	NA	NA	9%	11%
Absolutely committed to the Christian faith	48%	49%	49%	52%	NA	NA
Religious faith very important in your life	84%	84%	83%	87%	86%	84%
Affiliated with a Protestant church	53%	56%	53%	57%	49%	49%
Affiliated with a Catholic church	25%	22%	24%	22%	31%	29%

NA = not asked. DQW = different question wording. Note: each year’s survey conducted January, base of 1000 or more randomly sampled adults from across the 48 continental states.

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America’s Faith Is Changing – But Beneath the Surface (030318)

Less than one month after releasing a report suggesting that various measures of religious behavior show remarkable stability and little evidence of change, religious researcher George Barna released a new report today that examines a different series of measures – and again found that the national averages for almost all of the 17 measures examined have not changed in recent years. However, Barna discovered that beneath the surface, there is a substantial swirl of change occurring in relation to people’s faith that has gone unnoticed because the changes across people groups cancel each other out, resulting in stable national norms.

Although the nation’s religious habits and perspectives appear to be no different than they were five or ten years ago, Barna points out that discernible transitions have occurred across various age, ethnic and geographic subgroups. Among the changes he identified were a substantial redefinition of faith among blacks, with many traditional Christian beliefs and practices losing ground; the slow but steady acceptance of organized religious activity and Christian orthodoxy among Baby Busters; the gradual departure from organized religious activity by the two oldest generations, the Builders and Seniors; the dissipation of evangelical beliefs in the South; and the increase in liberal theological perspectives held by the nation’s Catholics.

These insights were drawn from a comparison of the Barna Research Group’s annual faith tracking survey to past studies. Each year’s survey, conducted the last week of January and first week of February, consists of interviews with more than 1000 randomly chosen adults from across the 48 continental states. The surveys are analyzed in relation to more than sixty subgroups of the population, permitting a more detailed understanding of the nation’s faith dynamics.

Young Adults Changing

Over the past century, sociologists have noted that when young adults enter a new life stage – such as one’s initial marriage or parenthood – religious faith often becomes a more central and stabilizing factor in their lives. That pattern is evident among the Baby Busters, the country’s second-largest generation ever, born between 1965 and 1983. Often described as pessimistic, self-centered and brooding, the generation is now becoming more family-oriented (more than twice as many Busters are married today as was true just ten years ago, and millions more have children today than a decade earlier), producing a slow but growing acceptance of more traditional Christian activity. Among the changes seen in the Busters is a seven percentage point increase in Sunday school attendance since 1996; a six-point rise in church volunteerism since 1998; a four-point increase in church attendance; a six-point jump in participation in small groups that meet during the week for Bible study, prayer and fellowship; and a seven-point hike in Bible reading.

The new survey also highlights a few shifts in core beliefs. Busters are seven percentage points more likely to say they are “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith today than they were to make that same claim five years ago. They are seven points more likely to strongly disagree that Jesus Christ sinned while on earth; and six points more likely to accept personal responsibility for sharing their religious faith with others who believe differently.

Older Americans Dropping Out of Church

What was bound to happen is now a noticeable pattern: older Americans are dropping out of organized faith activity in significant numbers. This move is a result of two converging trends: the limited mobility and declining health of the spiritually-devout Seniors generation and the erosion of commitment among the less faith-driven Builders generation.

The survey data show that these two generations – together labeled the Elders by Barna Research – are decreasing their involvement in organized faith endeavors such as church attendance (down by six percentage points in the past five years), evangelizing (down eight points since 1997) and volunteering at their church (off by seven points in the past decade). However, Barna pointed out that there is no indication that the intensity of their personal faith is fading, since faith measures undertaken in private, such as prayer and Bible reading, have shown no decline. Further, the nature of their core beliefs has remained unaffected during the past decade.

Blacks Entertaining Serious Reconsideration

The most frenetic transformations are occurring within the African-American community. Trend lines tracking the faith of blacks during the past decade register continual surges and retreats in both practices and beliefs. This may be evidence of a seismic faith reorientation within the black community, or it may be a reflection of faith that has been passed down from generation to generation without sufficient depth of understanding and acceptance to withstand personal life struggles and cultural challenges.

Compared to just three years ago, blacks are ten percentage points less likely to read the Bible and six points less likely to share their faith with non-believers than they were just three years ago. They are also four points less likely to attend a Sunday school class than they were in 1996.

Religious convictions are also shifting among African-Americans. Belief in God as the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who rules that universe today has dipped by nine points since 1996. The number of black adults who strongly disagree that Jesus Christ sinned while He was on earth has declined by eleven points since 1997. Further, there has been a nine-point drop in the percentage of blacks who strongly disagree with the widely-held notion that Satan does not exist but is simply a symbol of evil.

The South Is Abandoning Its Spiritual Heritage

The South is not only the nation’s most populous region but also that which has traditionally been the bastion of evangelical Protestant faith. Yet, half of the six religious behaviors examined have changed significantly among southerners in recent years, each of them shifting to become less biblical in orientation. Although residents of the South are still more likely to attend church services during a typical week than are people from any other region, the weekly attendance figure in the South has fallen by six points since 1997. Church volunteerism has dropped by eight points since 1998. Sharing one’s faith in Christ with a non-believer has diminished by seven points in the past three years.

One of the most eye-opening transitions has been the nine-point decline since 1997 in the proportion of adults in the South who can be classified as born again Christians based upon their alleged commitment to Christ and their confidence that they will go to Heaven after they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. While the South remains the region with the greatest number of born again adults, the proportion of born again people in the Midwest is statistically similar to that of the South for the first time since such tracking has been in place. That is a reflection of both the decline in the South and a small increase in the Midwest over the past two decades.

Southerners are also much less likely to strongly reject the argument that Satan is merely a symbol of evil. That sentiment has dropped by seven points since 1998.

Evangelicals Coming On Strong

The one group that has demonstrated a more intense faith commitment in recent years is the evangelicals. Distinguished from non-evangelical born again Christians by their commitment to biblical theology, evangelicals are the most spiritually-inclined subgroup of the population on virtually every measure evaluated. They are three times more likely than the national average to attend Sunday school (58% do so), three-and-a-half times more likely to share their faith in Christ with others (75% have done so in the past year), are three times as likely to belong to a small group (58%), three times as likely to volunteer at their church (63%), and twice as likely to attend church services in a typical week (79%). Their small numbers suppress their impact on the religious community – they represent just 6% of the adult population – but if actions speak louder than words, they are a virtual rock concert sound system.

Evangelicals have upgraded their volunteerism to the point that almost two-thirds are helping out at their church these days, up ten points since 1996. And even though evangelicals have the highest rate of church attendance of any subgroup studied – it is currently 25 percentage points higher than the attendance figure among non-evangelical born again Christians, the group that is next most likely to attend church – their level of attendance has dropped by ten points since 1997.

Catholics Adopting Liberal Theology.

Roman Catholics remain the largest denomination in America by a huge margin. Presently one-quarter of the adult population, the most notable behavioral change among Catholics is the increase in attending Sunday school. Traditionally a Protestant activity, the percentage of Catholics attending a Sunday school class has doubled since 1996 while Protestant participation in such classes has remained constant during that time period. Even so, Protestant adults are more than twice as likely as Catholics to be active in a Sunday school class.

Perhaps the most amazing changes have been in the theological views of Catholics. There has been a four percentage point loss in belief in God as the all-powerful, all-knowing creator, a six-point drop in the number of Catholics who strongly disagree that Satan is just a symbol of evil, and an eight-point dip in the number who strongly disagree that Jesus Christ sinned.

Influence Amidst Complexity

According to George Barna, whose company has been conducting the annual tracking study of religious beliefs and practices since 1984, the below-the-radar changes in the nation’s religious contours reflect the complexity of cultural realignments these days. “Americans are seeking the usual life outcomes – security, comfort, significance, belonging and meaning. To accomplish those ends, they are reaching out for connections and insights that will enhance their life. But consider the competing forces that make their choices so difficult: transitions in life stages, geographic mobility, influence by the media and public policy, economic shifts, ethnic diversity and history, and even the conflicts within the religious community. It’s no wonder that most adults confess to being confused about truth and meaning.”

The California-based researcher noted that the present cultural turbulence is a time of opportunity for faith groups. “Americans have not abandoned the importance of religious faith in their lives. More than four out of five adults claim that their religious faith is very important in their life today and most Americans try to integrate elements of faith-based decision-making into their daily experience. Faith groups who can read the culture, translate core faith principles into relevant practices, and provide valued guidance without compromising their fundamentals will be taken seriously by Americans. The more effective Christian communities become at tying their faith principles to lifestyle choices, the more appealing they will be to the millions of Americans who are drowning in the whirlpool of cultural change.”

Research Source and Methodology

“Tracking of Religious Behavior”

Behavior in past seven days	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997
Attended a religious service	43%	43%	42%	40%	41%	43%	43%
Attend Sunday school class	20%	25%	19%	19%	19%	23%	23%
Participate in small group	20%	18%	16%	17%	18%	18%	18%
Volunteered to help at church	21%	24%	20%	21%	24%	25%	24%
Read from the Bible, other than while at church	39%	42%	37%	40%	36%	38%	36%
Prayed to God	82%	81%	82%	83%	NA%	80%	NA%
Shared faith in Christ, past year	22%	23%	24%	24%	23%	21%	26%
Born again Christian	38%	40%	41%	41%	40%	39%	43%

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Americans Embrace Technologies that Bring Control to their Lives (030401)

For Americans, technology is more than a working compilation of plastic parts, circuit boards, power cords, and digital displays. It also represents a way to provide some semblance of control and order to their harried, demanding lives. In the 1990s, Americans discovered that personal computers could effectively help organize their work and personal lives. In the late Nineties, the Internet introduced consumers to new dimensions of easier access to and control over information, music, travel and retail options.

A new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California suggests that since 2000 Americans have gobbled up technologies that help them to shape their entertainment choices and to manage increasingly mobile lifestyles. Technologies such as DVD players, home theater systems, and mobile computers are substantially more common in households across the country than just three years ago.

“Home” Box Office Redefined

One of the largest tech shifts of recent years is in the realm of personal entertainment. Powered by DVD content, next-generation televisions and surround-sound equipment, many Americans are finding it more desirable to stay home to watch movies than to venture out to a local theater. At the core of that trend toward home-based entertainment is the rise of the DVD, or digital video disks. Since 2000, DVD players have been the most rapidly selling technology in the country, more than tripling in penetration (from 18% to 56%). DVD players are now as common in American households as desktop computers and Internet access.

Other home-entertainment technologies have also caught on. One-third of all households claim to have a home theater system (32%). Satellite television programming - with hundreds of channels for consumers to choose from - is used by nearly 50% more households now than three years ago (from 19% in 2000 to 28% in 2003). (In comparison, about seven out of 10 Americans receive television programming via cable.) Now part of mainstream technology, the vast majority of Americans (69%) owns DVD, satellite, or home theater technology.

Mobile Technology and Lifestyles

Americans’ mobile lifestyles have also precipitated new technological gadgets -- or some might argue that new technology has encouraged Americans to become increasingly mobile. Perhaps the most significant shift in mobile technology in the last three years has been the expanded use of mobile computers, which allow Americans increased flexibility in work, play, scheduling, and staying connected. Today, the combined purchases of laptops, notebooks, palmtops, pocket computers and PDAs (personal digital assistant devices) outpace unit sales of desk-bound computers - with many consumers owning multiple portable computing gadgets. Nearly three in ten Americans (28%) own some type of mobile computing device, nearly 50% higher than three years ago (18%). Currently, one-quarter of Americans own a laptop or notebook computer (23%). One in seven have a palmtop, pocket computer, or PDA (14%).

In contrast, after experiencing substantial growth throughout the 1990s, home-based desktop computers have leveled off at 57% ownership (just 4% growth since 2000). CD-ROM technology, which is frequently integrated into personal computers, experienced its most significant growth from 1995 to 2000 as Americans bought powerful, multi-function desktop computers. CD-ROM ownership has now stabilized and is currently on par with computer ownership at 58%. Three out of five Americans (61%) personally own a computer, including desktops, laptops, and palmtops.

Cell phones have also experienced widespread adoption in the last Nineties. But unlike desktop computers, their growth has continued more steadily - at 12% - in the last three years. Cell phones now constitute one of the most common technological devices in use by Americans, owned by two-thirds of adults (65%). The moderate growth of cell phones recently seems to be due to late adopters of the technology - such as low-income households and Americans in their sixties and older - who finally decided that the convenience of cell phones, along with the bargain rates being offered, was too good to pass up.

