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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Pastors Rate Themselves Highly, Especially as Teachers (020107)

Most pastors feel they do a good job at leading their congregations, except when it comes to raising money. In fact, of eleven common activities that pastors undertake, a majority of Protestant Senior Pastors rated themselves as doing an “excellent” or “good” job in ten of those eleven areas. A new nationwide survey among Protestant Senior Pastors by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California shows that the way in which pastors rate themselves varies somewhat according to the size of the church the pastor oversees, the theological leanings of the pastor, and his/her tenure in the pastorate.

Getting the Job Done

At least four out of every five Protestant Senior Pastors said they do an above-average job - defined as either an “excellent” or “good” rating - in three of the 11 aspects of pastoral involvement examined. Nine out of ten said they are above average in preaching and teaching, 85% said they do well in encouraging people, and 82% claimed to be excellent or good in the area of pastoring or shepherding people. Nearly three-fourths (73%) said they do well in providing leadership for their church, while two-thirds said they are above average in motivating people around a vision (68%) and discipling or mentoring (64%). Six out of ten pastors claim they do well in evangelism (60%), while slightly more than half of all Senior Pastors say they are better than most in counseling (54%), administration or management (53%) and developing ministry strategy (53%).

The only aspect for which a majority did not claim to do an excellent or good job was in fundraising. Less than one-third of all Senior Pastors (31%) claimed they were above average in raising money, while 37% said they are merely “average” in that domain. Raising money for their church’s ministry was the only aspect among those tested for which more than one out of five pastors portrayed their efforts as “not too good” or “poor” (23%). Only two aspects generated at least one out of ten pastors claiming to do a below average job: administration (11%) and motivating people on the basis of a vision for their church’s ministry (10%).

The survey also showed that the pastors of non-white congregations rated themselves significantly higher than did the pastors of white congregations on eight of the 11 dimensions tested. The only areas in which pastors of non-white congregations did not rate themselves higher than others were in pastoring, preaching and fundraising.

Size Affects Self-Rating

The Senior Pastors of larger churches (more than 250 people) rated themselves more highly than did their colleagues from smaller congregations in four areas: administration, counseling, developing ministry strategy and motivating people on the basis of vision. There were no pastoral functions for which clergy from smaller congregations rated themselves more highly than their counterparts from better-attended churches.

The differences between the pastors of large and small churches (less than 100 adults) were biggest when it came to administration (23% of those at larger churches rated themselves “excellent” compared to half as many among small-church pastors); developing ministry strategy (17% versus 6%, respectively); and motivating people around a vision (26% versus 10%). In each of these areas, as well as in relation to encouraging and leading people, the pastors of churches that draw 100 to 250 adults were in-between.

Theological Leanings Impact Self-Perceptions

The theological orientation of pastors also correlated with their self-perceptions. For instance, the pastors of charismatic churches rated themselves more positively than did pastors of fundamentalist churches, while pastors who describe their theology as “liberal” - representing only one-fifth of all Protestant pastors - rated themselves more positively than either group.

Fundamentalist pastors did not rate themselves more highly than did charismatic pastors on any of the eleven factors tested. Liberal pastors, though, were more likely to give themselves an “excellent” rating than were charismatic pastors on four dimensions: leadership, pastoring, preaching, and fundraising.

The centuries-old division between Calvinist and Wesleyan theology made little difference in how pastors view themselves. There was only one dimension on which one group was notably different than the other: pastors with a Wesleyan orientation were slightly more likely to describe their preaching as “excellent by a 34% to 25% margin.

Years in Ministry Make Little Difference

The length of time a pastor had been involved in full-time pastoral ministry had only a minor influence on how he/she evaluated the quality of their work. Pastors who have been serving for five years or less were more likely than were their more experienced colleagues to rate themselves highly in reference to administration, but were somewhat less likely to give themselves the highest accolades concerning pastoring and fundraising.

In terms of the relative quality of their ministry, pastors who have been serving for more than a decade ranked their abilities in the areas of pastoring, motivating on the basis of vision, and counseling comparatively higher than did less experienced pastors. The long-tenure leaders were less enthusiastic about their administrative capacity than were other pastors.

Spiritual Gifts Correspond to Performance

The survey data also showed that the spiritual gifts claimed by Senior Pastors correspond to the areas in which they feel they are doing the most laudable work. The primary gift listed by pastors was most often preaching and teaching (mentioned by 40% as their single, most dominant gift), followed by pastoring (12%) and encouraging (6%). Although many pastors consider themselves to be a leader, and feel they do an above-average job of leading people, only 4% of pastors said leadership was their primary gift.

Reactions to the Data

George Barna, whose firm conducted the research, elaborated upon the survey statistics. “There was a noteworthy correlation between adult attendance and the pastor’s self-rating regarding vision casting, strategic development and possessing the gift of leadership. For instance, among pastors of the largest churches studied, leadership was the primary gift claimed by the second-largest number of pastors, and the pastors of larger churches were nearly three times as likely as the pastors of small congregations to rate themselves highly in motivating people on the basis of vision and developing ministry strategy. While attendance figures are not a valid measure of church success - life transformation is the bottom line, and we often find a weak correlation between church size and transformation - the relationship between people’s willingness to attend a church and the leadership qualities of the pastor is an important connection to highlight.”

Barna also pointed out that there appears to be a need for standard and objective measures of self-evaluation that church leaders can utilize. “Pastors are indisputably a talented and well-educated group. However, it’s unrealistic for most pastors to claim that they perform at an above-average level in such a large number of disparate ministry duties as those examined in the study. Given the different skills and divergent ways of thinking required to excel in these various areas, perhaps the survey is pointing out the need for an objective self-evaluation tool or process that will help clergy to more reliably assess their strengths and weaknesses in ministry. Simply identifying a standard for excellence in these areas would be a significant step forward toward helping ministries and ministers assess the quality and impact of their efforts. Such knowledge might also help them to seek intentionally the assistance of skilled and gifted believers whose strengths in areas of their own relative weakness would facilitate more effective ministry.”

Survey Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews conducted during October and November 2001 among a nationwide random sample of 601 Senior Pastors of Protestant churches located within the 48 continental states. The sample was balanced nationally according to the incidence of denominational affiliation, with a random selection of churches chosen within each denomination. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The Self-Rating of Protestant Senior Pastors (base: 601)

	excellent	good	average	not too good	poor
preaching/teaching	31%	59%	9%	*	1%
encouraging people	24	61	13	1	*
pastoring/shepherding	21	61	16	*	*
leadership	16	57	25	1	*
motivating people around a vision	15	53	28	3	7
discipling/mentoring people	12	52	32	2	*
evangelism	10	50	36	3	1
counseling	9	45	38	4	2
administration/management	14	39	35	7	4
developing ministry strategy	10	43	41	3	1
fundraising	6	25	37	14	9

(NOTE: * means less than one-half of one percent.)

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American Faith is Diverse, as Shown Among Five Faith-Based Segments (020129)

The growing diversity of American culture can be clearly seen in the changing nature of people’s faith, according to a new study by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California. Based on interviews with more than 4000 adults across the nation, the report suggests that there are at least five major and distinctive faith groups in America today - three of which are generally thought of as “Christian” but each of which is unique from the others in significant ways. The findings suggest that many Americans have developed a form of faith that is comforting but only vaguely Bible-related while the stereotypical, Bible-based Christian faith is more of an anomaly than it is typical.

Five Religious Segments

The research released by Barna indicates that there are five discernible religious segments. Three of those are associated with the Christian faith. The smallest are the “evangelicals” - a group of individuals who believe that their relationship with Jesus Christ will provide them with eternal life, and who accept a variety of Bible teachings as accurate and authoritative. (For a full description of the methodology, see the final section of this report.) The second group are “non-evangelical born again Christians,” a segment that also believes they have eternal salvation through the grace given them by God through their personal faith in Christ, but who do not believe in various core doctrines taught in the Bible.

The third segment is one that Barna termed “notional Christians.” These are people who consider themselves to be Christian, but do not claim they know their eternal destiny (i.e., whether they will experience eternal life, eternal damnation or some other outcome) and are less likely than others to embrace core Bible doctrines. The research also identified two segments that are not affiliated with Christianity: those who have described themselves as atheistic or agnostic, and those who are affiliated with a non-Christian faith.

Evangelicals are 8% of the population; non-evangelical born again Christians are 33% and notional Christians are 44%. The atheist/agnostic group contains 8% of adults, while other faith groups have 7%. Because evangelicals are also born again, the total born again Christian population in the U.S. is currently 41%.

A Look at Evangelicals

The evangelical segment encompasses some 15 to 20 million adults in the United States. Demographically, they are more likely than most other adults to have a college degree (29%), to be married (68%), to have children under 18 living in their household (50%), and to be white (81%). They are less likely to have experienced a divorce than any of the other faith segments. They were the only segment among the five for which a majority are affiliated with the Republican Party (58%), although more than four out of ten evangelicals are not associated with the GOP. Half of the group lives in the South, and nearly half (45%) are Baby Boomers.

Attitudinally, evangelicals are more than twice as likely as the rest of Americans to describe themselves as “mostly conservative” on social and political issues (70% do so), and are the least likely to describe themselves as “stressed out” (22%), “concerned about the future” (66%), struggling with debt or finances (30%), and actively “searching for meaning and purpose in life” (20%).

Evangelicals are vastly different from others on moral issues. They are the only group among which a majority (68%) base their moral decisions on the Bible or religious teaching and the sole segment that is more likely to believe in absolute moral truth (58%) than to say that moral choices are relative to the individual and the circumstances (i.e., relativism - 27%). Consequently, their moral views were significantly different from those of every other segment in relation to all 15 of the moral issues examined in the research. They were the least likely to describe cohabitation, gay sex, pornography, profanity, drunkenness, abortion and divorce as morally acceptable behaviors.

As expected, evangelicals are the most active in religious endeavors, ranging from reading the Bible (nine out of ten do so in a typical week) and attending church services (80%) to praying (every evangelical interviewed had done so in the past week), volunteering at their church (45%), attending religious education classes (56%), and participating in a small group for religious purposes (42%). Three out of four shared their faith in Christ with a non-Christian during the past year. Evangelicals are generous donors, too, giving away roughly three times more money during the past year than did the average American adult.

By definition, evangelicals believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches; that they have a responsibility to share their religious faith with others; that their faith is very important in their life; and that God is a real being who is all-knowing, all-powerful and still in control of the world. Nearly nine out of ten believe that the Holy Spirit exists. They also reject several popular theological views: e.g. Jesus sinned during His time on earth, Satan is just a symbol of evil but does not exist, and that being a good person can earn eternal salvation.

Non-Evangelical Born Again Christians

Evangelicals are born again, but most born again Christians are not evangelical. (In fact, only one out of five born again adults meet the evangelical criteria.) The 33% of the adult population who are born again but not evangelical represent some 65 to 70 million people. Slightly more than half of them are married (55%), about seven out of ten are white, and six out of ten are women. They are most likely to live either in the South (41%) or Midwest (26%).

While many of their attitudes are more similar to those of non-born adults than to those of evangelicals, they do share the evangelical concern about the moral condition of the nation. Only one-third embrace the label “mostly conservative” and non-evangelical born again adults are more likely to be aligned with the Democratic Party (40%) than the Republican Party (35%).

On moral issues, this group is most likely to take its cues from sources other than the Bible or religious teaching. The primary influences on their moral decisions are personal feelings about what is right, the values taught to them by their parents, and whatever choices produce the best personal outcomes. Only one out of every four (27%) contends that moral truth is absolute; more than twice that percentage argue that moral truth is relative to the person and their circumstances. Almost two-thirds consider themselves to be “pro-life,” three out of five deem homosexuality to be a morally unacceptable lifestyle, two out of three say movies showing sexually explicit behavior are morally unacceptable, and three-quarters or more say drunkenness, abortion, profanity and gay sex are morally unacceptable behaviors.

Although they are not as active in religious practices as are the evangelicals, a majority of the non-evangelical born again group attends church, reads the Bible, and prays to God during a typical week. Slightly more than half of these adults shared their faith in Christ with a non-Christian during the past year.

The most noticeable difference between evangelicals and the non-evangelical born again segment is in the area of beliefs. The largest gaps relate to embracing a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with others (47%), firmly rejecting the idea that Satan is a merely a symbol of evil (just 26% do so), rejecting the idea that Jesus Christ sinned while He lived on earth (53%), and strongly denying that the Holy Spirit is just a symbolic representation of God’s power or presence (86% of evangelicals do so, compared to only 22% of the non-evangelical born again adults). Also, only six out of ten people in this category strongly believe that “the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches.”

Notional Christians

The largest segment of the five identified in the Barna study is that comprised of people who describe themselves as Christians, but do not believe that they will have eternal life because of their reliance upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the grace extended to people through a relationship with Christ. (A large majority of these individuals believe they will have eternal life, but not because of a grace-based relationship with Jesus Christ.) This group, referred to as “notional Christians,” encompasses 44% of all adults in the U.S., which represents roughly 90 million adults.