The Internet: Slowing Down, Speeding Up

Perhaps no technology has been as influential to Americans’ sense of control as the “create-your-own-adventure” experience of the Internet. More Americans are online now than ever. Nevertheless, the growth of home access has slowed somewhat compared to its rapid expansion in the late nineties. Today, three out of five adults (59%) have home Internet access, up 18% compared to three years ago. Overall, two-thirds of adults (65%) claim to have online access either at home or at some other computer.

Another shift since 2000 relates to the way in which many Americans connect to the Internet. Many more Americans are accessing the Internet through high-speed connections these days. One-quarter of online adults (23%) connect via cable and one-seventh (15%) use DSL (digital subscriber line). A slim and dwindling majority of Internet users (55%) relies upon slower dial-up connections. In macro-terms, home Internet access is divided between approximately 68 million dial-up users and about 55 million high-speed users.

Although the Internet has altered many aspects of modern life, one element that consumers have yet to use the Internet for is the shaping of their religious input and output. When asked in the Barna survey how likely they were to use the Internet for at least part of their religious experience during the coming five years, there was no apparent change compared to a similar measurement taken in 2001. Overall, 5% said they would definitely use the Internet for personal faith experience and expression, and another 18% indicated they would probably do so.

Other Technologies

Other new digital technologies also provide American consumers with small-scale control that may have seemed like science fiction just a few decades ago. The study showed that one-third of Americans now owns a digital camera (36%), allowing them to immediately pick and choose the pictures they want to keep and enabling them to email those visual memories to others anywhere on the globe in seconds. Also, one out of 13 adults (8%) now owns a vehicle with GPS – or Global Positioning Satellite service – to provide on-the-road navigation assistance.

The Generation Gap

Technology, perhaps more than anything else, seems to be one of the core drivers of the generation gap – that is, the behavioral and perceptual divide between people of different ages in America. Not surprisingly, the youngest adult generation – Baby Busters (ages 19 to 37) – is the most technologically enabled generation, being more likely than any of the older trio of generations to own 12 of the 13 technologies assessed in the study. The only exception was GPS-equipped vehicles, which was most commonly owned by Builders (ages 57 and older).

Busters are more likely than Boomers (ages 38 to 56) to own cell phones and computers and to have Internet access – but only slightly. The real arena of difference between Busters and Boomers is in home entertainment technologies, a domain that has been driven by Busters. Busters are 50% more likely than are Boomers to own a home theater system (45% to 30%); 27% more likely to own a DVD player (70% to 55%); and 19% more likely to have a satellite dish for television reception (31% to 26%). Staying at the cutting edge of consumer technology products, Busters have also snatched up digital cameras (42% to 36%) and high-speed Internet access (29% to 24%) more quickly than have Boomers.

David Kinnaman, Vice President of the Barna Research Group and the director of the study, commented on the technological generation gap: “The revolutions in entertainment and mobile technologies are being powered by the youngest generations. This is not particularly surprising – young people have typically been the technological pioneers – but it is creating even deeper divisions between the young and old as Busters and the up-and-coming Mosaic generation increasingly enjoy high-tech entertainment and staying connected on the go.

“Because of young people’s appetite for such devices, we are likely to see an even greater shift toward devices that ‘do it all’ – compact computers equipped for mobile Internet connections, cell phones that receive and transmit real-time visual images, and vast music and movie libraries on portable and home-based technologies. What remains to be seen is in what ways technology will continue to alter the generational personalities of Busters and especially Mosaics. In what ways will technology change self-expression, personal fulfillment, and depth of relationships? And how will their entertainment-driven and mobility-oriented lifestyles modify their spiritual experiences and expectations?”

Who Owns What?

Besides generational patterns, the study also provides insights into other characteristics of the technological changes afoot in the country. Easily the most significant predictor of technology ownership was socio-economic status, a variable that involves both educational attainment and household income. Not surprisingly, the more educated and more affluent the person, the more likely he or she was to own personal technologies.

An unexpected finding of the research is that divorced Americans – perhaps because they make less than do married households – are less likely to own many of the household technologies assessed in this study. This identifies one educational disadvantage that many children of divorce face: they are less likely than others to have access to personal computers and Internet technology from home.

Other demographic groups that were particularly likely to embrace technology were men, whites, those who reside in the Western U.S., and singles who have never been married.

Matters of Faith

While demographics often dictate strong differences in technology use, the study showed that a person’s faith had little to do with the types of technologies they use. Most notably, born again Christians were just as likely to own all 13 of the technologies assessed in this research as were non-born again adults. Kinnaman indicated that even beyond technology ownership, “there is little that distinguishes born again Christians from non-Christians in terms of how they use technology. Both groups appear to be equally influenced by what they are exposed to on the Internet and on television. Both groups spend roughly the same amount of time each week watching television and movies and going online. Christians spend about as much money on entertainment and technology as do non-Christians. The widespread adoption of technology creates new battlegrounds for moral choices to be made – battles that many Christians don’t even realize they’re waging.”

Kinnaman pointed out that one of the reasons that Christians are indistinguishable from non-Christians is the lack of consistent teaching and leadership regarding the proper role of technology in the life of a Christian. “Technological change is happening all around us. But how often do Christian leaders and teachers specifically address how to anticipate, interpret, and respond to technological innovation? As Americans we are typically focused on the function that technology serves, but as Christians have we sufficiently considered what expectations – both good and bad – technology creates and satisfies among its users? Without such a ‘philosophy of technology’ millions of believers are left defenseless against the tide of technologies that are changing the world in which they live. How much more relevant and healthy would Christians be if they were both adept users of technology and were able to use those tools within the larger framework of their passion to serve Christ and to bless others?”

In a seminar tour currently in progress, entitled Leading Your Church Forward, company founder George Barna further points out that technology is embraced by adherents of the postmodern worldview – which is largely embraced by people under the age of 35 – partially because it provides options, focuses on process more than product and facilitates group identity.

How the Research Was Conducted

Household Technology Penetration, by Faith Commitment, 1995-2000

	2003 All Adults	2000 All Adults	1995 All Adults	2003 Born Again Christians	2003 Not Born Again
Cellular telephone	65%	58%	26%	68%	64%
Digital Camera	36%	NA	NA	36%	36%
GPS System for car	8%	NA	NA	8%	8%
DVD Player	56%	18%	NA	56%	55%
Satellite Dish for TV	28%	19%	NA	29%	27%
Home Theater System	32%	30%	34%	30%	34%
CD-ROM for PC	58%	54%	13	57%	58%
Desktop Computer	57%	55%	33%	57%	57%
Laptop/notebook PC	23%	16%	7%	22%	23%
Palmtop computer	14%	8%	NA	14%	15%
Home Internet Access	59%	50%	7%	59%	59%
Internet access on another computer	36%	NA	NA	34%	37%
High Speed Internet	23%	NA	NA	23%	24%
Sample Size	1010	1002	1007	377	627

==============================

Views On Quality of Life Are Most Influenced By Money and Faith (030424)

Iraq, SARS, terrorism, a faltering economy, national image problems, moral decline – Americans have plenty on their minds these days. However, a large majority of Americans is generally comfortable with their quality of life at the moment, according to a new survey released by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California.

Two out of three adults (66%) strongly affirmed that they are “very happy” with their current life, while another one out of four (22%) agreed somewhat with that notion – a total of nearly nine out of ten adults (88%) claiming they are happy with their life as it is.

A similar proportion of adults either agreed strongly (68%) or agreed somewhat (24%) that they “feel personally connected to other people.” Again, that represents nine out of ten adults (92%) who feel integrated into the lives of others.

Most people feel as if they have life under control. With so much attention devoted to the complexity of life in the new millennium, and the massive volumes of information that are available, some social scientists have argued that people are increasingly paralyzed by the stress of managing such a high-complexity/high-demand culture. Most Americans, apparently, disagree. Six out of ten (61%) agreed strongly that they “manage information and knowledge effectively”; another one-third (31%) agree somewhat that they manage the flow wisely.

Evidence of that capacity for control is seen in the fact that although two-thirds of all adults believe that religion is losing its influence in our society (66%), an even higher proportion of adults (70%) argues that they are effectively bucking that trend and their “religious faith is constantly growing deeper.”

Further insight into the comfort Americans feel is shown by the fact that they are cognizant of but not feeling overwhelmed by stress or complexity. For instance, only one out of every four adults (25%) agreed strongly that their life “keeps getting more stressful with each passing year” and just half as many (13%) agreed strongly that “life has become too complex to really understand.”

The one area tested in which Americans do admit to feeling challenged relates to their health. Only one-third of adults (36%) agreed strongly that they are presently in “excellent physical condition.”

Personal Background Affects Views

The survey explored the affect of people’s demographic and religious backgrounds on their views. For the most part, such background traits showed little connection to people’s attitudes. Differences in age, gender, marital status, the presence of children in the household, region of residence, and political ideology had little impact on quality of life perceptions. Racial and ethnic affiliations exhibited a limited association with such views.

There were two areas, however, which showed strong relationships to such attitudes: people’s religious and socioeconomic standing.

Religious faith showed a significant correlation with life perspectives. Evangelicals, for instance were substantially more likely than any other faith segment to strongly assert that they were very happy with life (84%), they feel connected to other people (85%), their religious faith is constantly growing deeper (89%), and they were the least likely to feel their life is getting more stressful each year (14%). The faith group most dissimilar to evangelicals was the atheists and agnostics. Those in this “non-faith” category were the segment least likely to feel very happy (57%), feel connected (57%), say their faith is growing deeper (19%), and most likely to feel their life is increasingly stressful (29%) and that life is too complex (16%). The responses of the other religious groups studied – such as non-evangelical born-again Christians, notional Christians and adults affiliated with non-Christian faith groups – fall in-between those of the evangelicals and atheists/agnostics.

Read About How... American Faith is Diverse, as Shown Among Five Faith-Based Segments

Another way of exploring the impact of faith on such views is by gauging people’s faith activity. Those who have an “active faith” – that is, they attend church, read the Bible and pray during a typical week – were more likely than other adults, regardless of their religious beliefs, to strongly agree that they were very happy with their life (73% compared to 64% among the less active), to feel connected to other people (72% versus 63%, respectively), to claim their faith is consistently growing deeper (83% versus 38%), and were more likely to describe themselves as being in excellent physical condition (42% versus 34%).

Equally as powerful an influence as faith, however, was a person’s socioeconomic status. Upon comparing those who have completed college and have a household income of $60,000 or more – a group labeled the “upscale” – with those who did not earn a college degree and whose household earnings are less than $30,000 – labeled the “downscale” – significant differences were recorded for six of the eight measures studied.

Upscale adults were more likely to strongly agree that they are very happy with their life (by a 78% to 62% margin); to feel connected to others (78 vs. 62%); and to say they manage information and knowledge effectively (75% vs. 57%). They were less likely to strongly agree that their faith is constantly growing deeper (44% compared to 56% of the downscale adults); that life has become too complex (5% vs. 23%), or that life is becoming more stressful each year (15% vs. 36%).

Americans Seeking the Right Balance

In the ever-changing cultural context in which Americans live, one of the ongoing challenges has been to figure out the appropriate balance between faith and personal achievement. On the one hand, research confirms that education and financial affluence generally lead to a more comfortable and satisfying lifestyle. On the other hand, in a nation where more than four out of five adults claim to be Christian, the exhortation of that faith is to put God first, rather than material comfort and abundance. Most Americans continue to search for the right balance of the two competing emphases.

According to George Barna, who directed the study, even Christian churches are at odds regarding the proper mix of faith, personal effort, and lifestyle goals. “The majority of people who say they are Christian believe that hard work, competitive workplace tactics and aggressive financial strategies are fully compatible with their Christian faith. A smaller percentage of self-described Christians notes that education, financial earnings and vocational activity are best understood as tools that facilitate the expression of faith-driven rather than culturally determined values and principles. Another small but growing group of self-defined Christians contends that God’s plan is for people to claim affluence in God’s name and to expect it as a reward for their faith in Him. Americans continue to struggle with the teachings of their faith and the desire to lead a comfortable, low-stress life, and with the question of whether these ideals are mutually compatible.”

Research Source and Methodology

Q: I’m going to read a few statements. Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the statement. The (first/next) statement is (READ STATEMENT). Do you agree or disagree with that statement? AFTER RESPONSE, PROBE: Do you (agree/disagree) strongly or somewhat?

Perspectives On Quality of Life

	AST	ASW	DSW	DST	DK
you are very happy with your life	66%	22%	7%	4%	1%
religion is losing influence in our society	39	27	16	13	5
you feel personally connected to other people	66	24	5	4	2
your religious faith is constantly growing deeper	50	20	16	12	3
life has become too complex to really understand	13	17	27	42	2
your life keeps getting more stressful with each passing year	25	23	22	28	2
you are in excellent physical condition	36	27	24	12	*
you manage information and knowledge effectively	61	31	4	2	2

Source: Barna Research Group, Ltd., Ventura, CA.

AST = agree strongly ASW = agree somewhat DSW = disagree somewhat DST = disagree strongly DK = don’t know * = less than one-half of one percent

-- percentage who “agree strongly” --

	EV	NEBAC	NOTL	OTHR	ATH
you are very happy with your life	84%	67%	65%	66%	57%
religion is losing influence in our society	34	46	37	32	35
you feel personally connected to other people	85	67	65	59	57
your religious faith is constantly growing deeper	89	67	42	37	19
life has become too complex to really understand	10	12	14	11	16
your life keeps getting more stressful with each passing year	14	26	26	24	29
you are in excellent physical condition	39	40	34	37	32
you manage information and knowledge effectively	65	64	59	60	61

Source: Barna Research Group, Ltd., Ventura, CA.

EV = evangelical NEBAC = non-evangelical born again Christian NOTL = notional Christian OTHR = other faith ATH = atheist/agnostic

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Parents Accept Responsibility for Their Child’s Spiritual Development But Struggle With Effectiveness (030506)

Parents believe that they are primarily responsible for the spiritual development of their children, but few parents spend time during a typical week interacting with their children on spiritual matters. This finding, from nationwide research conducted by the Barna Research Group (Ventura, California), underscores the need for churches to help parents address the spiritual needs of their children more intentionally and effectively.

Accepting Responsibility

The Barna study found that close to nine out of ten parents of children under age 13 (85%) believe they have the primary responsibility for teaching their children about religious beliefs and spiritual matters. Just 11% said their church is primarily responsible, and 1% said it is mostly the domain of their child’s school. Few parents assigned such responsibility to friends, society or the media.

Nearly all parents of children under the age of 13 – 96% – contend that they have the primary responsibility for teaching their children values. Just 1% said their church has that task and 1% assigned that role to the child’s school.

Related research, however, revealed that a majority of parents do not spend any time during a typical week discussing religious matters or studying religious materials with their children. However, about two out of three parents of children 12 or younger attend religious services at least once a month and generally take their children with them. Most of those parents are willing to let their church or religious center provide all of the direct religious teaching and related religious experiences that their children receive.

Churches Have An Opportunity

The survey data indicate that parents generally rely upon their church to do all of the religious training their children will receive. Parents are not so much unwilling to provide more substantive training to their children as they are ill-equipped to do such work. According to the research, parents typically have no plan for the spiritual development of their children; do not consider it a priority, have little or no training in how to nurture a child’s faith, have no related standards or goals that they are seeking to satisfy, and experience no accountability for their efforts.

This situation represents an opportunity for churches to prepare parents for a more significant role in the spiritual development of their children. However, while churches offer classes and other programs for children, they do relatively little to equip parents to be effective spiritual guides. The survey found that only one out of every five parents of children under 13 (19%) has ever been personally contacted or spoken to by a church leader to discuss the parents’ involvement in the spiritual life and development of their youngsters.

Developmental Needs

Although parents are generally unaware of how their children are doing in terms of spiritual development, the survey indicated that the two areas that parents acknowledged as weaknesses for their children were knowing how to study the Bible and memorizing Bible verses.

Parents were confident that their children are adept at prayer and worship. While somewhat less assured, parents of children under 13 also are likely to believe that their youngsters are able to understand critical biblical principles, integrate biblical principles in their life, and clearly explain the reasons for their faith.

George Barna, who directed the research, noted that millions of parents are unaware of the breadth of spiritual needs their children have. “Of the 51 million children under the age of 18 who live in the United States, more than 40 million of them do not know Jesus Christ as their savior, which suggests that there are some basic unmet spiritual needs that parents are overlooking. This is one of the most significant and fertile mission fields in the nation, yet the very people who claim responsibility for the spiritual growth of those children are doing little about it beyond dropping their kids off at church. Churches could help more by being increasingly proactive in preparing parents to handle that responsibility wisely.”

Barna’s research also indicates that sometimes parents are not able to guide their children spiritually because the parents are struggling with their own faith development. “When it comes to raising children to be spiritually mature, the old adage, ‘you can’t give what you don’t have,’ is pertinent for millions of families. Most parents proclaim that the spiritual nurturing of their children is their job, but are very happy to let their church shape the child’s faith,” according to the researcher. “Unfortunately, no matter how hard a church tries, it is incapable of bringing a child to complete spiritual maturity: that is the job of the family. The more willing churches are to play the co-dependent role in this drama, the less likely we are to see spiritually healthy families and a generation of young people who grow into mature believers.”

The research on ministry to children included case studies of churches that have effective ministries among children. Barna indicated that those churches uniformly realize that their job is not to assume the role of spiritual development from parents but to prepare parents to excel in that role. “Churches only get one or two hours a week with these children. Parents have them for many hours each week and experience numerous opportunities to teach the kids vital principles in a range of settings and situations. The more intentional a church is about giving parents the confidence and the tools to raise up spiritual champions, the more effective we found the congregation’s parents to be as spiritual mentors.”

The data from Barna’s study were collected for his forthcoming book entitled Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions. The book addresses both the current spiritual condition of the nation’s children as well as how churches can more effectively build that faith in young people. He is currently touring the country with a seminar for church leaders describing the research findings and applications.

Research Source and Methodology

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Tithing Down 62% in the Past Year (030519)

Amid widespread reports that churches are suffering from decreased giving over the past year, a new study from the Barna Research Group helps to explain at least part of the problem. The proportion of households that tithe their income to their church – that is, give at least ten percent of their income to that ministry – has dropped by 62% in the past year, from 8% in 2001 to just 3% of adults during 2002.

Born again adults, who represent 38% of the nation’s population, also sustained a decline in generosity during the past couple of years. In 2000, 12% of all born again adults tithed. The percentage rose to 14% in 2001, but dropped to only 6% in 2002.

Generous Groups

The Barna study discovered that several people groups are more likely to tithe than are others. Groups with the highest proportion of tithers were people 55 or older, college graduates, middle-income individuals, Republicans, conservatives, residents of the South, evangelicals, Protestants, and those who attend mainline Protestant churches.

The group that had the highest proportion of households tithing was evangelicals. While that group represents just 6% of the public, nearly 9% of the group tithed in 2002 – roughly three times the national average.

Several population segments emerged as highly unlikely to participate in tithing. In fact, there were five segments identified among which less than one-tenth of one percent tithed in 2002. Those segments included Hispanics, liberals, downscale households (defined as earning less than $20,000 and not having a head of household who graduated from college), Catholics, and parents who home-school their children.

The research indicated that three other groups that were significantly below average in their likelihood to tithe were people not registered to vote, those registered as independents, and residents of the Midwest.

Reasons for the Decline

When asked to explain the reason for the decline in tithers, researcher George Barna indicated that the drop is due to a combination of factors. “Different challenges have caused people to choose not to tithe. For some, the soft economy has either diminished their household income or led to concerns about their financial security. For others the nation’s political condition, in terms of terrorism and the war in the Iraq, has raised their level of caution. The scandals involving Catholic priests last year reduced some people’s confidence in church leaders and, consequently, reduced their giving as well.” The author of more than 30 books regarding faith and cultural trends, Barna also pointed out the demographic shifts affect church giving. “We are losing many of the people who have a habit of tithing – people in their sixties and beyond – while the proportion of homes headed by younger adults, who have never tithed and don’t plan to, is growing. Also realize that the fastest growing group in the country is Hispanics, among whom very few give generously to their church.”

Asked about the steps that churches could take to encourage more people to give at least ten percent of their income to their church, Barna noted that the most effective strategy is to ensure that congregants make their life decisions on the basis of a biblical worldview. That is a long-term approach, however, and he noted that in the short-term it is helpful to give evidence of the ministry needs people’s money would be devoted to, show how efficiently the church uses money, demonstrate the life-changing impact of the church’s ministry, and establish trust and confidence in the leadership of the church.

Several of the groups mentioned in the study as being particularly unlikely to tithe surprised some observers. Barna noted that among those, the infrequency of tithing to churches among liberals is not surprising since they tend to give a bigger share of their donor dollars to non-religious non-profit organizations. As for the infrequency of tithing among home-school households, Barna cited research showing that they tend to have below-average household income levels and less disposable income than the typical household.

Research Source and Methodology

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Four Out of Ten Adults Discuss Religious Matters During the Week (030609)

The adage warning people to avoid discussing religion and politics with friends and family has fallen on deaf ears in modern-day America. A new survey from the Barna Research Group has discovered that in a typical week more than 100 million adults discuss political issues with others while about 90 million adults delve into religious or spiritual matters.

In a study of the topics of conversation raised during a typical week, the survey revealed that of the seven topics evaluated, the most popular topic was the content of movies or television programs. Two out of every three adults (66%) talk about that topic during a typical week. The next most popular items of conversation were money, discussed by nearly six out of ten adults (57%), and sports, which is the focus of 55%.

Less popular topics, but also widely addressed, were politics (51%), parenting (50%), moral issues or situations (49%) and spiritual issues and beliefs (42%).

Moral Discourse

The widespread interaction regarding moral issues and viewpoints reflects the significant concern over the perceived moral decay of the nation. With surveys finding three out of four adults troubled by the moral condition of the country, the frequency of related conversations is consistent with people’s anxiety over the growing sense of disrespect, rejection of authority, rudeness and independence in America.

However, researchers were surprised by the types of people most likely to discuss moral issues. The segments that are most frequently engaged in such conversations are people under 55 years of age, upscale adults (i.e., those with a college degree and above-average household income levels), blacks, those who attend mid-sized and large churches, and residents of Texas. Among the groups least likely to express interest in moral matters are Asians and Hispanics, people who are not registered to vote and those registered independent of a party affiliation, senior citizens, and downscale individuals.

A person’s faith commitment also affects their participation in conversations about moral issues. Born again adults were considerably more likely than non-born again adults to discuss morality during a typical week (57% versus 44%). Protestants were more likely than Catholics to address moral conditions and beliefs (53% versus 45%). The group most likely to address moral issues is evangelicals, four out of five of whom do so (80%) in any given week.

Faith Focus

Since the survey also reported that 85% of all adults contend that their religious faith is very important in their life, and that 81% align themselves with a particular faith group, the fact that 42% of Americans discuss their religious views or faith-related issues during a typical week is lower than expected. However, that translates into an estimated 90 million adults who talk about religious matters with family or friends in an average week.

The types of people most likely to talk about religious matters are women, Baby Boomers, upscale individuals, blacks, residents of the South, Republicans, conservatives, those attending churches of more than 100 people, and residents of Texas.

Religious-oriented conversation is least common among men, Asians and Hispanics, people not registered to vote or registered without a party affiliation, political moderates, downscale individuals, those who attend churches of less than 100 adults, and residents of California.

Not surprisingly, the religious alignments of people closely related to their engagement in religious talk. Born again Christians were nearly twice as likely as non-born again adults to participate in such conversations (58% versus 33%), and Protestants were more likely than Catholics to do so (49% versus 34%). Once again, evangelicals emerged as the segment most likely to discuss faith-oriented topics during the week (79%).

Unexpectedly, the research found that one out of every three atheists and agnostics (32%) talks about faith-related matters during a typical week.

Perspective On the Data

Researcher George Barna, whose company conducted the study, felt that the results emphasized some important trends for the future of the nation. “Recognize that Asians and Hispanics in America are much less likely to discuss moral and faith issues than are whites and blacks – but it is the Asians and Hispanics who are responsible for most of the population growth in the country. As their influence grows with their swelling numbers, the effect may be to further dampen the frequency of dialogue on these critical matters, further diminishing the influence of faith on the nation’s culture.” Barna noted that while a majority of the white and black portions of the population discuss both moral and spiritual matters in a typical week, only one-quarter of the Asian population and just one-third of the Hispanic segment do so.

Barna also encouraged the leaders of small churches, which represent the majority of Protestant congregations in the U.S., to motivate their people to converse on matters of faith and morals. “People who attend mid-sized and large Protestant churches are about 24% more likely than those attending small churches to raise issues related to faith and morals during a typical week. It may take some intentional motivation, some focused teaching, and behavioral modeling by the leaders of small churches to get their people to incorporate their spiritual and moral convictions in their conversations, as a means of integrating their faith-related views into decision-making and influence efforts.”