Unlike the two born again segments described above, a majority of the notional Christians are single, and only half are women. These individuals are distributed evenly across the four regions of the nation. Hispanics are especially common in this segment.

One-third of these people say they are stressed out, one-third admits to struggling with debt and finances, and one-third also claims to be searching for a sense of meaning and purpose in life. Just one out of four say they are “mostly conservative” on political and social issues, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by an 8 to 5 ratio. Although four out of five donated money to churches and charities last year, they donated just one-third as much (on a per capita basis) as did evangelicals, and gave barely half as much as the typical non-evangelical born again individual gave away.

Only one out of every ten notional Christians bases moral choices on the Bible or religious teaching, and just one out of every six believes in absolute moral truth. Although half say that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances, just 39% consider themselves to be “pro-life.” A majority of the people in this segment contends that morally acceptable lifestyles include homosexuality, cohabitation, viewing pornography, and entertaining sexual fantasies.

Even though three-quarters of these people regularly attended a Christian church during their childhood, only a minority regularly attends these days. In a typical week, one out four reads the Bible, one out of three attends a church service, one out of ten attends a religious education class, and one out of ten participates in a small group that meets for spiritual purposes.

The religious beliefs of this group stand in stark contrast to those of the two born again segments. For instance, even though they represent half of all Americans who describe themselves as Christian, just three out of ten notional Christians claim to be “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith. One out of four firmly believes that the Bible is totally accurate; just one out of seven (15%) strongly disagrees that Satan is symbolic but not real and a similar number (11%) firmly rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit is merely symbolic. A majority contends that eternal life can be earned through good behavior. Only one out of four strongly disagrees with the contention that Jesus committed sins during His tenure on earth.

People of Non-Christian Faiths

Adults associated with a faith group other than Christianity represent 7% of the population. Among the most prolific faith groups included in this hybrid segment are Jews, Muslims and Buddhists. This segment represents an estimated 10 to 15 million American adults.

Adults associated with non-Christian faiths are the most educated of the five faith segments: almost two out of every five have a college degree. That helps to explain why this group is the most affluent of the five segments, with more than one-third living in households that earn $60,000 or more per year. Roughly equal numbers of them are married, have never been married and were formerly married but are now single. These people are most likely to live in the Northeast or West. One of the most striking observations about their demographic profile is that a majority of them is 35 or younger.

Adults aligned with non-Christian faiths are two and one-half times more likely to describe themselves as “mostly liberal” than “mostly conservative” - a vivid contrast from the self-portrait of those associated with the Christian faith. These individuals are also more likely to be associated with the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party by a 3 to 1 margin; however, only two-thirds of them are registered to vote (compared to nine out of ten evangelicals). Like evangelicals, though, they are less likely than other adults to be “concerned about the future.”

Similar to the notional Christians, but in a major departure from the views of evangelical and born again Christians, most adults who follow a non-Christian faith believe that all truth is relative (75%); just one out of six (17%) believe in absolute moral truth. Only 8% of these Americans rely on the Bible or their religious teaching as the dominant influence upon their moral choices - and those choices are dramatically different from the norm. A majority of these individuals believes that cohabitation, smoking marijuana, pornography, profanity, drunkenness, sexual fantasies, and abortion are morally acceptable behaviors. Just one out of every ten embraces the “pro life” description.

One-third of the people who currently align with non-Christian faiths regularly attended a Christian church while they were growing up. Six out of ten pray to their deity during a typical week, but only one out of every seven attends some type of religious gathering or service during a typical week and less than one out of 10 participates in some type of religious education class or meeting. Not surprisingly, most of them deny the holiness of Jesus Christ, possess a view of God that is decidedly different than that offered in the Bible, and deny the existence of the devil or the Holy Spirit.

Atheists and Agnostics

Eight percent of all adults describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. This segment covers an estimated 10 to 15 million adults. Demographically, they are the group least likely to be married (only 34% are) and most likely to be male (63%). A majority of these people (55%) are 35 years of age or younger.

Besides being the group that is least concerned about the moral condition of the nation (only 41% harbor such concern), they are also the group most likely to be affiliated with the Democratic Party (44%), most likely to define themselves as “mostly liberal” on current issues, and least likely to donate any money to a religious center or non-profit organization. Among those who did donate funds to non-profits, they gave away the least amount of money - less than 10% as much as the average evangelical donated during the year.

Three-quarters of the self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics say that all moral truth is relative to the person and circumstances; only 10% believe in absolute moral truth. Their views on morality are in extreme contrast to those of the two born again segments. For instance, seven out of ten believe abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances; six out of ten approve of clergy performing gay marriages; nine out of ten approve of cohabitation; more than three out of four embrace pornography as a moral behavior; and two-thirds deem drunkenness and using profanity to be morally acceptable acts.

As was true among the adults associated with non-Christian faiths, several million atheists and agnostics grew up regularly attending Christian churches (30%). As would be expected, their religious views vary widely from those who associate with Christianity. Just one out of ten believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches; only one-fourth say their religious faith is very important in their life; and large majorities reject beliefs in the existence of Satan, the reality of the Holy Spirit, the notion of Jesus leading a sinless life, and a biblical depiction of the nature of God.

Perspective on the Segments

George Barna suggested that America may be more religiously diverse than many people realize. “The events of September 11 raised many questions about the religious faith of the American people. A common response was that we are a nation of Christians with a few pockets of smaller, lesser-known faith groups intermingled. The research suggests that even within the 85% who say they are Christian, there is enormous diversity of belief and practice. Most interestingly, perhaps, is that we find such diversity to be common even within individual Christian churches. If nothing else, this indicates that people’s faith is a process in motion - an ever-changing series of views and behaviors that we rely upon, to differing degrees, to shape our worldview and lifestyle.”

Some of the information points to a seminal shift in religious thought and behavior. “Young adults profess an interest in spirituality, but their preferences are moving in a different direction than might have been assumed: more than one out of every five adults under 35 is atheistic, agnostic or affiliated with a non-Christian faith. Less than half that proportion of the people 55 and older fit that pattern,” explained Barna. “Similarly, men appear to be easing away from Christianity, and millions of Hispanics are rethinking their faith views and church ties. The implications of this period of exploration and re-determination are huge, given the correlation between the nature and intensity of people’s faith with their moral and lifestyle choices.”

Survey Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of 4005 adults conducted from January 2001 through December 2001. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

The number of people interviewed from each of the five subgroups described in this report varied. In total, there were 313 evangelicals, 1316 non-evangelical born again Christians, 1754 notional Christians, 282 adults from non-Christian faith groups, and 300 atheists and agnostics.

A Comparison of Five Faith Segments

	evangelicals	non-evan., born again	notional Christians	non-Christian faith	atheist/agnostic
mostly conservative on social issues	70%	37%	25%	12%	12%
registered Republican	58%	35%	26%	11%	15%
Bible or religious teaching is the basis of their moral decision-making	68%	27%	11%	8%	3%
believe that absolute moral truth exist	58%	27%	15%	17%	10%
homosexuality is a morally unacceptable lifestyle	95%	59%	38%	27%	20%
cohabitation is morally acceptable	10%	42%	65%	82%	92%
movies with explicit sexual behavior are morally acceptable	12%	33%	54%	75%	79%
having an abortion is morally acceptable	4%	24%	38%	67%	71%
read from the Bible in past 7 days	86%	53%	24%	17%	9%
attended church service in past 7 days	80%	58%	36%	14%	9%
strongly disagree that the devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil	100%	26%	15%	20%	15%
strongly disagree that when He lived on earth, Jesus Christ was human and committed sins	100%	53%	27%	20%	20%
strongly disagree that the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God’s presence or power but not a living entity	86%	22%	11%	20%	13%
sample size	313	1316	1754	282	300

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Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings (020212)

Americans unanimously denounced the September 11 terrorist attacks as a textbook example of evil, suggesting that there is a foundational belief in an absolute standard of right and wrong. Subsequent research, however, has shown that in the aftermath of the attacks, a minority of Americans believes in the existence of absolute moral truth. Even more surprising, the data from a pair of nationwide studies conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California showed that less than one out of three born again Christians adopt the notion of absolute moral truth. The surveys also found that few Americans turn to their faith as the primary guide for their moral and ethical decisions.

Truth Is Relative, Say Americans

In two national surveys conducted by Barna Research, one among adults and one among teenagers, people were asked if they believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging or that moral truth is relative to the circumstances. By a 3-to-1 margin (64% vs. 22%) adults said truth is always relative to the person and their situation. The perspective was even more lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is absolute.

The gap between teen and adult views was not surprising, however, when the adult views are considered by generation. While six out of ten people 36 and older embraced moral relativism, 75% of the adults 18 to 35 did so. Thus, it appears that relativism is gaining ground, largely because relativism appears to have taken root with the generation that preceded today’s teens.

The Barna study also showed that there is a racial component to this issue, as well. Among whites, 60% endorse relativism, compared to 26% who adopt absolutism. Among non-whites, however, 74% support relativism and just 15% believe in absolute morality. (Fifteen percent of Hispanic adults and only 10% of African-American adults contended that moral truth is absolute.)

Not surprisingly, born again Christians were more likely than non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Among adults, 32% of those who were born again said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just half as many (15%) among the non-born again contingent. Among teenagers, there was still a 2-to-1 ratio evident, but the numbers were much less impressive: only 9% of born again teens believe in moral absolutes versus 4% of the non-born again teens.

Moral Decision-Making

The surveys also asked people to indicate the basis on which they make their moral and ethical decisions. Six different approaches were listed by at least 5% of the teenagers interviewed, and eight approaches were listed by at least 5% of adults. In spite of the variety communicated, there was a clear pattern within both groups. By far the most common basis for moral decision-making was doing whatever feels right or comfortable in a situation. Nearly four out of ten teens (38%) and three out of ten adults (31%) described that as their primary consideration.

Among adults, other popular means of moral decision-making were on the basis of the values they had learned from their parents (15%), on the basis of principles taught in the Bible (13%), and based on whatever outcome would produce the most personally beneficial results (10%).

Teenagers were slightly different in their approach. One out of six (16%) said they made their choices on the basis of whatever would produce the most beneficial results for them. Three alternative foundations were each identified by one out of ten teens: whatever would make the most people happy, whatever they thought their family and friends expected of them, and on the basis of the values taught by their parents. Just 7% of teenagers said their moral choices were based on biblical principles.

Once again, the age pattern was evident. People 36 or older were more than twice as likely as adults in the 18-to-35 age group to identify the Bible as their basis of moral choices (18% vs. 7%). The proportion of young adults who selected the Bible as their primary moral filter was identical to that of teenagers. In contrast, more than half of the young adults (52%) and teenagers (54%) base their moral choices on feelings and beneficial outcomes compared to just one-third of adults 36 and older who do so (32%).

The racial pattern was evident on this matter, too. White adults were nearly three times as likely as non-white adults to base their moral choices on the Bible (17% vs. 6%). Blacks were four times more likely than whites (23% vs. 6%), and Hispanics were more than twice as likely as whites (16% vs. 6%) to base their moral decisions on the potential benefits of their choice.

What It Means

These figures were cited by George Barna, whose firm conducted the research, as a major reason underlying the data he released in a controversial recent public presentation about the moral views and behaviors of Christians. In that forum, which is now available on videotape from Barna Research (“Morality and the Church”), Barna noted that substantial numbers of Christians believe that activities such as abortion, gay sex, sexual fantasies, cohabitation, drunkenness and viewing pornography are morally acceptable. “Without some firm and compelling basis for suggesting that such acts are inappropriate, people are left with philosophies such as ‘if it feels good, do it,’ ‘everyone else is doing it’ or ‘as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, it’s permissible.’ In fact, the alarmingly fast decline of moral foundations among our young people has culminated in a one-word worldview: ‘whatever.’ The result is a mentality that esteems pluralism, relativism, tolerance, and diversity without critical reflection of the implications of particular views and actions.”

Barna emphasized the importance of the data related to the views of teenagers and the born again population. “Just one out of ten of our country’s born again teenagers believe in absolute moral truth - a statistic that is nearly identical to that of non-born again teens. Christian families, educators and churches must prioritize this matter if the Christian community hopes to have any distinctiveness in our culture. The virtual disappearance of this cornerstone of the Christian faith - that is, God has communicated a series of moral principles in the Bible that are meant to be the basis of our thoughts and actions, regardless of our preferences, feelings or situations - is probably the best indicator of the waning strength of the Christian Church in America today.”

The researcher stated that the difference in truth views between born again and non-born again adults was statistically significant, but not much to cheer about. “When a majority of Christian adults, including three out of four born again Baby Busters, as well as three out of four born again teens proudly cast their vote for moral relativism, the Church is in trouble. Continuing to preach more sermons, teach more Sunday school classes and enroll more people in Bible study groups won’t solve the problem since most of these people don’t accept the basis of the principles being taught in those venues. The failure to address this issue at its root, and to do so quickly and persuasively, will undermine the strength of the church for at least another generation, and probably longer.”

Barna also reported that compared to a similar study his firm conducted a decade ago, the basis of people’s moral and ethical decisions these days is more likely to be feelings and less likely to be the Bible.

Survey Methodology

The data in this report are based on two nationwide telephone surveys conducted by the Barna Research Group from its telephone interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The interviews among a national random sample of 1010 adults were conducted in late October and early November 2001.

Survey Question: Some people believe that there are moral truths that are absolute, meaning that those moral truths or principles do not change according to the circumstances. Other people believe that moral truth always depends upon the situation, meaning that their moral and ethical decisions depend upon the circumstances. How about you? Do you believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging, or that moral truth is relative to the circumstances, or is this something you have never really thought about?

Adults (N=1010) <

Moral truth...	All	ages 18-35	ages 36-55	ages 56+	born again	non born-again
is unchanging	22%	14%	33%	24%	32%	15%
depends on the situation	64	75	55	61	54	71
don’t know	14	11	12	15	14	14
Teenagers (N=604)
Moral truth...	All	born again	non-born again
is unchanging	6%	9%	4%
depends on the situation	83	76	87
don’t know	11	15	9

Survey Question: Think about the choices you face everyday. People make their decisions in different ways. When you are faced with a moral or ethical choice, which ONE of the following best describes how you, yourself, decide what to do? (IF “PRINCIPLES OR STANDARDS” ASK: What is the basis or source of those principles and standards that you take into consideration? In other words, where do those standards and principles come from - what would you turn to in order to discover the appropriate principles?

Adults (N=1010)

	All	ages 18-35	ages 36-55	ages 56+	born again	non born-again
whatever will make the most people happy or create the least conflict	7%	8%	6%	5%	4%	8%
whatever you think your family or friends would expect you to do	5	5	5	4	4	5
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: the law	1	1	1	1	1	1
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: the Bible	13	7	18	17	26	5
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: values taught by your parents	15	13	16	15	13	16
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: other religious input	6	3	8	8	8	4
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: lessons from past experience	6	5	7	6	5	7
what you believe most other people would do in that situation	2	1	2	2	2	1
whatever feels right or comfortable in that situation	30	37	25	26	24	34
whatever will produce the most positive outcome for you, personally	10	15	6	9	9	11

Teenagers (N=604)

Moral truth...	All	born again	non-born again
whatever will make the most people happy or create the least conflict	10%	12%	8%
whatever you think your family or friends would expect you to do	10	6	11
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: the law	*	*	*
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: the Bible	7	12	2
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: values taught by your parents	10	10	10
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: other religious input	2	2	1
follow a set of specific principles or standards you believe in, that serve as guidelines for your behavior: lessons from past experience	1	1	2
what you believe most other people would do in that situation	3	2	3
whatever feels right or comfortable in that situation	38	34	40
whatever will produce the most positive outcome for you, personally	16	13	17

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

Bush Scores Well With Born Agains, But Poorly With Blacks (020225)

A new survey released by the Barna Research Group shows that President George W. Bush continues to have a favorable image among most segments of the population. At the extremes are born again Christians and African-Americans: the former are deeply supportive of the President while the latter emerge as his harshest critics. The study examined 18 measures related to the President and his performance in the White House and found that the groups consistently giving him low evaluations were blacks, atheists, liberals and Democrats. His biggest enthusiasts were people 55 or older, whites, born again Christians, conservatives and Republicans.

Job Performance

Four out of five adults (79%) currently approve of the way Mr. Bush is handling his job. Overall, half of all adults said they approve strongly and three out of ten approve somewhat. The highest approval ratings came from people 55 or older (85%), whites (84%), born again Christians (86%), and Republicans (96%). In contrast, blacks (59%), atheists (66%), and Democrats (70%) gave the president his lowest approval marks. Amazingly, a majority of the adults within all five dozen of the population segments whose answers were analyzed indicated their approval of Mr. Bush’s performance to date.

Survey respondents were also asked to rate the President’s handling of the terrorist attacks and subsequent war against terrorism. Again, four out of five adults (82%) said he is doing either an “excellent” or “good” job. The people most likely to give such positive feedback included people 55 or older (88%), whites (87%), born again Christians (88%), and Republicans (95%). The least favorable reactions again were from blacks (59%), atheists (67%) and Democrats (75%). Once again, a majority of every subgroup gave the President above-average evaluations.

Personal Characteristics and Qualities

Three out of four adults (75%) have a favorable opinion of George W. Bush as a person. The same pattern emerged: older adults, whites, born again Christians and Republicans were most enthusiastic about the President as a person, while blacks, atheists and Democrats were least approving of him.

The survey asked people to rate Mr. Bush on 13 personal qualities that related to his leadership skills, his intellect and his character. The Texan was given the highest average ratings concerning his skills and the lowest ratings regarding his character. However, the average scores in all three areas were similar, and a majority of Americans gave him an overall positive assessment in all 3 areas.

Respondents considered five skill areas. There was little variation across the five skills, ranging from six out of ten to seven out of ten adults saying that the descriptions posed as either “completely” or “mostly” characterized Mr. Bush. Seven out of ten said he “works hard” (70%), followed by two-thirds who described him as “an effective leader” (65%), and slightly fewer who said “he gets the important things done” (63%), “works well with other people” (62%) and “communicates effectively” (60%).

There were three variables tested related to his intellect. Two out of three people said the phrase “smart enough for the job” was “completely” or “mostly” true of him (65%). Almost as many said he “uses good judgment” (62%). One of his lowest evaluations was regarding having “real vision for the future of the United States.” Slightly more than half of adults (55%) concurred with that depiction.

People were divided in their assessment of Mr. Bush’s character. A large majority (70%) said he is “tough enough for the job” and nearly as many described him as “fair” (63%). Somewhat fewer people felt he is “trustworthy” (59%). Only half of the adult population contends that he “cares about the needs of people like you.” His lowest rating concerned values; just four out of ten people said he “has the same values” as they do (43%).

Once again, the most ardent supporters were older adults, whites, born again Christians, Republicans and conservatives, and the least supportive were blacks, atheists and Democrats. Another group that emerged as less enthusiastic about Mr. Bush’s attributes were individuals associated with a non-Christian faith. (The latter group was comprised largely of Jews, Mormons and people affiliated with eastern faiths such as Buddhism. Muslims represented less than 10% of that segment.)

Re-Election Prospects

With the 2002 mid-term election rapidly approaching, the survey discovered that while most Americans like George W. Bush and are satisfied with his performance to date, he is far from a re-election shoe-in and has had limited influence on people’s willingness to support the Republican Congressional candidate from their area.

When asked how they would vote of the election for President were held today, one-third of adults (32%) said they would “definitely” vote for Mr. Bush, with another one out of four (25%) stating that they would “probably” vote for him. Overall, just 15% said they would “definitely not” cast their ballot in his favor and 9% indicated they would “probably not” do so. The remaining two out of ten adults said it would depend upon his opponent or that they simply did not know how they would vote. Mr. Bush attracted at least four out of ten “definite” voters from among those 55 and older, whites, born again Christians, conservatives and Republicans. However, those who would “definitely” vote for him included less than one out of ten black adults and less than two out of ten atheists, people affiliated with non-Christian faiths, and Democrats.

As for Mr. Bush’s influence on Congressional races, slightly less than one out of four adults said that the president’s performance would cause them to be more likely to vote for their local Republican candidates, while 15% said Mr. Bush’s efforts to date would cause them to be less likely to support the local Republican candidate for the House. A majority of adults (62%) either stated that his work would not influence their vote or that they did not know if it would.

However, when evaluated in terms of party registration, the figures indicate that the chief executive has effectively reinforced the partisan inclinations of Republicans (half said his performance has made them more likely to support the local Republican while just 2% said it has made them less likely to do so) while picking up limited support among Democrats and independents. Overall, 12% of Democrats and 13% of Independents said they were more likely to vote for the local Republican House candidate while 24% of the Democrats and 9% of independents said they were less likely to do so.

Changes Since 2000

Barna surveys conducted during the historic presidential election of 2000 showed that Mr. Bush was greatly favored over Mr. Gore on the basis of his character, his moral leadership and his potential to use the military appropriately. The pre-election surveys also noted that Mr. Bush was seen by millions of voters as lacking the necessary level of intelligence and having an unappealing position on Social security. Things have changed significantly since the election. A substantial majority now views him as “smart enough for the job” and one of his most prolific bases of support are older adults - the same ones who voted for Al Gore by a large margin partially because they disapproved of the Bush plan for handling Social Security. The president’s character, one of his strong suits during the campaign, is no longer perceived to be his dominant strength. While people’s approval of his character has not diminished, the emergence of his leadership skills and intellect has escalated as perceived strong suits.

During the 2000 election, Barna surveys also estimated that Mr. Bush won 57% of the born again vote. That significantly eclipsed the 49% that Republican Bob Dole earned in 1996. If the election were to be held today, Mr. Bush would likely receive nearly two-thirds of the born again vote. The gains within the born again community, which is currently 45% registered Republicans and 40% registered Democrats, is largely attributable to gains in support among women, people in their twenties, fifties and sixties, and non-whites.

Surveys conducted during the past two years also show a high level of consistency in people’s party identification and their ideological leanings. Party registration has remained at essentially the same levels since January 2000. Presently, one-third of registered voters are aligned with the Republican Party (34%), almost half are associated with the Democratic Party (45%) and about one-fifth are independent (18%), with a handful of voters registered with alternative parties. Ideologically, half of the voting public consider themselves to be somewhere between the conservative and liberal ends of the spectrum. Although conservatives continue to outnumber liberals nearly 2-to-1 (28% versus 16%, respectively) there has been slight erosion of the conservative base, slipping from 31% throughout most of 2000 to its current 28% standing, while liberals have increased from 12% to 16% during the past two years.

The Public Remains Aloof

The attitude of the public toward the President surprised George Barna, who directed the research. “Mr. Bush received excellent ratings in terms of his overall job performance, his handling of the attack and war, and related to how voters respond to him as a person. Yet, many people remain strangely aloof toward him. This is partially because the next presidential election is still more than two years away and because many are waiting to see what happens with the economy. Most important, though, is that we are witnessing a process of healing and acceptance. The terrorist attacks and related hostilities have caused many Americans to forget just how divisive the 2000 election was. In that context, there has been a significant softening of people’s opposition to Mr. Bush. Another two years of strong and effective leadership would likely motivate a growing number of people who were dubious of his capabilities or philosophy of governance to support him in 2004.”

Barna also discussed the growing support for Mr. Bush among born again Christians. “The public’s current ambiguity toward the president’s re-election prospects makes his growing support from the born again community particularly noteworthy. The born again segment generally has been pleased with Mr. Bush’s moral as well as political leadership. If things continue in the same vein over the next two years, the president will increase his margin of victory among born agains. That is a significant gain. Our election surveys in 2000 showed that Mr. Bush defeated Mr. Gore by about 7 million votes among the born again constituency.”

Survey Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews during late January and early February with a nationwide random sample of 1006 adults, among whom 742 were registered to vote. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, and ±4 points for the subgroup of registered voters.

Survey Results

I’m going to read a list of personal characteristics and qualities. After each one, please tell me how accurately you think that trait describes George W. Bush: completely, mostly, somewhat, not too, or not at all accurately. If you are not sure, just let me know. The (first/next) quality is (READ DESCRIPTION). How accurate is that as a description of George W. Bush: completely, mostly, somewhat, not too, or not at all accurate? DATA SHOW COMBINED “COMPLETELY” AND “MOSTLY”

	All	Buster	Boomer	Elders	white	black	Hispanic	born-again Christians
tough enough for the job	70%	68%	71%	73%	78%	38%	66%	76%
works hard	70	71	69	72	76	41	69	76
smart enough for the job	65	62	65	70	69	44	69	76
an effective leader	65	61	67	70	72	37	59	73
gets the important things done	63	60	65	65	69	35	59	70
fair	63	62	60	70	70	36	60	71
uses good judgment	62	61	61	68	69	34	62	70
works well with people	62	61	61	65	67	40	64	67
communicates effectively	60	60	57	63	64	39	60	68
trustworthy	59	53	58	70	67	31	49	69
has a real vision for the future of the U.S.	55	54	53	61	60	30	58	62
cares about the needs of people like you	50	50	47	55	56	24	50	59
has the same values as you	43	38	43	53	48	20	43	55

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

A Revealing Look at Three Unique Single Adult Populations (020311)

More than four out of every ten adults in the United States is not married, producing a singles population that is larger than the total national population of all but eleven of the world’s 192 nations. But a new book about single adults written by researcher George Barna contends that thinking of single adults as one, unified group is inadvisable.

“There are three major groups which must be studied separately to truly understand singles,” Barna explained. “The never-been-married group, which is the largest singles subset, is the youngest, most active and most optimistic of the three segments. Divorced adults are typically middle-aged and have completely different needs, goals, expectations and issues. Widowed adults tend to be primarily female, are generally in their sixties and beyond, and possess an entirely different view on the future than do their younger, single counterparts. All three groups are single, but the route to singlehood and their perspectives and lifestyles suggest that it is inappropriate to think of or to treat all singles alike.”