The study also revealed that men are more comfortable speaking to others about moral issues than religious issues. “As churches strive to help men focus more directly on their spiritual beliefs, initiating such conversations with a discussion of moral convictions and then moving into a deeper understanding of the spiritual basis of those convictions may help men to see the significance of their faith and more easily relate their religious beliefs to their moral behavior. Our studies consistently show that many men consider their faith to be isolated from their personal behavior and lifestyle.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data in this report are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by the Barna Research Group from its interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The OmniPollSM survey involved interviews among 1002 adults during May 2003. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Fragmented Populations Require Diverse Means of Connection (030623)

As America’s culture continues to evolve through new worldviews, icons and values, Christians involved in ministry report greater challenges in reaching non-believers with the message of Jesus Christ. A new nationwide survey of 1,002 adults conducted by the Barna Research Group provides some insights into why outreach efforts seem more difficult than ever. An analysis of people’s time and resource management indicates that the nation is splintering into increasingly smaller, sharply defined and diverse segments. The ministry strategies that may have reached the masses in years past have less relevance and appeal to growing proportions of the American population.

In a survey that asked people to indicate which of 34 different experiences they had engaged in during the previous week, the results reveal that a majority of Americans undertake one-third of those behaviors in a typical week. Those endeavors included the following:

Activities Undertaken in the Past Week

(N=1002)

BEHAVIOR	adults-by percent	adults-by millions
pray to God	81	176
go out of your way to encourage or complement someone for something excellent or special they had done	77	167
do a half-hour or more of exercise	69	150
use a computer	67	145
have a discussion with someone about something you recently saw on a TV show or in a movie	66	143
have a discussion with someone about something you recently saw on a TV show or in a movie	66	143
recycle some used products or materials	57	124
have a conversation with someone about money or financial matters	57	124
use the Internet or go online	56	122
have a conversation with someone about sports	55	119
have a discussion with someone about a specific political issue	51	111
have a conversation with someone about parenting issues	50	108

(Based on Census Bureau estimate of 217 million adults 18 or older.)

The study examined participation in a number of activities often referred to as “at-risk behaviors.” While none of them are common to a majority of adults in any given week, those behaviors (such as smoking, viewing pornography or gambling) involve tens of millions of people.

“At-Risk Behaviors” in A Typical Week

	adults-by percent	adults-by millions
smoke a cigarette or other tobacco product	26	56
see a magazine, movie or video that contained explicit sexual images	20	43
buy a lottery ticket	17	37
have a sexual encounter or physical relationship with someone to whom you are not married	12	26
place a bet or gamble on something	12	26
drink enough alcohol to be considered legally intoxicated or drunk	12	26
visit an adult-only web site on the Internet	5	11

Socioeconomic Distinctions

One of the most substantial disparities was found between “upscale” and “downscale” adults. The former group is comprised of people who have a college degree and above-average household income levels. Downscale individuals lack a four-year college degree and have average or below-average household incomes. Education and money affect how people live in significant ways. For instance, the upscale group is considerably more likely to spend time using computers and the Internet, reading, and attending church events during a typical week. They are also much more likely to discuss current world events and personal matters with other people, and more frequently go out of their way to pass an encouraging word to someone who is discouraged. The upscalers who are born again are not, however, more likely to share their faith in Jesus Christ with non-believers.

In general, the educated-affluent operate in a fast-moving, content-rich, networked world. Participating in behaviors that reflect “good citizenship” is more common among the upscalers than among others: they have the highest levels of recycling, volunteering to help community groups, and voting. They are also more likely to exercise regularly and to turn off a television program because they disagree with its values or perspectives.

Downscale individuals, on the other hand, are less likely to engage in issues-related conversations and generally keep their own counsel on personal matters. They are, however, more likely to consult non-traditional sources of spiritual insight such as psychics and horoscopes, and are more likely than their well-to-do counterparts to pray to God during the week. Downscale adults are more than twice as likely to use tobacco products and more than ten times more likely to give other drivers “the finger” while on the road.

Surprisingly, both upscale and downscale individuals were equally likely to gamble, view pornography, engage in sex outside of marriage, and get drunk. Adults in the socioeconomic middle ground are those most often engaged in extramarital sex.

Sociopolitical Ideology

Political leanings are closely related to lifestyle choices and interests, too. Those who describe themselves as “conservative” on social and political issues were more likely than self-described “liberals” to spend time discussing faith and family issues, engage in Bible reading and church attendance, and to volunteer at churches and community groups. They were less likely to recycle products or to smoke tobacco.

Liberals, on the other hand, were most likely to spend time talking to others about politics, the content of television shows and movies, and sports. They were much less likely to stop viewing a television program because of its content and to pray to God. Comparatively speaking, liberals were much more likely than others to get drunk, illegally download music from the Internet, and three times more likely than conservatives to have extramarital sexual relations during a typical week.

Similar distinctions emerged according to political party registration. Republicans were more likely than Democrats of Independents to discuss the three F’s: faith, family, and finances. Frequent visitors to the Internet, they were also the least likely to contact political officials to express an opinion.

Democrats stood out as the group most likely to have extramarital sex and to read their horoscope, and least likely to reject a television program because of its content.

Independents emerged as the group most detached from organized religious activity. They were least likely to attend church, read the Bible or volunteer at a church.

The most well-defined political group of all, however, is the one-third of the adult population that is not registered to vote. The theme for this segment is “disconnection.” The unregistered masses are the least likely of any political segment – based on ideology or party identification – to spend time reading, volunteering, exercising, using a computer, participating in any organized religious activity, contacting a political official, or encouraging other people. They are the most likely of all to get drunk, have sex with someone other than a spouse, and view pornography.

Regional Realities

Despite the great amount of population mobility in the U.S. – about one out of every six households moves to a new location each year – the four major regions of the nation have retained some unique characteristics. While the Northeast and West are similar in many respects, and the Midwest and South share many traits with each other, the coastal regions in particular emerged as distinctive.

Residents of the northeastern states are discernible as those most likely to read, attend a movie theatre, use a personal computer, do yoga, smoke and play the lottery in a typical week. They are also the group least likely to volunteer to help a community organization, participate in church life, read the Bible, pray, or discuss sports or parenting.

People located in the western states are equally likely to read, use computers, and play the lottery, and just as unlikely as easterners to read the Bible, attend church events, pray or volunteer at a church. They were also more likely than other Americans to discuss politics and sports, to exercise, and to illegally download music. They were less likely to smoke tobacco products than people from any other region.

Age Factors

Baby Busters often describe themselves as the most “relationally authentic” of the nation’s five generations. However, their behavior indicates that they are more likely than any other generation to engage in sex outside of marriage, less likely to devote time to serving others, and are the least values-driven segment. More than others, they engage in conversation pertaining to sports. They are also the group least likely to read the Bible, attend church services, pray, or help at a church.

One of the biggest turnarounds is evident in the behavior and leanings of Baby Boomers. Once viewed as spiritual antagonists, political activists, and non-traditionalists, Boomers have retained their penchant for confounding the experts. Though they were the first generation raised with omnipresent television and were instrumental in introducing computers to the world, they are more likely to read for pleasure than any other generational group in the nation. The generation that made “sex, drugs and rock-and-roll” its theme, Boomers are now only one-third as likely to have extramarital sex as are Busters; are the generation least likely to get drunk; and are no more likely to illegally download music from the Internet than are the Net-impaired Seniors. Despite their early flirtation with eastern religions and philosophy, only 3% of Boomers engage in yoga in a typical week (compared to 10% of Busters).

It is the older two generations, however, who have remained most consistent in their lifestyle choices. The Builders and Seniors together emerge as the generations most likely to turn off disagreeable television programs, and are the most likely to read the Bible, and attend church services. They are also least likely to discuss controversial matters, ranging from politics to faith, and morality to money. They are also less likely to view pornography and to use the Internet or a computer.

Racial Differences

Whites, blacks and Hispanics have some identifiable variations in their lifestyle choices. Whites emerged as the group most likely to use computers and the Internet, most comfortable discussing political events, most often encouraging those who are down in the dumps, and the least likely of all to pray.

Blacks are the most likely to discuss faith and morality, but the least likely to contact a political official to express and opinion. They are also the most likely ethnic group to engage in several “at-risk” behaviors, including extramarital sex, viewing pornography, and smoking. They have the lowest incidence of exercise, but the highest levels of horoscope examination, church attendance and Bible reading.

Hispanics, recently identified by the Census Bureau as the second-largest minority population in the country, share some similarities with blacks. Their levels of horoscope use, extramarital sex and pornographic exposure are similar. However, they are at the opposite end of the scale regarding frequency of conversations regarding either faith or morality. Hispanics are also the group most likely to buy lottery tickets and the least likely to volunteer at a community group or church.

Few Significant Distinctions Regarding Children and Gender

There were a few noteworthy distinctions between married and single adults. The former have a higher level of faith-related activity, community volunteerism, recycling, and exercise. Single adults, on the other hand, are more inclined to smoke, engage in extramarital sex, and read their horoscope.

One of the surprises of the research, though, was that the presence of children in a home makes no apparent difference in the “at-risk” behavior of the adults. Parents whose children live in the same home are just as likely as adults without children in the home to view pornography, have extramarital sex, smoke, get drunk, gamble, and illegally download music. The spiritual activities of parents were also on par with non-parents: they were just as likely to attend church, read the Bible, and discuss moral issues and spiritual beliefs.

Gender Gap Alive and Well

The widely acknowledged differences between men and women are readily evident in terms of the weekly behaviors each gender undertakes. Women are more likely to engage in conversations related to spirituality, parenting, and moral issues; to encourage someone; and to volunteer at a community organization. Women are also more likely to attend church, read the Bible, and pray to God.

Men are more likely to participate in “at-risk” behaviors such as visiting adult-only websites, gambling, smoking, and drunkenness. They are also more likely than women to foster discussions about sports and politics. Men are also four times more likely to give someone “the finger” while driving and to illegally download music from the Internet.

The Most Pronounced Differences

The study showed that the population categories harboring the greatest number of differences among its groups were those related to political party affiliation, socioeconomic status, generation and ethnicity. The category that generated the least variation among its constituencies pertained to the presence of children.

Ministry Implications Explored

The results of the study may help Christians to develop more effective means of connecting with non-Christians. “The survey shows that some topics of conversation or shared experiences may not resonate with certain people groups,” explained George Barna, the Directing Leader of the company that conducted the national survey. “In a culture that is increasingly seeking customized, perfect-fit adventures and relationships, grasping the nuances of a person’s expectations may help us to build more meaningful and fulfilling relationships, and to be able to serve people better.”

Upon analyzing more than sixty subgroups of the population, Barna concluded that the people groups most at variance from population norms are upscale adults, people not registered to vote, people 60 or older, and blacks. “Those four segments will be the greatest challenge for most people to connect with because the perspectives and lifestyle choices of those groups are so divergent from the norm. Ministries seeking to serve those segments would do well to study them closely to avoid reliance upon unwarranted assumptions that reduce meaningful connections and impact.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data in this report are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by the Barna Research Group from its interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The OmniPollSM survey involved interviews among 1,002 adults during May 2003. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Teens Evaluate the Church-Based Ministry They Received As Children (030708)

A majority of today’s teenagers attended church when they were young children or adolescents – most of them attending on a regular basis. A new survey from the Barna Research Group explores what these teens say they received from their church when they were younger.

Attendance Patterns

A majority of teenagers – 56% – says that they attended church-related activities an average of two or more times per month prior to turning 13. (An additional 6% said they attended an average of once a month.) The young people most likely to attend church events twice a month or more often were those living in the South or Midwest (about two-thirds did so, compared to slightly less than half among kids living in the Northeast and West).

What They Retained

When asked what they learned from their exposure to the church’s ministry while they were young children and adolescents, eight out of ten identified something that they felt was an important insight or category of lessons. One-quarter of teens (26%) said they received general information about God, such as claims regarding His existence, information about His attributes or teachings about the life of Jesus Christ. One-sixth of today’s teens (17%) said their church experience had imparted core religious beliefs from the Bible. One out of every seven young people (15%) said they learned important lifestyle principles, generally in relation to obedience to God’s laws or moral direction for their life. Smaller numbers of teenagers recall developing important relationships or relational skills at church (8%) or general ideas about the role of faith and church (5%). One out of every five teens (21%) said they did not learn anything of value during their time attending Christian churches.

Outcomes From Their Attendance

Each teenaged respondent who had attended church at least once a month during their younger years was asked whether or not each of eight specific outcomes accurately described their pre-teen church experience. Three of the outcomes were claimed by nine out of ten teens: having had exposure to Bible stories (95%), learning about the lives of great people in the Bible (92%), and having fun or positive experiences related to religion (89%).

Nearly as many young people said they felt they had developed meaningful friendships at church (87%), discovered the traditions of their church (86%), developed a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ (85%) and had opportunities to serve needy people alongside of their churched peers (85%).

The single outcome that was much less commonly cited was “understanding enough of the Bible so that every decision you make is based on biblical principles.” Only half of the churched young people – 53% – said this was a result of their church experience.

Reactions to the Findings

Deeper analysis of the survey results led the study’s director, George Barna, to conclude that children get some very helpful and valuable experiences from church involvement, but often do not receive sufficient training in applying biblical content to their decision-making process. “We discovered fairly strong correlations between understanding how to use the Bible for life decision-making with becoming a born again Christian during the younger years, having an active spiritual life as characterized by consistent prayer, Bible reading and church attendance, and possessing a biblical worldview. Unfortunately,” Barna noted, “less than one out of every ten churched teenagers has a biblical worldview. In other words, the result of their involvement at a church is that they can recite some religious facts, they made some friends, and they had fun. That’s wonderful, but we also find that most of them have neither accepted Christ as their savior nor altered the basis on which they make their moral and ethical decisions in life. For most teenagers who have spent years attending church activities their faith is not integrated into who they are and how they live. Most of the young people who claim they developed an understanding of the Bible that enables them to make decisions based on biblical principles show no evidence of using that understanding in relation to the core beliefs and lifestyle choices that we studied.”

In his forthcoming book about worldview development, Think Like Jesus, Barna notes that surprisingly few adult Christians possess a biblical worldview, and that this weakness largely explains why the lives of those who claim to be committed Christians are generally indistinguishable from those of other people. The researcher also emphasized the necessity of helping people grasp such insight and applications while they are children or adolescents. “Most of the people who claim to have a biblical worldview show little evidence of such a perspective in their core attitudes, behaviors and religious beliefs. The data show that churches can have a very significant impact on the worldview of people, but they must start with an intentional process introduced to people at a very young age. Waiting until someone is in their teens or young adult years misses the window of opportunity. Clearly, more churches need to invest resources in such training.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data in this report are based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted by the Barna Research Group from its interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The YouthPollSM survey involved interviews among 305 teenagers, from ages 13 through 18, during November 2002. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample of adults is ±5.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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49 Million Born Again Adults Shared Their Faith in Jesus in the Past Year (030728)

As people in the United States increasingly embrace elements of postmodern philosophy, Christian evangelism could become an endangered behavior. Despite the emphasis that postmodernism places upon tolerance and diversity of opinions, it also says that there are no absolute moral or spiritual standards that are appropriate for everyone and thus rejects aggressive evangelistic efforts as an attempt to “impose” one person’s view others.

According to a new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, there are nearly 50 million born again adults who shared their faith in Jesus Christ with non-believers during the past year. That constitutes 60% of the born again adult population, which itself represents 38% of all adults. The evangelistic efforts of this group span the gamut from street preaching and door-to-door witnessing to evangelistic conversations and counseling with personal friends.

Overall, slightly less than one out of every four adults who attend a Protestant or Catholic church (23%) are both born again in their faith and have shared their faith in Jesus Christ with a non-Christian in the past twelve months.

Attitudes About Life

A comparison of nearly two-dozen attitudes about life shows that there are several areas of divergence between evangelizers and non-evangelizers, although the magnitude of those differences is small. The groups are equally likely to agree that religion is losing influence in our society, to contend that life is getting too complex to understand, to admit that they are experiencing more stress with each passing year, to submit that the moral condition of the nation is declining, to feel completely satisfied with their life, and to claim that they are in excellent physical condition. There was also consistency related to feeling stressed out, lonely, having family-oriented values, and being seen as a leader by others.

Evangelizers, however, were somewhat more likely to claim primary responsibility for the spiritual development of their children (86% did so, compared to 71% of non-evangelizers); more likely to disagree that an individual is powerless to do anything regarding poverty in underdeveloped nations; more likely to claim to be very happy with their life (74% of evangelizers versus 63% of non-evangelizers); to indicate that religion is very important in their life (94% versus 81%); to say their religious faith is constantly growing deeper (78% versus 60%,); and to feel personally connected to other people (75% versus 62%). Non-evangelizers were more likely to say that they are “totally committed to getting ahead in life.” Three out of four non-evangelizers strongly confirmed that sentiment, compared to two-thirds of the evangelizers.

Evaluating Their Lifestyles

In general, evangelizers were more wired than their counterparts (i.e., a higher likelihood of owning a desktop computer, cell phone, DVD player, home theatre system, and having used the Internet in the past week). They were also more likely to engage others in discussions related to the social no-no’s – politics, religion and morality – although they were no more likely to engage people in conversation regarding sports, parenting, media content or money.

Among the surprising findings from the study are the areas of behavior in which both groups are nearly identical. For instance, there were no differences regarding community volunteerism, struggling with “serious debt,” dealing with a personal addiction, attending formal educational classes, attending a recovery group, reading for pleasure, viewing pornography, getting drunk, consulting a psychic, religious-oriented fasting, illegally downloading music on the Internet, and engaging in adultery.

Non-evangelizers stood out as slightly more likely to smoke and to attend a movie at a theatre in the past week. Evangelizers were somewhat more likely to visit a pornographic website.

Evangelizer Demographics

The demographic profile of born again adults who share their faith – a group known as evangelizers – is very similar to that of born again adults who do not evangelize. The only noticeable differences are that evangelizers are somewhat less common in the Midwest; whites are somewhat less likely than ethnic Christians to share their faith; evangelizers are slightly more likely to be married; and non-evangelizers have a higher average household income.

Faith-Related Attributes

The area displaying the most consistent differences between the two groups is that concerning religious beliefs and practices.

In a typical week, evangelizers were more likely to attend church services (72% versus 52%); volunteer at their church (47% versus 28%); attend a Sunday school class (47% versus 24%); participate in a small group or cell group for spiritual purposes during the week (41% versus 22%); and read from the Bible other than while at a church service or class (74% versus 47%). Donation patterns were also notably different, resulting in a substantial gap in the average amount of money donated to their church in the past year: evangelizers gave an average of $801, which was more than three times the average among born again non-evangelizers ($250).

Evangelizers were more likely to attend a church of 300 or more people (36% vs. 28%) while non-evangelizers were twice as likely to be unchurched (12% vs. 6%) despite being born again. Evangelizers were also four times more likely to anticipate using the Internet for religious purposes during the coming five years.

There was no distinction in terms of the likelihood of praying to God during a typical week: more than nine out of ten adults in each group claimed to have done so.

The research examined eight religious beliefs and found significant differences related to seven of those views. For instance, evangelizers were more likely to strongly assert that:

the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings (77% versus 57%);

they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs (67% vs. 38%);

Satan is not just a symbol of evil (44% vs. 26%);

a person cannot earn a place in Heaven through good behavior (56% vs. 34%);

Jesus Christ did not sin during His time on earth (74% vs. 45%);

every word in the Bible is true and can be trusted (81% vs. 61%);

public schools should teach creationism (54% vs. 36%).

There was no real difference concerning beliefs surrounding the nature of God. However, evangelizers were more likely to assert that they are “absolutely committed to the Christian faith” (74% vs. 55%), they are “deeply spiritual” (79% vs. 67%) and to describe themselves as “evangelical” (78% vs. 51%).

Denominational Involvement

The church affiliation of evangelizers shows that nearly one out of every three evangelizers is aligned with a Baptist church – almost 16 million of the 49 million adult evangelizers. The next largest evangelistic groups were those associated with non-denominational Christian churches (about 6 million evangelizers) and Catholic churches (about 5.3 million born again Catholics shared their faith in the past year).

The research revealed that there were only three church groups among the nine studied for which at least half of the adherents were born again and had shared their faith in the past year. Two-thirds of the individuals associated with an Assemblies of God church (67%) met both criteria, as did 51% of those who regularly attend a non-denominational Christian church. Half of the people in Pentecostal churches, other than Assemblies of God congregants, were born again evangelizers. The rates were lower for those connected to Baptist (40%), Presbyterian (31%), Lutheran (24%), Methodist (21%), Episcopal (13%) and Catholic (10%) churches.

Making Sense of the Data

The survey data are both encouraging and challenging, according to George Barna, who directed the study. “A veritable army of Christians is still active in spreading the good news about what Jesus Christ has done for all people,” commented the researcher. “Believers use a range of approaches to share the message of Christ’s love and forgiveness with people regardless of the social restrictions and legal barriers to making Jesus known.

“The research also suggests that churches hoping to increase their evangelistic presence might be better served by affecting people’s spiritual beliefs than by offering evangelism training programs and motivational events,” the California-based author continued. “We know that people’s behavior is driven by their beliefs, and the research showed that the most significant distinction between those who share Christ with the culture and those who don’t relates to their religious beliefs. Providing motivation and behavioral training are helpful, but the factor that seems most likely to stimulate Christians to bring the truths and love of Jesus into the marketplace are what they believe about sin, surrender and salvation.” The author of a newly released book on worldview development, entitled Think Like Jesus, Barna concluded that helping Christians to better understand the core teachings of the Bible and to see life and daily opportunities through a faith lens would increase the prevalence of interpersonal evangelistic activities.

Barna also noted that the evangelistic frustration that many believers experience may be related to the fact that their lifestyles are not more readily distinguished from that of non-Christians. “The lives of millions of evangelizers are characterized by involvement in ‘at-risk’ behaviors such as substance addiction, consumption of pornography, adultery, illegally downloading music from the Internet and reliance upon guidance from psychics,” he pointed out. “While the rates of involvement in these behaviors by evangelizers is somewhat less than that of the population overall, non-believers are seeking evidence that Christianity is truly life transforming. Naturally, none of us, no matter how committed we are to Christ, will live a perfect life, but the research encourages believers to allow God to change us from the inside out so that our lives will substantiate the difference that following Christ makes.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with several nationwide random samples of adults conducted during the past twelve months, from August 2002 through May 2003. In total 4265 adults were interviewed in studies that explored evangelistic engagement, identifying some 972 individuals who were involved in personal evangelistic activity. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the maximum sampling error for the sample of evangelizers is ±3.2 percentage points.

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Small Churches Struggle to Grow Because Of The People They Attract (030902)

The United States is dominated by small churches, with the average church attracting less than 90 adults on a typical weekend. The greatest attention flows to large churches, especially the 2% of churches that attract more than 1000 adults in a typical weekend. A new study by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, shows that there are both demographic and theolographic reasons why small churches stay small and large churches grow larger. While some church growth can be attributed to geographic location and population growth, the Barna study indicates that there are fundamental dynamics at work that keep small congregations from growing numerically as well as several basic factors that contribute to the numerical expansion of mid-sized and large churches.

Overall, the research found that the typical Protestant church has 89 adults in attendance during an average weekend. In total, 60% of Protestant churches have 100 or fewer adults on a typical weekend, while slightly less than 2% have 1000 or more adults. Examining the figures in terms of where adults attend, however, the statistics show that about four out of ten church-going adults (41%) go to churches with 100 or fewer adults while about one out of eight church-going adults (12%) can be found in churches of 1000 or more adults.

Demographic Drawbacks for Small Churches

Based on a study of the church-going habits of 4501 adults randomly sampled from the U.S., the Barna survey discovered that small churches (defined as average weekend attendance of 100 or fewer adults) are more likely than either mid-sized (301-999 adults) or large churches (1000 or more adults) to draw people who are not college graduates and are more likely to appeal to people with lower household incomes. George Barna, director of the study, suggested that a “downscale” demographic profile often correlates with less aggressive growth patterns in organizations and a limited number of effective leaders.

Surprisingly, the research showed that adults under 35 years of age are more likely than are older adults to attend small churches. Barna cited two dominant reasons for this pattern. The first is the relative absence of children among younger adults. This impacts one’s choice of a church because providing children with a quality ministry experience is one of the main reasons why many Americans attend a church, and larger churches typically offer more programs and opportunities for children. The second reason why younger adults are more likely to attend a small church relates to the Baby Bust generation’s disinterest in participating in Boomer-led organizations and in large-scale enterprises. Busters are more interested in being personally known and connected, which many believe is more difficult to accomplish in larger churches.

Theolographic Limitations in Small Churches

The study also found that small churches have some theolographic limitations – that is, their spiritual beliefs and practices reflect challenges that are less prevalent in larger congregations.

The data revealed that small churches have a lower proportion of attenders who are “spiritually active,” which was defined as individuals who attend a church service, read the Bible, and pray to God during a typical week. This paralleled a finding that showed small church attenders are less likely to claim that their religious faith is “very important” in their life.