Barna indicated that those who have never been married make up the lion’s share of America’s 82 million single adults, representing nearly six out of every ten singles. Adults who are currently divorced are one-quarter of the singles population, while widowed adults form the remaining one-sixth. Whereas men slightly outnumber women among those who have never been married and divorced women slightly outnumber divorced men, widowed women dwarf widowed men by a 4.3-to-1 ratio.

Religious Practices

Barna found that faith plays a significant - and changing - role in the lives of singles. Substantial majorities of each of the three dominant singles segments say they are “spiritual.” Most single adults - about four out of five - think of themselves as Christian, although their depth of commitment to the Christian faith varies considerably.

One portion of the book describes how single adults relate to eight primary spiritual emphases. Across-the-board, worship was perceived to be the most significant spiritual undertaking, followed by learning about the content of one’s faith. The aspects of spiritual experience deemed least important by single adults were evangelism, relationships with others who belong to the same faith group, and material stewardship. The statistics outlined in the book show the substantial distinctions in the views of each singles niche in relation to these priorities.

Other data described by Barna examined the religious practices of singles during a typical week. The only activity measured that a majority engages in during a typical week is prayer. In contrast, just one-third of the unmarried population attends church services during a typical week, and the same proportion reads from the Bible other than at church. Fewer singles volunteer at a church, attend a Sunday school class, or participate in a small group or cell group during an average week. In general, widowed adults are most active in a range of religious pursuits and the never-been-married individuals ranked lowest, although Barna points out the specific factors that distinguish each group from the other.

The research regarding donation patterns revealed that most never-been-marrieds do not give money to any causes or organizations. Among the divorced and never-married people who donate money during the year, they are nearly as likely to give to non-church entities as to support a church; in contrast, an overwhelming majority of the funds donated by married adults go to churches.

Religious Beliefs

Single adults hold different faith views than do married people. Just two out of three single adults have an orthodox, biblical view of God. One of the many beliefs that Barna’s research examined was the idea “if a person is basically good, or does enough good things for other people he or she will earn their way into Heaven.” A majority of single adults adopt that view of life after death.

Further research regarding salvation discovered that even though six out of ten single adults said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives these days, only a little more than half of them are certain they will go to Heaven after they die solely because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus to be their savior. In other words, only one-third of single adults (35%) have become “born again” - that is, they no longer trust in their own good deeds as a means to reconciliation with God, but rely completely upon God’s grace for their eternal destiny. Never-been-married adults are the least likely to meet the “born again” criteria. In fact, single adults from all three segments are less likely to be born again than are married people. Barna also reports that Hispanic singles are less likely to be born again (22%) than are white (35%) or black (48%) singles.

Single adults are skeptical of many biblical teachings. Among the ideas they are likely to reject are the existence of the Holy Spirit and Satan. Most single adults contend that both of those supernatural beings are simply literary symbols used in the Bible for effect.

Born Again Singles

The one-third of all single adults who fit the born again criteria that is used in Barna’s surveys were generally similar in values and lifestyles to those who were not born again. For instance, both groups were equally likely to be “stressed out,” searching for meaning and purpose in life, struggling with financial pressures, and struggling with personal relationships.

However, the born again contingent did possess various distinctives. They are more conservative on social and political matters and have notably divergent moral views and behaviors.

Perhaps the biggest area of difference relates to theological perspectives. Christians are much more likely to contend that the Bible is accurate, to describe themselves as “spiritual” and as “absolutely committed” to Christianity, to firmly believe that God created the universe and that Jesus is alive today. Born again singles were much more likely to strongly disagree that a good person can earn salvation, that all of the major faith groups teach the same lessons, that Jesus never had a physical resurrection, that Jesus committed sins, that Satan is symbolic but not real and that the Holy Spirit is symbolic but not real.

Singles and the Future

Barna indicated that things would continue to change for single adults. “The balance within the singles population will continue to shift, since the number of people 65 and older will double in the coming thirty years, producing an explosion of widowed people.” The researcher outlined other trends he foresees, as well. “Our racial and ethnic patterns lead us to believe that there will be continued increases in divorce and children born out-of-wedlock. Despite the heightened optimism of young adults regarding their future marriage and family experiences, we also expect continued growth in the acceptance and practice of co-habitation.”

Single Adults provides a foundation of understanding the three very different populations whose distinctions are generally overlooked. In addition to a substantial focus on the religious and spiritual dimension of single adult life, the book explores the relational lifecycle, self-image, life satisfaction, spending priorities, entertainment preferences, relationships, sexuality, career emphases, technology ownership and usage, personal goals, moral views and behaviors, and core values of each of the dominant singles groups.

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

Most Americans Satisfied with Life Despite Having Quality of Life Issues (020326)

Love of country is more than just a wartime concept for millions of Americans. A new nationwide survey by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, shows that nearly four out of five American adults (78%) are “completely” or “mostly” satisfied with their life these days. Terrorism, war, and economic recession notwithstanding, one out of four adults - equal to some 52 million adults - is “completely satisfied” with their life. The proportion of satisfied individuals is highest among those who are highly educated, highly paid, older, most religious and married with children.

Pressing Personal Issues

When asked to describe the most pressing challenges and difficulties they face in their life today, one out of five adults said they have no such challenges. Among the four out of five adults who could identify a problem in their life, the most common difficulties related to finances (listed by 28%), health (19%), career concerns (16%)and parenting struggles (11%). Smaller numbers identified problems with family relationships (7%) and accomplishing personal goals (7%) as areas of concern.

The problems of greatest priority varied among demographic segments of the population. For instance, men were much more anxious about career options than were women, while women were nearly twice as likely to mention parenting issues and much more concerned about personal health. Age greatly affected the dominant issues: adults under 35 were most worried about finances and career; Baby Boomers prioritized finances and health; people 55 and older rated health factors as their top worry by a 3-to-1 margin over finances. Racial heritage also affected people’s views. Blacks were the racial group most concerned about finances and the least concerned about parenting. Hispanics were twice as concerned as other racial segments about career or occupational matters. Whites were most likely to prioritize finances or health.

Major National Issues

Adults were much more likely to identify one or more national issues that concern them than they were to list personal concerns. Only 1% of all adults said that there are no national problems or challenges that they find very troubling.

The national issues of the greatest concern were the war and related fears about terrorism (noted by 52%), economic issues such as the strength of the economy, taxes and the cost of living (mentioned by 30%), the moral decline of the nation (19%), unemployment and job issues (15%), and national security (14%). Issues identified less frequently included dissatisfaction with government performance (9%), education (8%), poverty (6%), racism (5%) and health care (4%).

Although there was greater consensus regarding national issues than was evident in relation to personal issues, there were some differences among people groups. Women were more worried about the war and terrorism and the existence of poverty than were men, while men were more focused on economic matters and were more than twice as likely to pick government performance as a trouble spot. Age again emerged as a significant variable. The younger people were, the less concerned they were about the war and terrorism, and the more likely they were to dwell on economic matters.

Race was also a distinguishing attribute. While a majority of whites (54%) and Hispanics (55%) named the war and terrorism as top-rated problems, only one-third of blacks did so. Similarly, whites and Hispanics were twice as likely as blacks to list the economy as a major challenge. Blacks were more than twice as likely as other adults, however, to list poverty and government performance as major issues. Surprisingly, Hispanics were the least likely racial segment to mention poverty and health care; they were the most likely, by a 2-to-1 margin, to list job concerns as a priority.

Declining Morality Is An Issue

Nearly one out of five adults listed moral decline as a top issue, ranking it third highest among the dozens of issues identified by survey respondents. There was no single aspect or description of moral decline that dominated people’s minds. There were six dimensions of moral demise identified by equivalent proportions of people: substance abuse, crime, violence, spiritual decay, loss of family values, and a general discomfort regarding the moral climate. Although born again Christians were more likely than non-born again adults to cite moral decline as a serious national problem (25% versus 15%, respectively), substantial numbers of non-born again individuals also mentioned the deterioration of America’s moral foundation and behavior as a major worry.

George Barna, whose company conducted the survey, noted that many of the issues often associated with moral decay were not significant to adults. “Five particular issues - homosexuality, abortion, cloning, child abuse and pornography - were each listed by less than one-half of one percent of the public as being among the most serious national issues. Whether this is because people are burned out on these issues, they don’t understand the nature of the underlying concern, or they simply do not care one way or the other, the fact is that such ‘hot button’ issues are hot for a relatively chosen few. Most Americans either yawn or cringe at the mention of those issues.”

The high ranking of moral decline on the issue list is significant, though, in Barna’s eyes. “Although many adults do not have a detailed, passionate view of moral decline, they are aware of a slow but continual and serious eroding of the moral foundations that made the nation great,” he explained. “They feel uncomfortable with the moral direction of the country and are seeking serious moral leadership to restore a sense of balance and propriety to the heart of the nation.”

Changes Over Time

Barna stated that comparing the current data with past surveys uncovered a handful of issues that have been abandoned by the public. “You only have to go back a few years to discover a greater emphasis upon education, crime, drug abuse and foreign aide as major issues. None of those issues are big concerns today. Whereas our view of major issues used to relate to the well-being of the nation and how to improve the national quality of life, our more recent issues of choice tend to reflect national conditions that have very personal impact. Increasingly, Americans are focusing on what the nation must do to enable us as individuals to maximize our life opportunities.”

Barna also pointed out that this drift toward personal needs and concerns has diminished the gap between Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, born again Christians and non-born again adults. “Two or three decades ago, there were discernible distinctions between the worldview and personal interests of people from different political and religious perspectives,” the researcher stated. “It is harder than ever to find the igniting issues these days. Perhaps the overwhelming impact of pop culture has infiltrated our views and perceived needs to the point that we are a relatively homogenous society differentiated mostly by the means and rapidity with which we want our personal challenges addressed.”

Survey Methodology

The survey data described are from telephone interviews during late January and early February with a nationwide random sample of 1006 adults (age 18 or older). The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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

Americans Were More Generous in 2001 Than in 2000 (020409)

Many non-profit organizations have reported that 2001 was an off-year for donations due to the collapse of the technology sector and the September 11 attack. However, the nationwide survey of people’s donations in the prior year, conducted each January by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, shows a different story. Although the nation’s economy was not as strong as during the prior two years, there was no change in the proportion of adults who donated money in 2001 and 2000. The data, taken from a new book by researcher George Barna, The State of the Church: 2002, that will be released in early May, also show that the average amount of giving by adults actually increased last year.

Four Out of Five Gave Money

Americans remain among the most generous people on earth. In 2001, four out of five adults (80%) donated money to one or more non-profit organizations. While that figure is down slightly from 1999 (84%) and 1998 (87%), it is at least on par with 2000, when 78% gave donations. The types of people most likely to give away money were those over 55 years of age, college graduates, those from households earning more than $60,000, people who attend churches of 500 or more people, and those who attend mainline Protestant churches. At least nine out of ten people from each of those segments contributed funds in 2001. The only segments among which less than seven out of ten donated any money in 2001 were atheists (63%), people who do not attend a church of any type (67%) and adults who are not registered to vote (67%).

The total amount of money given throughout the course of the year also rose. The mean for 2001 was $1097, which was a 19% jump from the prior year, and 5% higher than the 1999 average. The median donation level was $300, which has remained unchanged for the past three years. (For an explanation of means and medians, see the methodology section at the end of this report.)

Several population subgroups had mean giving totals that exceeded $1500 per person. Those groups included people 55 or older ($1537), college graduates ($1747), those from households earning more than $60,000 ($2066), evangelicals ($3601), people who attend churches of 500 or more people ($1656), and registered Republicans ($1892). There were also several segments that donated an average of less than $500 during 2001. Those groups included adults who are not registered to vote ($446 mean), individuals who do not attend a church ($456), and residents of the state of New York ($421).

Giving to Churches Improves

There was no change in the percentage of adults who donated money to churches in 2001 when compared to the prior year (62%), but there was an 18% increase in the per capita mean amount donated compared to 2000 ($769 vs. $649). The median giving remained unchanged at $100 per donor.

There were only a handful of segments for which at least 70% donated to churches in 2001. Among those groups were people 55 and older (70% of whom gave money to churches), evangelicals (88%), non-evangelical born again Christians (79%), Protestants (73%), Catholics (73%), conservatives (76%), and Republicans (77%). Church size was also related to giving: the larger the church a person attended, the more likely they were to support it. Seventy percent of those who attend a church of 100 or fewer gave to churches last year, compared to 83% of people attending churches of 101 to 499 adults and 87% among those going to churches of 500 or more adults.

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

The most generous church donors were evangelicals (mean gifts of $3169); Republicans ($1480); conservatives ($1459); people from households making more than $60,000 ($1302) and college graduates ($1294). People who were least generous included unchurched adults ($112) and atheists ($163).