In addition, the research showed that adults affiliated with small congregations are less likely to be born again, less likely to believe in salvation by grace alone (i.e., not by good deeds), and less likely to have an orthodox view of God (i.e., holy, creator, ruler of the universe, alive today). The report indicated that such views undermine a solid theological foundation for congregational growth and may suggest that other spiritual perspectives that conflict with the Bible are common in smaller churches.

Mid-Sized and Large Churches Attract Aggressors

Demographically, mid-sized and large churches attract a higher proportion of “upscale” adults – those whose education and income levels enable the church to take more risks, be more aggressive in marketing, and draw resources from deeper pockets and broader backgrounds. Barna also noted that upscale individuals are more often comfortable with leadership requirements and decision-making, and tend to be more excited about organizational growth. He pointed out that large churches, in particular, appeal to Baby Boomers – one-quarter of church-going Boomers (25%) attend churches of 500 or more adults, compared to just one-sixth of church-going Busters (17%) – and Boomers are infamous for equating success with growth and large-scale operations.

One of the most intriguing patterns emerging from the study portrayed mid-sized churches as having the highest proportion of born again believers. Barna suggested that many mid-sized churches grow numerically because their born again members actively invite non-born again people to the church. This often has the effect of swelling the church’s numbers so that it reaches the “large” category while simultaneously diluting its born again proportion.

Larger Congregations Are More Conservative Spiritually

Adults attending mid-sized and large churches are more often people who are conservative in their theology as well as their social and political views. “Conservative people more often play by the rules,” commented Barna. “That helps to explain why mid-sized and large churches are often more solid on the theological foundations: those congregations are populated by people who want to know the biblical boundaries and expectations, and then are eager to work within them. Their energy and tangible resources are more focused and the result is more productive ministry.” The researcher also said that sociopolitical conservatives outnumber liberals by a three-to-one margin among church-going adults.

Hope for Small Churches

In spite of the obstacles revealed in the research, small churches have tremendous potential. “These insights simply identify some of the critical challenges that the average small church has to address,” the California-based researcher stated. “Small churches play an important and valuable role in the religious landscape of America. They reach millions of young adults who have no interest in a larger church setting. They have tremendous potential for building strong community, as well as spiritual foundations. And small churches often grow into larger churches once they develop significant internal leadership and creatively overcome their resource limitations.”

Barna also questioned the value of growth for its own sake. “Jesus did not die on the cross to fill up church auditoriums,” he cautioned. “He died so that people might know God personally and be transformed in all dimensions of their life through their ongoing relationship with Him. Such a personal reformation can happen in a church of any size. After all, the goal of every church should not be numerical growth but spiritual health and vitality.”

The tracking research conducted by Barna Research indicates that small churches will certainly remain prevalent in America for the foreseeable future. “Megachurches draw media attention, but they collectively account for less than one out of every four adults in church. Given the values and goals of people in the two youngest generations – the Busters and Mosaics – we anticipate mid-sized churches becoming a more significant force in the future, with many of those churches spawning new congregations rather than expanding to become megachurches. However, large congregations are here to stay and meet the needs of a specific segment of the population. If church leaders can maintain a focus on transformation rather than numbers, then we could enter an era of healthy churches at all sizes and shapes and shed the unhealthy spirit of numerical competition that currently distracts many churches.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with several nationwide random samples of adults conducted from January 2002 through May 2003. In total 4501 adults were interviewed in studies that explored church attendance, spiritual beliefs and practices, and demographic correlates. Nine demographic factors and sixteen theolographic factors were compared across seven levels of adult attendance at Christian churches. The size levels examined were less than 50 adults; 50 to 100; 101-200; 201-300; 301-499; 500-999; and 1000 or more adults.

The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±1.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the maximum sampling error for the subgroups of church size ranged from a high of ±6.7 percentage points among those attending congregations with 201-300 people to a low of low of ±3.2 percentage points among those attending churches of 50 to 100 adults.

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Twentysomethings Struggle to Find Their Place in Christian Churches (030924)

From age 20 to 29, most individuals face many life-shaping decisions: whether to finish college; what career to pursue; where to live; whether or not to get married; who to marry; if and when to have children – among many other crucial choices. In our culture of hyper-individualism, those decisions are being increasingly shaped by people’s desire to determine their own personal fulfillment and purpose in life. For many twentysomethings, allegiance to Christian churches is a casualty of their efforts to “create their own version of fulfillment.”

A new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California shows that millions of twentysomething Americans – many of whom were active in churches during their teens – pass through their most formative adult decade while putting Christianity on the backburner. The research, conducted with 2,660 twentysomethings, shows that Americans in their twenties are significantly less likely than any other age group to attend church services, to donate to churches, to be absolutely committed to Christianity, to read the Bible, or to serve as a volunteer or lay leader in churches.

Church-Going Softens

Perhaps the most striking reality of twentysomething’s faith is their relative absence from Christian churches. Only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings (31%) attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s (42%) and nearly half of all adults age 40 and older (49%).

The low level of twentysomething church attendance is not just due to the “college years,” when many young adults may not have easy access to a church. The research shows that church attendance bottoms out during the late 20s when the vast majority of students have transitioned from education to the workforce. Just 22% of those ages 25 to 29 attended church in the last week.

Many twentysomethings are reversing course after having been active church attenders during their teenage years. As teenagers, more than half attended church each week and more than 4 out of 5 (81%) had ever gone to a Christian church. That means that from high school graduation to age 25 there is a 42% drop in weekly church attendance and a 58% decline from age 18 to age 29. That represents about 8,000,000 twentysomethings alive today who were active church-goers as teenagers but who will no longer be active in a church by their 30th birthday.

Other Signs of Struggle

Two other religious activities take significant hits during the young adult years: donating to churches and Bible reading. Only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings donated to a church in the past year, which is half the proportion of older adults (30% to 61%). (While twentysomethings generally have smaller income levels than their older counterparts, this measure has nothing to do with how much the person donates, but whether they contribute financially at all to churches.) This reluctance to commit financially suggests that churches attracting an exclusively young adult audience will be especially hard-pressed to raise sufficient funds for ministry.

Likewise, Bible reading levels are about 33% less among twentysomethings than among older adults. Overall, only 30% of twentysomethings have read the Bible in the past week, compared to 37% of those in their 30s; 44% of fortysomethings; 47% of adults in their 50s; and 55% of those age 60 and above. David Kinnaman, Vice President of the Barna Research Group, and the director of the study, pointed out that twentysomethings are one of the first age cohorts to widely embrace postmodern philosophy. “Since the postmodern viewpoint emphasizes that an individual’s experience and personal insight are the prime sources of determining what’s important in life,” Kinnaman said, “the decline in Bible usage is another sign that many twentysomethings are trying to make sense of life without traditional sources of Christian input.”

Aside from religious activities, the research points out that young adults are also re-thinking the depth of their commitment to Christianity. Just one-third of twentysomethings (34%) claims to be absolutely committed to Christianity. That compares to more than half – 54% – of all older adults who claim such absolute devotion, including more than 6 out of 10 adults who are age 50 and older.

Missing Leadership Link?

One of the reasons that many twentysomethings struggle to find their place in churches is that many young people may feel overlooked as potential leaders. The study showed that just 4% of young adults currently serve as a lay leader at their church; only 12% have been a leader at any time in the past two years. Older adults are three to four times more likely to serve as church leaders. The age group with the greatest number of church leaders are those in their 50s.

Despite that, young people do not lack confidence in their leadership capabilities. The study showed that people in their 20s and early 30s are actually more likely than are older adults to think of themselves as leaders – and they are much more likely than mature generations to want additional training to become better leaders. Yet, young leaders were also the least aware of any leadership training opportunities provided by their congregation. Nevertheless, young leaders are a challenging target for leadership preparation since they are busy, skeptical of churches, and often unwilling to commit to such development, especially to classroom-style training without hands-on leadership opportunities. The research points out that mentoring is the most appealing form of leadership development for young adults.

Twentysomething Spirituality

While young adults are re-thinking their allegiance to the Christian faith, those in their 20s have certainly not discarded all traces of spirituality and faith. Instead, personal faith is but one of multiple sources of input which young people combine to create their own definition of personal fulfillment and meaning. More than 8 out of 10 twentysomethings (80%) said that their religious faith is very important in their life and nearly 6 out of 10 (57%) claimed to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life.

The study also showed that young adults are only slightly less likely than older adults to pray, which reflects their appetite for personal spiritual experience. Three-quarters of young adults in their 20s (75%) said they had prayed to God in the past week.

Reactions to the Findings

Kinnaman pushed for a realistic view of the research implications. “Christianity is not going to whither away among twentysomethings – more than 10 million are active church-goers and very committed to the Christian faith. But the real issue is how churches will respond to the faithquakes that are reverberating through our nation’s young adults. The notion that these people will return to the church when they get older or once they become parents is only true in a minority of cases. More importantly, that reasoning ignores the real issue: millions of twentysomethings are crystallizing their views of life without the input of church leaders, the Bible, or other mature Christians. If we simply wait for them to come back to church later in adulthood, not only will most of those people never return, but also we would miss the chance to alter their life trajectory during a critical phase. And, besides, what church couldn’t use the infusion of energy, ideas, and leadership that young adults can bring to the table?”

“Although it may come across as unwarranted skepticism, young adults are questioning their church experience in some legitimate ways,” Kinnaman said. “Their disenchantment has raised questions for churches related to relevance, discipleship, authenticity, the use of art and technology in ministry, relationships, music, learning styles and teaching, teamwork, leadership hierarchy, stewardship, and much more. On the flip side of the coin, young adults – many who have grown up in unhealthy families – struggle with character issues, with relational isolation brought on by their hyper-individualism, with Bible familiarity, and with being over-critical of their elders. Consequently, many of the legitimate questions young leaders ask get lost in the jumble of generational warfare.”

David Kinnaman – a twentysomething himself – has been a Barna researcher since 1995. He speaks and writes about the postmodern ministry environment, teenagers, and young leaders.

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with several nationwide random samples of adults conducted from January 2000 through May 2003. In total 14,091 adults were interviewed in studies that explored church attendance, spiritual beliefs and practices, and demographic correlates. The sample of twentysomethings included 2,660 adults ages 20 to 29.

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Americans Describe Their Views About Life After Death (031021)

Despite the constant flux in many dimensions of Americans’ lives, a new study from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, shows that most people have retained surprisingly traditional views about life after death. Although the lifestyles, values, and self-perceptions of most adults have undergone significant change – and millions of Americans have embraced many elements of a postmodern worldview – the vast majority continues to believe that there is life after death, that everyone has a soul, and that Heaven and Hell exist. However, more than 50 million adults are uncertain regarding their personal eternal fate.

The Afterlife

Belief in life after death, like the existence of God, is widely embraced: 8 out of 10 Americans (81%) believe in an afterlife of some sort. Another 9% said life after death may exist, but they were not certain. Just one out of every ten adults (10%) contend that there is no form of life after one dies on earth.

Moreover, a large majority of Americans (79%) agreed with the statement “every person has a soul that will live forever, either in God’s presence or absence.”

Evangelicals, born again Christians, and Elders (ages 58 and older) were the most likely segments to embrace the idea of life after death. Those least likely to believe in life after death were Hispanics, Busters (ages 20-38), residents of the West, atheists and agnostics, those associated with a faith other than Christianity, and unchurched adults – although more than two-thirds of each of these groups accept the existence of an afterlife.

Heaven and Hell

The survey also explored peoples’ views of Heaven and Hell. In all, 76% believe that Heaven exists, while nearly the same proportion said that there is such a thing as Hell (71%). Respondents were given various descriptions of Heaven and asked to choose the statement that best fits their belief about Heaven. Those who believe in Heaven were divided between describing Heaven as “a state of eternal existence in God’s presence” (46%) and those who said it is “an actual place of rest and reward where souls go after death” (30%). Other Americans claimed that Heaven is just “symbolic” (14%), that there is no such thing as life after death (5%), or that they are not sure (5%).

While there is no dominant view of Hell, two particular perspectives are popular. Four out of ten adults believe that Hell is “a state of eternal separation from God’s presence” (39%) and one-third (32%) says it is “an actual place of torment and suffering where people’s souls go after death.” A third perspective that one in eight adults believe is that “Hell is just a symbol of an unknown bad outcome after death” (13%). Other respondents were “not sure” or said they that they do not believe in an afterlife (16%).

Destinations

Most Americans do not expect to experience Hell first-hand: just one-half of 1% expect to go to Hell upon their death. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe they will go to Heaven. One in 20 adults (5%) claim they will come back as another life form, while the same proportion (5%) contend they will simply cease to exist.