Differences Among Subgroups

The new book, The State of the Church: 2002, identifies several significant demographic patterns related to people’s giving. Age has a noteworthy influence on giving. The younger a person is, the less likely they are to donate any money at all, to donate to a church, and the less money they donate when they do give. In terms of generations, Baby Busters (adults in the 18 to 35 age bracket) were the least generous on every count: 75% gave away money, only half gave anything to churches, the median donation to all organizations was less than $800, and their mean giving to churches was less than $600 per capita. In contrast, 83% of Baby Boomers were donors, two-thirds gave to churches, their mean total giving topped $1200, and their mean church gifts equaled $746. The most generous group were the two older generations, now 56 or older. Nine out of ten were donors, and seven out of ten gave money to churches. Their mean giving to all organizations ($1537) and to churches ($1176) was nearly double that of Busters.

In relation to all giving, other noteworthy distinctions among subgroups included the following:

College graduates donated more than twice as much per capita as did people with a high school education or less ($1747 versus $797, respectively).
Both white and black adults donated more than twice as much per capita as did Hispanic adults ($1218 by whites, $1094 by blacks, $528 by Hispanics).
Protestants gave away an average of 57% more money than did Catholics ($1379 compared to $878).
Although fewer residents of the South and the West donated money in 2001, those who did so had the highest per capita averages: $1343 among donors from the West and $1123 among those in the South versus $1040 among people in the Midwest and just $866 among people living in the Northeast.
Registered voters gave away more than twice as much per capita as did adults who are not registered to vote. While Democrats and Independents donated similar gross amounts, Republicans gave away over 75% more on a per capita basis.
Conservatives and liberals had equivalent average total gifts, but those who were moderate in their social and political views contributed about 14% less per capita.
Residents of California donated nearly three dollars for every dollar given by New York residents.

When the data regarding church giving were studied, additional patterns emerged.

People from households earning $60,000 or more annually gave three times as much money to churches, on a per capita basis, as did people from households making under $35,000.
White donors gave twice as much money to churches, on a per donor basis, as did Hispanic adults.
Evangelicals gave four times as much money, per person, to churches as did all other church donors. Evangelicals even outpaced per capita giving of non-evangelical born again Christians by nearly a three-to-one margin. People who attend religious centers that are not Christian donated about 10% less per capita than did those who attend a Christian church.
Protestants donated an average of $1093 to their churches in 2001. That figure was more than double the average amount given by Catholics to their churches ($495).
Church donations were nearly identical in the South, Midwest and West. The average per capita donations among Northeasterners was more than one-third lower.
Political ideology affected church giving dramatically. While the mean gifts to churches by conservatives was $1459, the mean was only $557 among moderates and even less among liberals ($406).

Tithing

One of the doctrines taught by many Protestant churches is that of tithing, which means donating ten percent of one’s income. In total, one out of every 12 adults (8%) had given away at least 10% of their income last year. That was marginally above the 6% registered in 2000.

The proportion of tithers is higher among born again Christians (14% tithed) than among non-born again adults (5%).

Insights Regarding Generosity

George Barna, who directed the research for the book project, offered several conclusions. “People with the strongest convictions are the most likely to support their worldview financially,” Barna noted. “For instance, Republicans were the individuals most likely to have strong ideological leanings, and their giving levels were dramatically higher than those of others. Evangelical Christians are most likely to take the Bible at face value, and their chart-topping giving levels reflect that confidence in the accuracy and importance of Scripture. Conservatives were the most fervent about their views, and their donations average emphasizes their intensity. The same pattern held true regarding church size. People who attend large churches are disproportionately evangelical, conservative, and feel as if their church is doing significant ministry, resulting in more generous giving.”

Read About... Practical Outcomes Replace Biblical Principles As the Moral Standard

The research also shows that a substantial proportion of people’s donations are given to their church. “Among evangelicals, almost ninety cents of every donated dollar goes to their church. The proportion drops, however, as people’s spiritual intensity and commitment to Christ decline,” Barna stated. “Seventy seven cents of every donated dollar from non-evangelical born again adults is directed toward the church, compared to just sixty four cents among those who are not born again but affiliate with a Christian church. The percentage is even smaller among people who are aligned with faith groups that are not Christian.”

Barna’s forthcoming book is designed to provide a sense of how people’s faith commitments, as measured by two dozen different indicators of belief and religious behavior, have changed over the past decade. “Individuals and society glean stability and continuity from their faith commitments,” Barna commented, “but there is a lot of shifting that has occurred in the faith realm over the past decade. The breadth of research contained in The State of the Church: 2002 - through the same measures tracked, in some cases, for two decades - helps reveal those realignments.”

Research Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews during late January and early February with a nationwide random sample of 1006 adults. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. (The sampling error for subgroups would be higher because the sample size of those segments is smaller. There are other types of error besides sampling error that may be present in surveys.)

The report mentions two types of averages. A median is based on sequentially listing all amounts from lowest to highest and selecting the amount that is in the middle of the list. A mean is based on adding the value of all of the amounts and dividing by the total number of items added. A mean is a more volatile measure because it is affected by extremes at either end of the continuum.

Survey Data

	2001	2000	1999	1998
% of adults who donated	80%	78%	84%	87%
Mean amount donated to all groups	$1097	$886	$1045	$1377
% of adults who donated to churches	62%	61%	66%	66%
Mean amount donated to churches	$769	$646	$806	$750

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

Teens Change Their Tune Regarding Self and Church (020423)

One of the toughest things about kids is that just when you think you understand them, they change. New research from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California suggests that the common wisdom about teenagers is now passé: a whole new set of perspectives and behaviors characterizes today’s teens, showing significant departures from the customs of teens as recent as five years ago.

Self-Images Have Changed

Remember when grunge music ruled and “slackers” dominated the limelight? Indeed, you don’t have to go back very far to recall Baby Busters complaining about abandonment, the hopelessness of life, the limited value of education, and distaste for the rampant hypocrisy in our society. Things have changed dramatically in the teen world since the mid-nineties. Today’s teenagers, now dominated by the Mosaic generation, are more likely to state that they are satisfied with their life, look forward to a challenging future, feel intelligent and attractive, and can optimistically face tomorrow because they trust most other people. A majority of teenagers have given up on the anxieties related to abandonment; teens typically feel relatively secure about their life and their future.

for more on the Mosaic generation, see October 8, 2001 release New Barna Book Provides Insight Into Real Teens

This turnabout in self-esteem has triggered a growing desire to excel in school and to have a breadth of life adventures and experiences. While there are still millions of teenagers who are struggling to find their place in the world, the prevailing mood among teens has shifted dramatically in the past half-decade to a more upbeat, optimistic and self-reliant perspective.

Although more than four out of five teens believe that adults see young people in a mostly negative light, that has deterred few from pursuing their dreams of the good life. The most common future desires of teens include a quality education, vibrant health, intimate personal relationships and a comfortable lifestyle. A major change in attitude is the shift from feeling ill-equipped for the future and harboring anger or self-pity for that condition, as was the norm a decade ago, to the current perspective of addressing their lack of preparation by aggressively seeking the resources and experiences required to raise their capacity level.

Faith Commitments

One thing that has not changed much is the number of teens who have an interest in faith. For more than a decade, teenagers have been among the most spiritually interested individuals in the nation. However, sensitivity to faith matters has not resulted in a boom in Christian conversions. In fact, while more than three out of five teenagers say they are spiritual, spiritual goals and life outcomes are not among the top-rated goals they have established for their future.

There is evidence that spirituality has been mainstreamed into teen life without radically affecting the lifestyles and values of most teens. For instance, in 1990 Barna found that 31% of teenagers were born again Christians. In 2001, in spite of increased dialogue about religious matters, a large majority of teens who cite spirituality as a major consideration in life, and the highest levels of church participation by teens during the past quarter century, the teenage born again figure is virtually unchanged at 33%.

Taking matters a step further, the Barna statistics show that the percentage of teens who are evangelicals - i.e., those who are not only born again but also believe in the accuracy of the Bible, personal responsibility to evangelize, believe in salvation by grace alone, and possess orthodox biblical views on God, Jesus and Satan - have declined from 10% in 1995 to just 4% today. This demise is attributable to growing numbers of teenagers who accept moral relativism and pluralistic theology as their faith foundation. This decline parallels a similar drop among adults: 12% were evangelicals in 1994, but just 5% fit the criteria today.

The Future Church

These are among the many research findings presented by George Barna in a new two-hour training video concerning teenagers, entitled Real Teens, based on nationwide interviews his firm conducted among nearly 3000 teenagers. One aspect of Barna’s research explored the types of churches that are most appealing to young people. The study found that the church factors that appeal to a young person depend upon their spiritual inclinations. Teens who consider themselves to be Christian were most interested in the church’s internal culture, the depth of community among congregants and the quality of the spiritual substance provided by the church. In contrast, among teens that do not think of themselves as Christian the most appealing facets are the presence of their friends in the church, convenient location, the level of trust and care evident among congregants, and service to the poor of the community.

“In a nutshell, Mosaics are looking for an authentic experience with God and other people,” explained George Barna as he presented the research to a group of parents and educators who work with teens in Los Angeles. “Teenagers patronize churches and other event-oriented organizations because they are seeking a compelling experience that is made complete and safe by the presence of people they know and trust, and from whom they are willing to learn and take their cues. Music and other ambient factors may attract them once or twice, but those elements will not keep them coming back for more. There has to be sufficient substance, quality, hope, and genuine mutual concern and acceptance for them to return.”

Barna’s recent book on teenagers, also entitled Real Teens, points out that only a minority of teens is expected to remain involved in Christian churches after they reach the age of independence. “Teens do not go to youth groups for music and games, and they will not attend ‘adult church’ for music and preaching. They demand transcendent adventures and supportive relationships. They need an outlet for their desire to have a positive affect on the world and to synchronize their inner drive to be needed with the needs of those in the world that have little. Despite their streetwise attitudes, teenagers have a genuine streak of compassion that influences their life. Churches that provide a conduit for serving the community will create more meaningful bonds with the Mosaic generation.”

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

Catholics Torn by Emotional and Theological Turmoil (020506)

Since February the public’s attention has been focused on news regarding the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. Recent national surveys have shown that the public’s image of the Catholic Church has declined precipitously during that period. A new nationwide survey by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, indicates that millions of Catholic adults are struggling to clarify their feelings and beliefs in the wake of the child molestation revelations.

The Barna survey shows that since January there has been a big drop in the percentage of Catholics who say they are “absolutely committed to Christianity,” declining by eleven percentage points to just 30%. That is the lowest level of “absolute commitment” measured among Catholics by Barna Research since the firm began tracking that measure a decade ago.

However, the survey also shows that most other indicators have remained relatively stable since the scandal has become public. Measures concerning Catholics’ self-identification with the Roman Catholic Church, the importance of their religious faith, their personal commitment to Jesus Christ, the incidence of Bible reading, prayer, church volunteerism and small group involvement are virtually unchanged compared to January’s figures.

Perhaps the most surprising change has been a seven percentage point rise in church attendance among Catholics since January - including a 10-point increase among Catholics who have children under 18 living in their home. (About four out of every ten Catholic adults lives in a household with one or more children under 18 years of age.) Catholics who do not have children under 18 experienced a smaller increase since January (five points). Even when compared to church attendance levels of a year earlier, to allow for seasonal variations, there has been a jump of six points among all Catholics in church attendance since a year ago.

Different Segments React

Overall, Catholics who have children under the age of 18 have reacted most severely to the crisis. That group has experienced noteworthy declines in “absolute commitment” to Christianity (down 15 percentage points from a year earlier), personal commitment to Jesus Christ (down 14 points), the importance of religious faith in their life (down 10 points) and a decline in Bible reading (down five points).

Catholic women have also shifted their views dramatically in the past year. They have undergone a 10-point drop in levels of absolute commitment to Christianity, a 10-point drop in personal commitment to Jesus Christ, and an 11-point decline in those who say their religious faith is very important in their life. At the same time, there has been a seven-percentage point improvement in the number of Catholic women who read the Bible.

In terms of age groups, the Baby Boomers have been the hardest hit. Boomers were the group most likely to see drops in levels of absolute commitment to Christianity (down seven points), and the importance of religious faith (down 16 points). While church attendance rose by large margins among younger and older Catholics, it remained static among Boomers.

Emotion Versus Doctrine

The crisis has caused many Catholics to reflect on the nature of their faith and the depth of their relationship with their church, according to the study’s director, George Barna. “Millions of Catholics are torn between their personal faith in God and Jesus Christ and their emotional loyalty to their church. Confounding the issue for many Catholics is their desire to honor God - which includes attending Mass to avoid sin - yet not wanting to necessarily intimate support for priests or other individuals who tacitly represent the people who have caused the pain and controversy in the church. This internal conflict of values is most acutely present among the parents of younger children as they strive to reconcile protecting their family and protecting their souls. It is a difficult time for many Catholics as they balance these competing insecurities and try to figure out what is the appropriate response for their family.”

Barna noted that the Catholic Church has not been hard hit by defection to date. “It appears that many Catholics are waiting to see how their church handles the situation before making any final decisions. Again, there are conflicting factors that many Catholics are weighing. On the one hand, Pope John Paul II is very popular among Catholics and is widely trusted as a man of integrity. On the other hand, there is constant discussion of his health and possible abdication of the papacy, producing a greater sense of anxiety and imminent instability. The researcher also discussed the options being considered by many Catholics. “On the one hand there is a growing openness among Catholics to participation in non-Catholic churches. On the other hand, many of the churches whose traditions and practices are most easily understood and adopted by Catholics have embraced gay ministers or are involved in debating the acceptance of homosexual leaders. Given the nature of the crisis facing the Catholic Church, that has tempered the interest of many Catholics in jumping ship to a ‘Catholic-friendly’ denomination.”

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the United States with 25% of all American adults currently identifying themselves as Catholic. Less than half as many adults list the nation’s second largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, as their denominational affiliation.

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based upon telephone surveys with nationwide random samples of 1000 or more adults conducted January 2001, April 2001, July 2001, October 2001, January 2002 and April 2002. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. (The sampling error for subgroups would be higher because the sample size of those segments is smaller. There are other types of error besides sampling error that may be present in surveys.) The sub-samples of adults who described themselves as Catholic averaged 230 people per survey and have maximum sampling error estimates of ±7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Survey Data - Faith Attributes of American Catholics (April 2001 and April 2002)

	4/01	4/02
absolutely committed to Christianity	39%	30%
made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ	64	61
religious faith is very important in their life	70	64
attended church in the past seven days	47	53
read from the Bible in the past seven days	20	22
sample size	235	252

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

New Book Describes the State of the Church in 2002 (020604)

Barna Research has been tracking America’s religious beliefs and practices since 1984. In a new book by George Barna, The State of the Church: 2002, the California-based researcher examines seven religious behaviors and nine religious beliefs over the past decade. The study also explores the similarities and differences among several religious groups, such as evangelicals, notional Christians, Protestants and Catholics. The faith life of teenagers is detailed, along with a snapshot of Protestant pastors and the nature of Protestant churches.

The bottomline? Despite the seeming increase in public discussion about religious freedoms, beliefs and associations, not much has really changed in most people’s spiritual lives during the last ten years.

Religious Practices

Barna’s research has consistently tracked seven religious practices during the past decade. Among the items followed during that span have been church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, volunteering at church, small group participation, Sunday school attendance, and personal evangelism.

The 2002 data showed that church attendance held steady at 43% of all adults in a typical week. There has been minimal change in that level since 1997, ranging from a low of 40% to the current high during the past five years. Prior to this period attendance levels had been more volatile. Barna suggested that the recent stability of this measure helped call attention to the attendance spike jump after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Within a few weeks of the attacks, however, the attendance levels returned to normal.

The research pointed out that relatively few people attend church services every week. In total, less than one out of three adults attend church with such consistency. This is partially due to a noteworthy decline in regularity among Catholics. The explosion in the number and quality of lifestyle diversions, combined with the nationwide decline in acceptance of rules and absolutes, has diminished people’s sense of commitment and spiritual urgency regarding worship participation.

Sometimes, though, looking at national averages obscures the real story. Beneath the surface there may be significant flux in people’s behavior, masked by a virtual canceling out of the changes undergone by different groups. For instance, the research showed substantial distinctions in attendance by generation, denominational identification and ethnicity.

The new study reports that the percentage of adults who are classified as “unchurched” - meaning that they have not attended a church service in the past six months, other than for a special event such as a wedding or funeral - has grown considerably since the early Nineties. In 1991, just 24% of all adults were unchurched; today, 34% fit that description. The increase is attributable to rising non-attendance among Baby Boomers, women, Hispanics, and residents of the Northeast and the West coast.

Click here to read another article with more information on Re-Churching the Unchurched

Religious Beliefs

The Barna survey explored nine religious beliefs that the company has tracked for the past decade. Among those beliefs were the self-reported importance of faith, levels of personal commitment to Christianity and to Jesus Christ, beliefs about God, Satan and the Bible, and perspectives on eternal salvation.

Currently, only half of the adults who say they are Christian contend that they are “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith. Although that number has remained stable since 1996, Barna indicated that a highly significant outcome was how few Baby Busters claim to be absolutely committed to Christianity (just 38%). “That statistic is not only the lowest figure among any of the four adult generations and way below the national norm,” explained Barna, “but it is consistent with the low levels of spiritual investment among young adults. Although young people are very comfortable with faith matters and are open to integrating faith into their life, the data portray Busters to be generally disinterested in typical faith pursuits, long-accepted Christian beliefs and long-standing religious events and institutions.”

Other population segments displayed a marked disinterest in Christianity, as well. Hispanics, men and residents of the Northeast registered below-average levels of commitment to the Christian faith.

Another belief studied by Barna regarded the sinless nature of Jesus Christ. Literally millions of Americans who declare themselves to be Christians contend that Jesus was just like the rest of us when it comes to temptation - fallen, guilty, impure, and Himself in need of a savior!

Americans have not changed their views on the sin nature of Jesus during the eight years Barna Research has been measuring this quality. While there have been very minor fluctuations in opinion from year to year, the differences have not been large enough to reach the point of statistical significance. Presently, 25% strongly agree that Jesus Christ sinned while on earth and another 19% agreed somewhat with that sentiment. Just 8% disagreed somewhat while 40% strongly disagreed with that characterization. The remaining 8% were not sure what to think. If the “agree” and “disagree” opinions are combined and compared, the survey suggests that 44% agree that Jesus sinned and 48% reject that notion.

Following the consistent pattern, the youngest adults are those most likely to contend that Jesus was a sinner. Catholics are slightly more likely than Protestants to hold that view. Within the Protestant camp those who attend mainline churches were more likely to strongly affirm belief in Jesus as a sinner than were those who attend a non-mainline Protestant congregation (29% versus 21%, respectively). Other groups more likely than the norm to proclaim Jesus to have sinned were registered Democrats and political liberals.

Among the most shocking revelations described in Barna’s book explaining the data is the large number of non-evangelical born again Christians who believe that Jesus sinned. One out of five strongly agree that He sinned, an additional one out of eight agreed less vehemently, and 6% disagreed somewhat, with 5% not sure what to believe. In other words, nearly half of the non-evangelical born again segment (46%) did not strongly disagree with the notion that Christ sinned.

Renewing the Thread

After reviewing numerous statistics that provide a robust sense of America’s spiritual nature, Barna ends his book with a challenge to Christian leaders and institutions to think creatively and strategically about the future. Among the nine challenges he raises are comments regarding the marginalization of evangelicals, the escalating spiritual influence of non-white ethnic groups, the dangers emanating from the spread of theology built on “cheap grace,” and the tensions arising from the expectations and demands of the emerging generation (the Mosaics).

Having authored more than 30 previous books regarding faith, culture and lifestyles, Barna suggested that this new book picks up a trail that he dropped several years ago. “Our company has continually tracked these measures for more than a decade, but after writing a book every year from 1991 through 1995 describing the year’s findings, I haven’t produced such a profile for several years. With so much discussion - and misinformation - concerning religion and faith in the news these days, and more aggressive evangelism and church planting strategies being pursued, it seemed as if a comprehensive and updated assessment of America’s faith would be helpful.”

When asked what he found to be most surprising about the data, he replied, “perhaps the paradox of living in a culture defined by constant change, with a nation of people who admit to confusion regarding purpose, meaning and truth, and yet finding that there has been no real change in the spiritual views and endeavors of the people. Layer on top of that the fact that churches have raised and spent more than $500 billion dollars in the past decade to try to influence America’s spiritual life and it seems pretty obvious that it takes more than good intentions and a menu of popular programs to make a dent in the nation’s religious identity and consciousness.”

“When He Lived on Earth, Jesus Christ Committed Sins...”

	1996	1998	2000	2002
Strongly agree	22%	24%	20%	25%
Somewhat agree	20	19	19	19
Somewhat disagree	11	8	9	8
Strongly disagree	37	41	43	40
Don’t know	10	9	9	8

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

America’s Religious Activity Has Increased Since 1996, But Its Beliefs Remain Virtually Unchanged (020617)

In its annual release of data tracking America’s religious practices and beliefs, Barna Research notes that things have improved in terms of spiritual practices since the mid-Nineties, but that there has been virtually no change in people’s core theological beliefs during the past decade.

In an interview discussing his latest book, The State of the Church: 2002, researcher George Barna also explained some of the religious trends that he has seen unfold during the two decades that he has been engaged in religious research. One of the most provocative statements addressed the increase in born again Christians since the early Eighties, and why so many Baby Boomers have transitioned from eschewing religion to embracing it.

Some Religious Activities Have Increased

The annual tracking study of 1001 adults by Barna Research shows that in 2002 there was no discernible change in the seven core religious behaviors tracked from year to year. However, Barna identified three small upticks in religious behavior since the mid-Nineties.

“In retrospect, we can now suggest that 1996 was perhaps the spiritual low point of the nation during the past decade and a half,” Barna explained. “In the past seven years we have seen proportionately small but statistically significant growth in church attendance, Bible reading, and Sunday school attendance. For the most part, the current figures related to those activities have simply been restored to the levels of the late Eighties and early Nineties. However, any improvement is welcomed, even if it only represents recovering lost ground.” He went on to state that there has been no change in the proportion of adults who volunteer at a church, who pray, who attend a small group that meets for religious purposes (other than a Christian education class) and who engage in personal evangelism.

Among the factors that have changed, the most closely watched is church attendance. Currently 43% of adults attend a church or religious service during a typical week. That figure has not budged by more than three percentage points, either up or down, since 1992 - with the exception being the low mark of 37% measured in 1996.

Bible reading has undergone a similar pattern. The 42% of adults who read the Bible during a typical week, excluding while they are at a church or religious center, is the highest the figure has been since the early Nineties. The current level also reflects a small but statistically significant rise from 2001 (when the figure was 37%).

Adult Sunday school attendance reached 25% this year - the highest it has been since the late Eighties. Again, the current mark is a small but statistically significant rise from the 19% level measured in 2000 and 2001.

Religious Beliefs Remain Stable

Only one of the ten religious beliefs and attitudes tracked each year by Barna Research since the mid-Nineties has shown a statistically significant change. In 1996, less than half of all adults (44%) who described themselves as “Christian” said that they were absolutely committed to Christianity. Today, half of all individuals who say they are “Christian” claim to be absolutely committed (50%).

The other nine attributes have changed little since the mid-Nineties. Included is a pair of faith-related attitudes regarding the personal significance of religious faith and having made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. The other seven factors that stayed stable related to beliefs about the nature of God, the character of Christ, the existence of Satan, the accuracy of the Bible, the means to eternal salvation, the responsibility to evangelize, and the percentage of adults who can be classified as born again according to their beliefs.

The new book from Barna indicates that during the past decade there has been a noticeable decline in adults who are Protestant, and small but meaningful dip in the percentage of evangelicals, and a stable proportion of adults who can be classified as born again. Protestants still outnumber Catholics by a wide margin, but the former are now barely more than half of the population (53%), which is a huge decline from the seven out of ten identified just a quarter-century ago.

Conclusions Raise Controversy

Barna acknowledged that in spite of providing a range of statistics about religious practices and beliefs, analyzed by a variety of population segments, there has been one particular conclusion in his book that has already raised heated discussion among religious leaders. “Twenty five years ago, Baby Boomers wanted nothing to do with institutional religion and generally felt that Christians were hypocrites. Today, Boomers are half of the born again population. You have to wonder what caused such a massive turnaround. It was not simply because they had children and wanted their offspring to have religious training.

“After pouring over numerous national studies we have conducted since the early Eighties, I believe that the issue is the way in which we have proposed Christianity to the Boomer generation. At heart, Boomers are consumers. The way we presented Christ to most Boomers struck a resonant chord with them from that mindset. We told them all they had to do was say a prayer admitting they made some mistakes, they’re sorry and they want to be forgiven. Boomers weighed the downside - which really amounted to nothing more than a one-time admission of imperfection and weakness in return for permanent peace with God - and figured it was a no-brainer, a can’t-lose transaction. The consequence has been millions of Boomers who said the prayer, asked for forgiveness and went on with their life, with virtually nothing changed.

“Sadly,” the researcher continued, “they misunderstand the heart of the matter. They saw it as a deal in which they could exploit God and get what they wanted without giving up anything of consequence. But very few American Christians have experienced a sense of spiritual brokenness that compelled them to beg God for His mercy and acceptance through the love of Christ. We have a nation of ‘Christians’ who took the best offer, but relatively few who were so humiliated and hopeless before a holy and omnipotent God that they cried out for undeserved compassion. That helps to explain why in practical terms it’s hard to tell the difference between those who have beliefs that characterize them as born again and those who don’t; the difference between the two groups is based on semantics more than a desperate plea for grace that triggered an intentional effort to live a transformed life.” In his book, Barna encourages church leaders to reconsider how we present the gospel to America and to examine the impact that current spiritual approaches are having upon self-satisfied, spiritually complacent people.