Even though most Americans believe in life after death and the existence of the soul, not everyone is clear about their own ultimate destination. One in every four adults (24%) admitted that they have “no idea” what will happen after they die. Those who felt their eternal future is undefined were most likely to be Hispanics, singles, men, atheists and agnostics, residents of the West, and 18- and 19-year-olds (i.e., young adults who also happen to be the first members of the Mosaic generation to enter adulthood).

Among those who expect to go to Heaven, there were differences in how they anticipate such an end would be attained. Nearly half of those who say they are Heaven bound (43%) believe they will go to Heaven because they have “confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.” Others felt they will get to Heaven because “they have tried to obey the 10 Commandments” (15%) or because “they are basically a good person” (15%). Another 6% believed their entrance to Heaven would be based upon the fact that “God loves all people and will not let them perish.”

One of the intriguing findings from the research is that education and income are negatively correlated with belief in Heaven and Hell. In other words, the more education a person gets or the more income they earn, the less likely they are to believe that Heaven or Hell exists. While most high-income households and college graduates maintain belief in Heaven and Hell, the finding reinforces the popular notion – and, indeed, Jesus’ teaching – that people of economic means and those with considerable education struggle to embrace biblical teachings on such matters.

The New Views

Although a comparison of current beliefs to those held over the past two decades shows that Americans’ views about life after death have been relatively stable over time, new perceptions about the hereafter are being grafted into the traditional perspectives. For instance, nearly 1 in 5 adults (18%) now contends that people are reincarnated after death. And one-third of Americans (34%) believe that it is possible to communicate with others after their death. As evidence that this belief is gaining traction, consider that nearly half of all Busters (48%) embrace the concept of communication with the dead, while just 35% of Boomers (39-57) and 15% of Elders (ages 58+) do so.

Contradictions Reign

George Barna, the president of the company that conducted the research, pointed out that “Americans’ willingness to embrace beliefs that are logically contradictory and their preference for blending different faith views together create unorthodox religious viewpoints.” For instance, he noted that among born again Christians - who believe that they will experience eternal existence in Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins to God and are depending upon Jesus Christ to spare them from eternal punishment or rejection - 10% believe that people are reincarnated after death, 29% claim it is possible to communicate with the dead, and 50% contend that a person can earn salvation based upon good works.

“Many committed born again Christians believe that people have multiple options for gaining entry to Heaven. They are saying, in essence, ‘Personally, I am trusting Jesus Christ as my means of gaining God’s permanent favor and a place in Heaven – but someone else could get to Heaven based upon living an exemplary life.’ Millions of Americans have redefined grace to mean that God is so eager to save people from Hell that He will change His nature and universal principles for their individual benefit. It is astounding how many people develop their faith according to their feelings or cultural assumptions rather than biblical teachings.”

The California-based researcher indicated that born again Christians are not the only ones confused about what happens after death. Many of those who describe themselves as either atheistic or agnostic also harbor contradictions in their thinking. “Half of all atheists and agnostics say that every person has a soul, that Heaven and Hell exist, and that there is life after death. One out of every eight atheists and agnostics even believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior probably makes life after death possible. These contradictions are further evidence that many Americans adopt simplistic views of life and the afterlife based upon ideas drawn from disparate sources, such as movies, music and novels, without carefully considering those beliefs. Consequently, the labels attached to people – whether it be ‘born again’ or ‘atheist’ may not give us as much insight into the person’s beliefs as we might assume.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on national telephone surveys among random samples of 1000 or more adults (age 18 or older) living within the 48 continental states conducted in September 2003, October 2002, and October 2001. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with each sample of 1000 adults is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Morality Continues to Decay (031103)

Of the ten moral behaviors evaluated, a majority of Americans believed that each of three activities were “morally acceptable.” Those included gambling (61%), co-habitation (60%), and sexual fantasies (59%). Nearly half of the adult population felt that two other behaviors were morally acceptable: having an abortion (45%) and having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse (42%). About one-third of the population gave the stamp of approval to pornography (38%), profanity (36%), drunkenness (35%) and homosexual sex (30%). The activity that garnered the least support was using non-prescription drugs (17%).

Faith Commitment Impacts Views

Morality perspectives vary tremendously according to people’s faith commitments.

Of the seven faith groups studied, evangelicals were the least likely to accept each of the ten behaviors as moral. Less than one out of every ten evangelical Christians maintained that adultery, gay sex, pornography, profanity, drunkenness and abortion are morally acceptable. In contrast, every one of those ten behaviors was deemed “morally acceptable” by more than one out of ten people from each of the other six faith groups studied. (The other faith segments included non-evangelical born again Christian, notional Christians, adherents of non-Christian faiths, atheists/agnostics, Protestants and Catholics.)

On average, born again Christians who are not evangelical were more than three times as likely as evangelicals to describe any given behavior tested as morally acceptable. In fact, the data showed that non-evangelical born again Christians were more similar in their moral perspectives to “notional” Christians than to evangelicals. (Notional Christians are those who describe themselves as Christian but are not born again – that is, they do not believe that after they die on earth they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.)

Among people aligned with faiths other than Christianity, half or more described each of seven behaviors as “morally acceptable” - gambling, co-habitation, sexual fantasies, having an abortion, having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse, pornography and profanity. Atheists and agnostics were the people most likely to describe any of these behaviors as morally acceptable. In total, atheists and agnostics defined nine of the ten behaviors as morally legitimate, dismissing only the use of non-prescription drugs.

Percentage of Adults Who Consider A Behavior To Be “Morally Acceptable”

(Base: 1024 adults)

* indicates born again Christians excluding evangelicals

	All Adults	Evangelicals	Born Again	Other Faith	Atheist/Agnostic
gambling	61%	27%	45%	69%	75%
living with someone of the opposite sex without being married, sometimes called co-habitation	60%	12%	49%	70%	87%
enjoying sexual thoughts or fantasies about someone	59%	15%	49%	71%	78%
having an abortion	45%	4%	33%	45%	71%
having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex to whom you are not married	42%	7%	35%	47%	69%
looking at pictures of nudity or explicit sexual behavior	38%	5%	28%	49%	70%
using profanity	36%	7%	29%	46%	68%
getting drunk	35%	8%	24%	44%	61%
having a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex	30%	5%	20%	41%	55%
using drugs not prescribed by a medical doctor	17%	6%	11%	25%	38%

Protestants and Catholics differed to some extent on nine of the ten behaviors, with Protestants less likely to describe any of those behaviors as morally acceptable. (The only moral behavior for which both groups held the same view was regarding the use of non-prescription drugs.) The biggest gaps between Protestants and Catholics were found in relation to cohabitation (deemed morally acceptable by 50% of Protestants and 66% of Catholics), sexual fantasies (51% and 63%, respectively), and gambling (52% and 70%, respectively).

Generation Gap Evident

There were also huge differences in moral viewpoints based upon a person’s generation. In nearly every case there was a pattern of Mosaics (the oldest members of the youngest generation, currently 18 or 19 years old) and Busters (those 20 to 38 years of age) being most likely to deem the behavior morally acceptable. Baby Boomers (ages 39 through 57) were less likely to buy into each behavior, and Elders (a combination of the two oldest generations, comprised of people 58 or older) emerged as the people least likely to embrace the behavior.

Whereas at least half of the Mosaics and Busters considered eight of the ten behaviors morally acceptable, a majority of Boomers endorsed only four of the behaviors, and a majority of Elders identified just one behavior (gambling) as morally legitimate.

Also noteworthy was the fact that men were more likely than women to deem nine of the ten behaviors to be morally acceptable. (The exception was sexual relations between people of the same gender, which women were slightly more likely to condone.) The most sizeable gaps were related to pornography (men were twice as likely to deem pornography acceptable) and drunkenness.

Views On “Morally Acceptable” Behaviors, by Generation

(Base: 1024 adults)

	Mosaics	Busters	Boomers	Elders
gambling	75%	67%	60%	51%
living with someone of the opposite sex without being married, sometimes called co-habitation	75%	72%	60%	41%
enjoying sexual thoughts or fantasies about someone	79%	68%	60%	40%
having an abortion	55%	48%	46%	36%
having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex to whom you are not married	54%	56%	40%	24%
looking at pictures of nudity or explicit sexual behavior	50%	48%	38%	23%
using profanity	60%	49%	30%	20%
getting drunk	50%	48%	33%	15%
having a sexual relationship with someone of the same sex	40%	41%	32%	14%
using drugs not prescribed by a medical doctor	20%	22%	16%	12%

Morality Likely to Decline Further

“The data trends indicate that the moral perspectives of Americans are likely to continue to deteriorate,” predicted researcher George Barna. “Compared to surveys we conducted just two years ago, significantly more adults are depicting such behaviors as morally acceptable. For instance, there have been increases in the percentages that condone sexual activity with someone of the opposite gender other than a spouse, abortion (up by 25%), and a 20% jump in people’s acceptance of ‘gay sex.’

The author of more than 30 books regarding faith and cultural trends, Barna said that most people sense that there is a problem but do not see themselves as contributing to it. “Most of the people we interviewed believe that they are highly moral individuals and identify other people as responsible for the nation’s moral decline. This is reflective of a nation where morality is generally defined according to one’s feelings. In a postmodern society, where people do not acknowledge any moral absolutes, if a person feels justified in engaging in a specific behavior then they do not make a connection with the immoral nature of that action. Yet, deep inside, they sense that something is wrong in our society. They simply have not been able to put two and two together to recognize their personal liability regarding the moral condition of our nation.

“Until people recognize that there are moral absolutes and attempt to live in harmony with them, we are likely to see a continued decay of our moral foundations,” the California-based researcher continued. “The generational data patterns make a compelling case for this on-going slide. Even most people associated with the Christian faith do not seem to have embraced biblical moral standards. Things are likely to get worse before they get better – and they are not likely to get better unless strong and appealing moral leadership emerges to challenge and redirect people’s thoughts and behavior. At the moment, such leadership is absent.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of 1024 adults conducted in October 2003. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Research Shows That Spiritual Maturity Process Should Start at a Young Age (031117)

Three years of research regarding ministry to children has revealed many surprising outcomes, according to a new book by researcher George Barna. In discussing that volume, entitled Transforming Your Children Into Spiritual Champions, Barna indicated that the wealth of research not only changed his personal perspective on the importance of ministering to young children, but also clarified why churches struggle to have significance in our culture.

“Adults essentially carry out the beliefs they embraced when they were young,” he explained. “The reason why Christians are so similar in their attitudes, values and lifestyles to non-Christians is that they were not sufficiently challenged to think and behave differently – radically differently, based on core spiritual perspectives – when they were children. Simply getting people to go to church regularly is not the key to becoming a mature Christian. Spiritual transformation requires a more extensive investment in one’s ability to interpret all life situations in spiritual terms.”

Reaching People When They’re Young

Barna’s research discovered that a person’s lifelong behaviors and views are generally developed when they are young – particularly before they reach the teenage years. As evidence of this, Barna provided research that showed four critical outcomes.

First, a person’s moral foundations are generally in place by the time they reach age nine. While those foundations are refined and the application of those foundations may shift to some extent as the individual ages, their fundamental perspectives on truth, integrity, meaning, justice, morality, and ethics are formed quite early in life. After their first decade, most people simply refine their views as they age without a wholesale change in those leanings.

Second, a person’s response to the meaning and personal value of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection is usually determined before a person reaches eighteen. In fact, a majority of Americans make a lasting determination about the personal significance of Christ’s death and resurrection by age 12.

Third, Barna showed data indicating that in most cases people’s spiritual beliefs are irrevocably formed when they are pre-teens. Upon comparing data from a national survey of 13-year-olds with an identical survey among adults, Barna found that the belief profile related to a dozen central spiritual principles was identical between the two groups. Those beliefs included perceptions of the nature of God, the existence of Satan, the reliability of the Bible, perceptions regarding the after-life, the holiness of Jesus Christ, the means of gaining God’s favor, and the influence of spiritual forces in a person’s life.

“In essence,” the researcher noted, “what you believe by the time you are 13 is what you will die believing. Of course, there are many individuals who go through life-changing experiences in which their beliefs are altered, or instances in which a concentrated body of religious teaching changes one or more core beliefs. However, most people’s minds are made up and they believe they know what they need to know spiritually by age 13. Their focus in absorbing religious teaching after that age is to gain reassurance and confirmation of their existing beliefs rather than to glean new insights that will redefine their foundations.”

Finally, the research revealed that adult church leaders usually have serious involvement in church life and training when they are young. The statistics gathered by Barna’s firm among a national sample of pastors, church staff and lay leaders showed that more than four out of five of those leaders had consistently been involved in the ministry to children for an extended period of years prior to age 13. One implication is that the individuals who will become the church’s leaders two decades from now are probably active in church programs today.