Key Religious Trend Data for 2002

	%
Church attendance, typical week	43%
Bible reading, typical week	42%
Pray to God, typical week	81%
Attend a small group, typical week	18%
Attend a Sunday school class, typical week	25%
Religious faith is very important in your life	66%
Strongly disagree: Jesus Christ committed sins	40%
Strongly disagree: Satan is just a symbol of evil	24%
Born again Christian (based on beliefs)	40%
Evangelical Christian (based on beliefs)	5%

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

Christian Mass Media Reach More Adults With the Christian Message Than Do Churches (020702)

Many Americans assume that the most common way of experiencing the Christian faith is by attending a church service. A new nationwide survey by the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, reports a different conclusion. A greater number of adults experience the Christian faith through Christian media, such as radio, television or books, than attend Christian churches.

The new study states that slightly more than six out of ten American adults (63%) attended a church service during the past month. In contrast, two out of every three adults (67%) used at least one of three forms of religious media - radio, television or books - for a dose of the Christian faith in the past month. In raw numbers, about 132 million adults have been to a church service compared to 141 million using Christian media.

Read About How... America’s Religious Activity Has Increased Since 1996, But Its Beliefs Remain Virtually Unchanged

Christian Radio

Overall, slightly more than half of the nation’s adults said they had tuned in to a Christian radio program of some type during the past month. The most prolific Christian programming is teaching, preaching and talk shows. Just less than four out of ten adults (38%) had tuned in to hear such programming during the previous month. In contrast, the fastest-growing type of Christian broadcasting - Christian music - has already surpassed the talk-driven formats. Just more than two out of five adults - 43% - said they had listened to a station airing Christian music during the past month. The expansion in both the number of radio stations adopting a Christian music format and in the size of the listening audience helps to explain why the Christian music genre has been one of the fastest-growing categories in the music industry during the past two years.

When both Christian radio formats are combined, all Christian radio programming reached 52% of the nation’s adults in the prior month. That translates into 109 million adults exposed to Christian radio content. Both formats skewed older, downscale, black, Protestant, and politically conservative.

Christian Television

Christian television may not make the headlines like it did in the Seventies and Eighties, but it draws a larger audience these days, thanks in part to a greater number of networks, programs and greater audience targeting. The Barna survey showed that 43% of all adults had watched some Christian programming on television during the past month.

The growth of the Christian television audience is reflective of the splintering of the TV audience, in general. Whereas the three largest broadcast networks formerly controlled the airwaves, claiming more than 90% of the audience, the advent of countless cable and satellite channels has utterly fragmented the audience these days. The aggregate adult audience for Christian programming during the past month was 90 million people - approximately the same number who attend Christian churches in any given week.

Christian Books

One out of every three adults (33%) claimed to have read a Christian book, other than the Bible, during the past month. This total includes both fiction and non-fiction titles. Projected over the entire adult mass, that represents 70 million people reading Christian books in the past month. Realize that among the country’s top-selling books are several Christian titles, including the latest offering in the Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Timothy LaHaye, books in the Jabez series by Bruce Wilkinson, and business books by former pastor John Maxwell.

Niche Analysis

One of the striking outcomes of the research was the consistency of Christian media usage across demographic and lifestyles segments. The use of Christian media, regardless of type, increased with age until the mid-seventies, at which point usage dropped off somewhat. Women were generally more likely than men to use Christian media, while blacks were substantially more likely than any other ethnic segment to incorporate such media into their life. Households making less than the national income average were the most prolific users of Christian media; adults from households at the higher end of the income scale were the least common users. Individuals who described themselves as politically conservative were generally twice as likely as the self-described liberals to be within the audience. Similarly, Protestant adults were twice as likely to use any one of the four media tested than were Catholics. Residents of the South were much more likely to use any of the Christian media evaluated than were residents of the Northeast or West.

In relation to the spiritual inclinations of the public, the survey found that 96% of evangelicals had been exposed to Christian media, ranging from the 84% who listen to Christian radio to two-thirds who watched Christian TV or read a Christian book. Four out of five non-evangelical born again Christians had some exposure to Christian media. They were generally twice as likely to use these media as were people who called themselves Christian but had not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior (i.e., “notional Christians”). Half of the notional Christians had exposure to Christian media. Surprisingly, 44% of Americans who are associated with a non-Christian faith had interaction with Christian media in the prior month, and even one-third of those who described themselves as either “atheist” or “agnostic” (37%) admitted to listening, watching or reading something related to the Christian faith.

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

Researcher George Barna pointed out that surprisingly large proportions of the atheists, agnostics and adults aligned with non-Christian faiths intentionally absorb information from the Christian media. More than one-fourth of that group listened to Christian radio, one-quarter watched Christian TV, and one-seventh read a Christian book. In other words, of the 50 million adults who are not aligned with Christianity, there were more than 15 million who had some degree of exposure to Christianity through these media.

Barna also provided figures indicating that among the 65 million unchurched adults in the United States - that is, adults who have not attended a church service during the past six months other than for a holiday service or special event such as a wedding or funeral - an unexpectedly large 42% had been exposed to Christianity through these media in the past month. That translates to roughly 27 million individuals who are disconnected from bricks-and-mortar churches, but who access Christian content through radio, television or books. The medium most commonly used by unchurched individuals was Christian radio, which was listened to by one-quarter (27%) of all unchurched adults.

Thoughts On Exposure

The results are consistent with an emerging trend identified by Barna of Americans adopting new forms of faith expression. “Increasing numbers of people are involved in informal discussion groups regarding faith matters, participate in faith forums and in-home worship activities, or use the Internet for faith exploration and communications,” the researcher explained. “As our culture continues to embrace new forms of education, interaction and relationships, while maintaining a felt need for connection to God, it is important to recognize that traditional Christian activities such as evangelism, worship and discipleship may happen outside of a church building for many people - including millions of individuals who have no interest or intention of visiting a church.”

The study shows that three-quarters of all churched adults (78%) supplement their church experience with exposure to Christian media. Among adults who have what Barna described as an “active faith” - that is, they read the Bible, attended a church service and prayed during the past week, a group representing 30% of adults - 93% used one or more of the Christian media during the past month.

Barna, who has written several best-selling books regarding the role of faith in American culture, indicated that the appeal of the Christian media is based on the degree of quality, variety and convenience offered through such means of communications. “Great strides have been made in these media in the past decade or two,” he noted. “But adults have standard qualifications for any media they will accept, whether it has a Christian orientation or not. The content must meet their personal needs, the quality must be up to the standards of the day, and the medium must fit into hectic, fast-paced, unpredictable schedules. The Christian media industry has come a long way from the days when it simply aired or transcribed sermons. Much of the substance now available directly addresses the felt needs of contemporary society, using the technology and information that makes the presentations interesting and relevant.”

Despite the gaudy numbers of people reached via the Christian media, however, Barna sounded a challenge to the Christian community. “In essence, Christianity is about relationships - a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ that is fostered through supportive relationships with other Christians. The Christian media are helpful in focusing people’s attention on things that matter. That focus is greatly enhanced when impersonal media presentations are made practical through supportive community. Unless there is a degree of personal accountability upheld through loving and focused relationships, Christianity becomes only an intellectual faith, and Christians run the danger of becoming modern-day Pharisees. The people factor must always be incorporated if Christianity is to be a genuine expression of God’s intent.”

Research Methodology

The data described above are from telephone interviews conducted in April 2002 among a nationwide random sample of 1007 adults. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Who Uses the Christian Media in a Typical Month

	All adults
Listen to preaching, teaching talk-oriented Christian radio	38%
Listen to Christian-music radio	43%
Listen to Christian radio, any format	52%
Watch Christian television	43%
Read Christian books, other than the Bible	33%
Used any of these three Chrisian media	67%
Attended a Christian church service	63%

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

New Book and Diagnostic Resource Strive to Clear Up Widespread Confusion Regarding Leadership (020805)

Remember when “fast food” meant rapid delivery of a limited menu of meals, or “outlet stores” referred to retail shops that offered deep discounts on products? According to public opinion analyst George Barna the term leadership has suffered the same dilution of meaning. Speaking at a recent public gathering, Barna supported his thesis regarding the widespread misunderstanding about leadership by listing various statistics from his nationwide surveys, including the fact that two-thirds of all adults and more than nine out of ten Protestant Senior pastors say they are leaders.

“Leadership has positive connotations in our society and therefore people want to be associated with it,” he explained. “Unfortunately, ‘leadership’ has become such a misused, misunderstood and generic word that most people and behaviors are now subsumed under the term’s umbrella. It’s similar to what has happened with terms such as ‘Christian,’ which 85% of adults call themselves, even though half of those people admit that they have no relationship with Jesus Christ, or ‘evangelistic,’ a label embraced now by almost nine out of ten churches even though most of them have not seen a new convert in the past year. ‘Leadership’ has befallen the same definitional elasticity.”

Barna was speaking in reference to his newly-released book on leadership, A Fish Out of Water (Integrity Books: Nashville, TN) and a related self-administered diagnostic test (Christian Leader Profile) that helps people figure out if they are leaders. In the book he describes the nine most common challenges that cause people in leadership positions to falter and how truly effective leaders overcome those challenges.

One of the most common challenges, Barna’s research found, was that many people flounder in positions of leadership because they are not true leaders. To help identify such situations, Barna provides a detailed definition of leadership and distinguishes between two very different types of leaders - “habitual” and “situational.” “Everyone provides leadership at some time in their life - that is, they provide “situational” leadership - but relatively few people are called to provide leadership as their primary vocation or organizational function. Those who are gifted for such provision are ‘habitual’ leaders - the individuals who motivate, mobilize, resource and direct people to fulfill a specific vision of the future.”

Leadership in the Pastorate

In addition to his research among a wide array of leaders for his book, Barna invested more than two years of research in developing the online diagnostic (The Christian Leader Profile). Asked about his motivation to create such a tool, Barna related some of the findings from his research among senior pastors of Protestant churches.

“We recently interviewed more than 2400 Protestant pastors and discovered that 92% of them said they are leaders. Then we gave them the definition that we use of leadership and saw the proportion drop to less than two-thirds,” Barna continued. “When we then asked if they felt that God had given them one of the spiritual gifts that relates to leading people, such as leadership, apostleship or even administration, the proportion plummeted to less than one out of four. Finally, we asked them to dictate to us the vision that they are leading people toward - that is, the very heartbeat of their ministry - we wound up in the single digits.”

The southern California-based researcher noted that his surveys also revealed that less than 2% of Senior Pastors believe they are doing a “below average” job of leading their congregations, a figure that he called “unrealistically low.” Among the related figures he shared were some showing that pastors who consider themselves to be leaders are most likely to defend that belief on the basis of saying they do an “excellent” job in teaching and in encouraging people. “While those are worthy and much-needed skills,” Barna commented, “they have little to do with a person’s calling to lead a group to fulfill a God-given vision.” The surveys found that most of the pastors who deem themselves to be leaders ranked themselves comparatively low on attributes such as mobilizing people to pursue a vision, accumulating the tangible resources needed for that pursuit, and providing people with clear direction based on the nature of the vision. Those were some of the characteristics Barna categorized as central to effective leadership.

Other statistics cited indicated that the denominations with the greatest percentage of Senior Pastors who claimed to satisfy the leadership definition provided to pastors were the AME, AME Zion and Missionary Baptist groups - all of which are predominantly African-American churches. The denominations with the smallest percentage of pastors who claimed to fit the expressed criteria were from the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and United Church of Christ groups.

Conflict and Curiosity

During the discussion that followed his remarks, substantial interest was piqued regarding the Christian Leader Profile, particularly in relation to recent revelations regarding the scandals involving a growing number of corporations. Barna referred to recent research that suggested the root problem is not one of skills but primarily of character. He noted that the Christian Leader Profile assesses 13 central character traits of a person, in the belief that a leader’s capacity to have positive impact is directly related to the purity of their character. The Profile, which is taken online through the Barna Research website, also assesses whether it appears God has called the person to be a leader, the individual’s standing in relation to 15 core leadership competencies, and one’s leadership aptitude. The latter factor is one of four types of leadership emphases that a person provides as a leader. Barna admitted that during the Profile’s testing period the most difficult element to assess was the quality of a person’s character. “We discovered that it is very difficult for people to give honest and accurate self-reports on how they behave. It took several iterations before we identified a viable means of measuring the primary character factors.”

Several pastors expressed their concern that concluding that most pastors are not called by God to be leaders reflects an anti-pastor bias. “This research does not criticize the heart or ministry of pastors, it simply affirms that they will have their most positive effect through the exercise of other gifts and offices. Pastors are good people, well-educated and called to ministry, but perhaps not to the ministry of leadership,” the author replied.