Families and Churches Working Together

Citing research showing that a large proportion of church-going people dropout of church between the ages of 18 and 24, Barna stated that the research underscored the importance of families, not churches, taking the lead in the spiritual development of children. “In situations where children became mature Christians we usually found a symbiotic partnership between their parents and their church,” he pointed out. “The church encouraged parents to prioritize the spiritual development of their children and worked hard to equip them for that challenge. Parents, for their part, raised their children in the context of a faith-based community that provided security, belonging, spiritual and moral education, and accountability. Neither the parents nor the church could have done it alone.”

The studies conducted by Barna’s firm concluded that churches experiencing great influence in children’s lives were motivated by the realization that children are of special significance to God. Consequently, those churches employed a long-term, multi-pronged strategy that they tirelessly executed to facilitate the spiritual growth of children.

The research showed that at a typical Protestant church, more than four out of every ten people ministered to during the week are children, yet seven out of every eight ministry dollars are spent on adults. Barna was quick to point out, though, that simply spending money on children does not produce great results. “The most important resource, we believe, was the amazing amount of prayer for children and parents that was evident at the most effective ministries to children. Some money is required to see serious life change happen, but the more important resource is the commitment of adults to the spiritual wholeness of the children – which means sacrificing some of the emphasis upon the ministry to adults.”

Book Challenges Prevailing Notions

Barna has presented the results of the research in more than 25 cities around the country so far this year and has been pleasantly surprised by the positive reception the message has received. “Most churches are doing the best they can based on what they know. A lot of our findings represent the first ‘hard data’ that these church leaders have seen showing the relative impact of focusing upon children – and have been shocked at the revelations regarding the importance of getting to people when they are young. I have been encouraged that so many churches have been willing to reconsider how they allocate their limited ministry resources in order to maximize their ministry impact.”

The researcher admitted that the outcome of his studies produced a significant turnabout in his own views about ministry. “Since I became a Christian two decades ago, I have always accepted the dominant notion: the most important ministry is that conducted among adults. But the overwhelming evidence we have seen of the huge impact in the lives of kids and the relatively limited changes in the lives of adults has completely revolutionized my view of ministry. I have concluded that children are the single most important population group for the Church to focus upon. Many churches may not go that far, but I do hope that they will at least consider the research findings and place a greater emphasis upon children. Such a shift in priorities could well bring about the spiritual renaissance that many church leaders have long been praying for.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described in this release are detailed in Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, written by George Barna. The research was conducted from 2001-2003, and included nationwide surveys among adults, among young people, and among church leaders and pastors. The research also included in-depth studies of Protestant congregations that have an enviable track record of producing children who would be considered “spiritual champions.”

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A Biblical Worldview Has a Radical Effect on a Person’s Life (031201)

Any objective social analyst would conclude that the United States faces its fair share of moral and spiritual problems. A new research study from the Barna Research Group’suggests that a large share of the nation’s moral and spiritual challenges is directly attributable to the absence of a biblical worldview among Americans.

Citing the findings from a just-completed national survey of 2033 adults that showed only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making, researcher George Barna described the outcome. “If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus. Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think - our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We’re often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance.”

Not Just Any Worldview

The research indicated that everyone has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical worldview - even among devoutly religious people. The survey discovered that only 9% of born again Christians have such a perspective on life. The numbers were even lower among other religious classifications: Protestants (7%), adults who attend mainline Protestant churches (2%) and Catholics (less than one-half of 1%). The denominations that produced the highest proportions of adults with a biblical worldview were non-denominational Protestant churches (13%), Pentecostal churches (10%) and Baptist churches (8%).

Among the most prevalent alternative worldviews was postmodernism, which seemed to be the dominant perspective among the two youngest generations (i.e., the Busters and Mosaics).

For the purposes of the research, a biblical worldview was defined as believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.

The Difference a Biblical Worldview Makes

One of the most striking insights from the research was the influence of such a way of thinking upon people’s behavior. Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views on morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices.

People’s views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply impacted by their worldview. Upon comparing the perspectives of those who have a biblical worldview with those who do not, the former group were 31 times less likely to accept cohabitation (2% versus 62%, respectively); 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness (2% versus 36%); 15 times less likely to condone gay sex (2% versus 31%); 12 times less likely to accept profanity 3% versus 37%); and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half of one percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure to pornography was morally acceptable (compared to 39% of other adults), and a similarly miniscule proportion endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who lack a biblical worldview).

Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences were the lesser propensity for those with a biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17 times less likely to place bets); to get drunk (three times less likely); and to view pornography (two times less common). They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the preceding month. While one out of every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every 100 individuals who have such a worldview had done so.

Some Groups Are More Likely to Have a Biblical Worldview

Adults who have a biblical worldview possessed a somewhat different demographic profile than those who did not. For instance, individuals who attended college were much more likely than those who did not to have this perspective (6% versus 2%, respectively). Married adults were more than twice as likely as adults who had never been wed to hold such a worldview (5% versus 2%). Whites (5%) were slightly more likely than either blacks (3%) or Hispanics (3%) to hold this ideology. One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a biblical worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%).

Residents of Texas and North Carolina were more likely than people in other states to have a biblical worldview. Among the states in which such a worldview was least common were Louisiana and the six states in New England. The nation’s largest state - California - was average (i.e., 4% of its residents had a biblical worldview).

Attributes such as gender, age and household income showed no statistical relationship to the possession of a biblical worldview.

Some Churches Are Helping People

The research found that one of the most effective methods of enabling people to develop a biblical worldview is by addressing seven critical questions that consistently lead to beliefs and behaviors that are in tune with biblical teaching. Outlining that process in a new book he has written as an outgrowth of the research, entitled Think Like Jesus, Barna also noted that many churches are already helping their congregants to implement such a way of addressing daily challenges and opportunities.

“The emphasis of these churches is to not only teach biblical perspectives,” according to Barna, “but also to help people connect the dots of the core principles taught. Rather than simply provide people with good material and hope they figure out what to do with it, these are churches whose services, programs, events and relationships are geared to weaving a limited number of foundational biblical principles into a way of responding to every life situation. The goal is to facilitate a means of interpreting and responding to every life situation that is consistent with God’s expectations. These are not perfect people, but once they catch on to the critical principles found in the Bible and train their minds to incorporate those views into their thinking, their behavior varies noticeably from the norm.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of 2033 adults conducted during September through November 2003. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±2.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The data from the 2003 survey was compared with figures on worldview possession compiled from Barna Research Group surveys conducted in 2002 in order to assess the reliability of the new data. The 2002 surveys also showed that just 4% of the aggregate population and 9% of the born again segment had a biblical worldview. Other repeated measures were compared, producing virtually identical results to the current measures.

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Spiritual Progress Hard to Find in 2003 (031222)

After analyzing more than 10,000 personal interviews conducted during 2003, researcher George Barna identified four critical outcomes that emerged from those interactions regarding faith and lifestyle.

Millions of Americans Are Spiritually Satisfied – and Confused

Contradictions and confusion permeate the spiritual condition of the nation. Studies conducted during 2003 indicate, for instance, that while 84% of adults say their religious faith is very important in their own life, 66% also say that religion is losing influence in the nation. While people are clearly spending less time involved in religious practices such as Bible reading, prayer, and participating in church activities, 70% claim that their own religious faith is consistently growing deeper.

Further, at the same time that 84% of adults claim to be Christian, three out of four say they are either absolutely or somewhat committed to Christianity, and three-fifths say they believe the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches, the moral foundations of the nation are crumbling. This year brought about increases in the proportions of people who contend that cohabitation (60%), adultery (42%), sexual relations between homosexuals (30%), abortion (45%), pornography (38%), the use of profanity (36%) and gambling (61%) are “morally acceptable” behaviors.

Even perceptions regarding eternal salvation reflect confusion. Nearly nine out of ten Protestant churches claim to be “evangelical,” almost six out of ten born again Christians claim to have shared their faith in Christ with a non-believer during the past twelve months, and virtually every Christian church says it pursues the Great Commission (i.e., spreading the good news about the availability of eternal salvation through the grace of God via Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for those who embrace Him as savior). Yet, although just 38% of the adult public have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, 99% claim they will not go to Hell after they die. In fact, a majority of Americans do not believe that Satan exists and most adults are leery about the existence of Hell.

America’s spiritual confusion undoubtedly relates to the fact that most people own a Bible but few know what’s in it. Research showing that only 4% of adults, and just 9% of born again Christians, have a biblical worldview sheds light on the distorted viewpoints that reign in the U.S.

Children Are Loved But Not Well-Served Spiritually

Despite a range of public policies designed to protect and nurture children, ranging from compulsory public education to protection from abuse and neglect, Americans seem willing to overlook the spiritual development of children. The research discovered that tens of millions of parents are satisfied by simply enrolling their children in church programs; they demonstrate little concern about the quality or effectiveness of those experiences.

The significance of focusing on the development of children is underscored by findings showing that the moral foundations of children are typically solidified by the age of nine, that lifelong spiritual choices regarding one’s faith and one’s relationship with Jesus Christ are generally made before they reach age 13, and that a person’s religious beliefs are usually worked out prior to becoming a teenager – and that those beliefs rarely change to any meaningful degree after age 13.

Unfortunately, “exit interviews” with teenagers reveal that the spiritual foundation laid by families and churches when they were younger is often inadequate. (For instance comparatively few early teens say that they learned enough Bible content to enable them to make important life decisions on the basis of biblical principles. Further, most teenagers have already made up their minds that once they become independent of their parents they will abandon church.)

Several Barna studies pointed out that most Christian churches evaluate success in terms of program attendance, child satisfaction and parental satisfaction, but do little to examine individual spiritual advancement. However, the ministries having the greatest success at seeing young people emerge into mature Christians, rather than contented church-goers, are those that facilitate a parent-church partnership focused on instilling specific spiritual beliefs and practices in a child’s life from a very early age. Sadly, less than one out of every five churches has produced such a ministry.

Baby Busters March to A Different Drummer

As Baby Boomers get closer to their retirement years, the Baby Bust generation is spreading its wings in the marketplace. But as the generation of people in their twenties through mid-thirties accepts greater responsibilities, research data indicate that they are shifting many of our nation’s core values and perspectives.

This year’s research showed that Busters are the adult generation least likely to embrace the existence of life after earthly death; least likely to maintain views related to moral behavior that are consistent with the Bible; least likely to devote time to serving people; least likely to engage in traditional religious activities such as Bible reading, attending church, praying to God, and attending religious education classes; and the least likely to tithe to a church. They are also the generation most likely to believe we can communicate with dead people, the most likely to engage in sex without being married, are far more likely to endorse postmodern lifestyle perspectives, and are the most likely to hold theological views that conflict the Bible.

Busters generally describe themselves as “spiritual” but have less interest in church activity than do any other adults. As the current parents of most of the nation’s under-13 population, the long-term implications of their departure from orthodox Christianity are significant.

Lots of Religious Activity But Limited Gains Are Evident

What makes all of these realities so hard to grasp is the substantial level of religious activity in the United States. Although there has been no change in the percentage of adults or teenagers who are born again in many years, the fact that four out of every ten adults attends a church service in a typical week; that a similar proportion read the Bible outside of church services; or that eight out of ten people claim to pray to God during a typical week minimizes people’s sensitivity to other indicators of spiritual decay. Christian ministries will raise nearly $60 billion for domestic ministry in 2003, and there is an estimated $3 billion of new construction work occurring on church properties to facilitate expanded ministry activities. All of these figures lend an air of security and stability to the religious condition of the country.

However, it is that very degree of continuity, when connected with the moral decay, family and parenting struggles, financial challenges and educational demise, that gives reason to question the spiritual health of the nation. The fact that there has not been any measurable increase in church involvement or personal spiritual depth in the past decade challenges the widespread notion that the U.S. is as spiritually healthy and focused as ever.

“This has been an intriguing year regarding the spiritual character of the nation,” explained George Barna, whose firm conducted the various studies relating faith and culture. “The news was filled with stories that directly and indirectly related to faith and morality, including such high profile events as the war in Iraq, further allegations of physical abuse by Catholic priests, legal changes regarding the definition of family, pending splits over moral issues within several major Protestant denominations, questions about the Islamic faith and even challenges to the President’s policies in relation to his faith.

“Many of these incidents have pushed Americans to re-consider the content and the implications of their faith. Our research clearly indicates that Americans are aware of and, to some extent, connected to their spiritual side. One of the greatest challenges of 2004 will be to upgrade the priority of personal and communal spiritual development so that positive transformation may continue.”

Research Source and Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of more than 10,000 adults conducted during throughout 2003. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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