“Unfortunately, churches have created a ministry model that expects the pastor to be gifted and skilled in an unrealistically diverse and large number of areas. I have not said that many of today’s pastors should not be in ministry, but simply that we have set them up for failure by expecting them to be something that God Himself hasn’t called them to be. Ideally, pastors who are not called to be habitual leaders can be released from the responsibilities of leadership and instead focus on what they are gifted at and have been called to, partnering with people whose ministry is primarily that of leadership.”

Some in the audience clearly struggled with the notion that pastors are not leaders - and let the author know. Barna took the criticism in stride, though, encouraging pastors to seek a “prayerful, realistic self-view” and to realize that “the bottom line on this matter is that it is not up to you to choose whether or not to lead. God chooses whether to invite you to lead people on His behalf. It is of paramount importance that you accurately understand what God has called you to do and to be, and follow His calling rather than some pre-determined vocational track. Leadership is just one of many incredible callings He has for people, but misevaluating one’s call to leadership can have severe consequences for the non-leader trying to lead as well as for the people under his or her care.”

When one audience member asked if Barna felt threatened by the heated reaction of pastors to his argument, he indicated that the response was expected. “In fact, in Fish Out of Water I describe how effective leaders use such conflict as a tool to advance their cause. Conflict can be a constructive and healthy mechanism for clarifying issues, facilitating interaction and promoting creative solutions. Leaders do not flee from conflict. Often, they carefully and strategically foster conflict to help their people understand the opportunities for growth and to make progress.”

Other subjects dealt with in Barna’s new book include developing people into effective followers, the leadership styles appropriate for organizational life stages, character enhancement, team-building, and practical vision development and communication.

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People’s Faith Flavor Influences How They See Themselves (020826)

A new study of how American adults view themselves finds those associated with the Christian faith are more likely than others to claim traditional values and to be concerned about the nation’s moral condition; atheists, agnostics and people associated with non-Christian faiths are most likely to be politically liberal and least likely to say they are happy; and evangelicals are the most conservative, most satisfied, most spiritually inclined and least stressed out of all U.S. adults. These are some of the key findings from a new report from the Barna Research Group, of Ventura, California, based on interviews with more than 3000 randomly sampled adults throughout the country.

In the research, Barna divided adults into five distinct faith segments - or “faith flavors” - to explore the relationship between faith views and self-descriptions. The five segments - evangelical Christians (just less than 7% of the respondents), non-evangelical born again Christians (35% of all adults), notional Christians (38%), adults affiliated with a non-Christian faith (13%), and atheists and agnostics (8%) - each emerged with a different personal profile.

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

Evangelicals

Although there are fewer evangelicals than there are either atheists and agnostics or adults aligned with non-Christian faiths, these individuals have become a political lightning rod and are routinely caricatured unkindly by the media. Despite such public vilification, most evangelicals have a healthy self-image. Evangelicals are almost universally “happy” (99%) and were by far the segment that was most satisfied with their present life (91%). This upbeat frame of mind may be related to the fact that evangelicals are the least likely to say they are “lonely” (8%), “in serious debt” (9%) or “stressed out” (16%). The percentage who admit to high levels of stress is less than half the level measured among adults connected with non-Christian faiths (33%) or those who say they are atheistic or agnostic (42%).

At the same time, evangelicals were also nearly unanimous in being “concerned about the moral condition of the country” (98%). This is certainly connected to the fact that nearly nine out of ten (87%) say they are “deeply spiritual” and more than nine out of ten (94%) describe themselves as “absolutely committed to Christianity.” In fact, nearly all of them (96%) say they possess “traditional or family-oriented values” and two-thirds of the group (64%) says they are “mostly conservative on political and social issues.”

In spite of their moral concerns, they were the group least worried about the future (54%) and least likely to say they are “totally committed to getting ahead in life” (52%).

Non-Evangelical Born Again Christians

Adults who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior and believe they will experience eternal life because they have sought and received His forgiveness, but who do not share other central theological beliefs of evangelicals, comprise just over one-third of the adult population. This group is more likely than all except the evangelicals to claim to be “deeply spiritual” (73%), concerned about the moral condition of the U.S. (94%), to say they are “absolutely committed to Christianity” (63%) and to be “mostly conservative on political and social issues” (34%).

However, this group is indistinguishable from non-Christians and nominal Christians in terms of stress, debt, or addictions. This segment is the most likely of all to admit to being “totally committed to getting ahead in life” (74%), yet is more satisfied with their life than only one of the other four segments. Eight out of ten (79%) say they are satisfied with their current life, topping only the 68% recorded among atheists and agnostics.

Notional Christians

The largest of the three “Christian” segments (almost four out of every ten adults), notional Christians are those 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. The faith leanings of this group appeared to make little difference in relation to stress, debt, addictions, happiness, life satisfaction or socio-political ideology.

Notional Christians were among the most concerned about the future (67%) and about the moral state of the nation (86%). These concerns are probably tied to the finding that nine out of ten say they maintain traditional or family-oriented values. They were also the segment most likely to admit to being lonely (tied with atheists and agnostics).

Non-Christian Faith Groups

Americans who associate with faith groups that are not Christian represent about one out of every eight adults. Less than six out of ten (57%) say they are “deeply spiritual” (compared to about two-thirds of those aligned to some degree with Christianity). This group is slightly less likely than the three Christian segments to claim to be happy (87%) or satisfied with their life (75%). They are among the least likely to be concerned about the future (56%) or the moral condition of the U.S. (68%).

Those whose faith flavor of choice is Judaism, Islam or some other non-Christian faith are equally likely to claim to be politically conservative (16%) as to claim being liberal (15%). Just less than eight out of ten say they have traditional or family-oriented values (79%).

Atheists and Agnostics

Although they are slightly less than 8% of the American adult population, atheists and agnostics possess self-perceptions that clearly stand out from those of citizens who maintain some definable faith preference. The non-faith segment placed highest among the five niches in claiming to be stressed out (42%), concerned about the future (68%) and lonely (14%). They were the least likely to be satisfied with their life (68%) and to be concerned about America’s moral state (60%).

Consistent with the public’s image of atheists and agnostics, they were the segment most likely to describe themselves as being politically liberal (32%) and were the group least likely to describe themselves as being conservative (4%) or as having traditional or family-oriented values (71%).

Faith Affects People’s Self-Image

According to the director of the research project, the findings suggest that one’s faith flavor and self-image have some correlations. “The more deeply committed a person is to evangelical Christianity, the more at ease they report being with their life circumstances,” explained George Barna, Directing Leader of the Barna Research Group. “On the other hand, individuals who are indifferent or hostile to all faith systems are notably less relaxed and fulfilled with life. There are various gradations between these two poles, of course, but it does appear that people’s faith flavor - that is, their faith of choice and their degree of commitment to that faith - has a substantial affect on how they view themselves. And the data suggest that the more deeply committed to Christianity a person is, the more likely they are to experience greater self-confidence, peace, and fulfillment.”

Research Methodology

The data described are from three nationwide telephone surveys conducted in 2002. The first entailed 1006 interviews among adults (18 or older) during January; the second included 1007 interviews during May; and the third survey was conducted in July among 1012 adults. All respondents were selected using a random-digit dial sample (RDD). The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

How Americans Describe Themselves, According to Their “Faith Flavor”

	evangelicals	non-evan., born again	notional Christians	non-Christian faith	atheist/agnostic
stressed out	16%	29%	32%	33%	42%
deeply spiritual	87	73	51	57	19
completely/mostly satisfied with your life today	91	79	79	75	68
totally committed to getting ahead in life	52	74	70	62	58
concerned about the moral condition of this country	98	94	86	68	60
have traditional or family-oriented values	96	94	90	79	71
absolutely committed to the Christian faith	94	63	32	N/A	N/A
mostly conservative on social and political issues	64	34	25	16	4
(average subgroup size)	69	355	380	128	77

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

Barna Responds to Christianity Today Article (020917)

Response to the August cover story in Christianity Today concerning George Barna flooded the California-based researcher’s digital and physical mailboxes. Public reaction to the article and its representation of Barna ran both hot and cold - as did Barna’s reaction to the article that described his two-decade odyssey in conducting research for ministries and his change of plans for the future.

In a recent conversation regarding the content and impact of the article, Barna stated that he was “grateful to hundreds of people who wrote to express encouragement, or to describe how our work has helped them, or to resonate with my frustrations.” The most gratifying response, he said, was the scores of people who volunteered to partner in the pursuit of the moral and spiritual revolution that Barna longs to foster. “Honestly, some of the letters from people brought tears to my eyes. It was so energizing to hear from other servants who are similarly passionate about restoring the Church and renewing America.”

Sources of Significant Influence

A brief section of the article alluded to Barna’s future thrust: understanding and impacting the “sources of significant influence,” which Barna consistently refers to as SSI. While he is still conducting research regarding the identity and impact of those sources, he revealed that the early returns from a year of research show the leading influencers in American society to be movies, television, the Internet, books, music, public policy and law, and family. The Christian church, his research shows, is not among the top dozen influences these days - a far cry from the way things used to be. He hopes to provide information to be used for developing a strategy that will enable Christians to have greater effect on society through those sources of influence.

“I’d love to correct the mistaken impression some people got from the article that my interest in SSI means I am turning my back on the local church,” the New York-born father of two explained. “At the moment, for instance, we’re conducting more than a quarter-million dollars-worth of research in preparation for next year’s seminar tour that is geared to help churches in four specific areas of felt need. We will continue conducting our tracking studies among pastors, adults and teenagers. And I’d love to add more research about pre-teens to the slate, if we can afford it. The local church may not be terribly influential today but it has tremendous potential and I certainly have no intention of abandoning it.”

Barna said that he knows of several pastors who have recently preached that, “Barna has given up on the church.” “That hurts,” he says with a rueful smile. “I haven’t given up on the church, I’ve just given up on some of the things that some churches commonly do and I have abandoned some ways of trying to bring needed reform to churches. The article talked about some ‘10-year campaign’ I had launched as if I thought I could single-handedly change Christendom in America. How arrogant and absurd a thought! I know it’s not up to me alone to change the church but I also don’t want to be guilty of flaking out because it’s hard work or there is criticism for our efforts. Theologically, we are called to do everything with excellence because we are ultimately serving God. But our bottom line is not to produce specific results, but to be faithful and obedient in following and honoring God.”

This past year has been a time of transition for Barna Research as it has juggled the continuation of its long-standing research efforts while adding the concentration on cultural influence to its mix of activities. In-between serving clients, writing books, speaking at conferences and spending time with his family, Barna has been steadily chipping away at a plan for implementing the new thrust. After several disclaimers, he offered a brief glimpse of what that effort might look like.

“Imagine what could happen if we had a chance to identify the thousands of Christian teenagers and college students whom God has called into those industries of influence.

“What would happen if we provided each one with a mentor - a person of mature faith and who understands the sector that young person will be entering - as well as a team of prayer partners to support them, from age 13 on?

“What would happen if we pulled every string we could to ensure that they get into the best schools and training programs so that they are highly-skilled professionals, with great experience and extensive contacts, ready to hit the ground running by the time they’re in their early or mid-twenties?

“What would happen if those emerging players were intimately connected, through their mutual faith in Jesus and a series of annual training events, to all of the other rising stars in those fields who are their age, and thus could work together rather than constantly compete?

“Think about the impact of having a mass of intelligent, Christ-committed people whose moral code precludes them from creating garbage for the masses.

The Californian paused and exhaled, clearly excited about the possibilities. “It’s not a panacea, of course, but the more we can strategically raise up the decision-makers and creative talent within these sectors of influence, the better the chances that Americans will have greater access to morally and spiritually appropriate messages and live in a nation whose laws and policies honor rather than offend God.”

Leadership For the Long-Term

For the short-term Barna believes it is important to continue to educate and train individuals who are already in positions of leadership in ministries. His latest book, A Fish Out of Water (Integrity Publishing), is focused on helping leaders identify common pitfalls and knowing how to overcome such obstacles. “There are literally millions of believers whom God has strategically placed in our churches to lead us forward. Some are professional clergy, but most of them are not. That’s partly because it takes so many leaders to get the job done, we can’t afford to put all of them on the payroll. Whatever we can do to help His leaders pursue His vision for the future, the better off everyone will be - within the church and outside of it, too.” Toward that end he is continuing to develop his training seminars, additional books, satellite broadcasts and educational partnerships with other ministries.

Asked about the comment in the article that said, “his definition of a church leader seems very demanding,” he replied, “Sure, it is demanding, but only because the act of leading people towards God’s vision is demanding. Being a leader depends on God’s calling, not personal choice, but even though you’re called to the task it’s still an incredibly pressure-packed, difficult job. Moses, David, Joshua, Paul, and all of the other great leaders described in the Bible found that the expectations of God and His people were very demanding. Frankly, I’d be suspicious of any definition that wasn’t demanding or of an alleged leader who complained about the rigorous commitment expected of a leader. Leadership is no walk in the park. You will be misunderstood, disliked, criticized, and opposed by people with competing viewpoints. Kinda like Jesus was,” he explains with a laugh.

Hope for the Future

The cover story and recent interviews in other national media have played up the supposed hopelessness of Barna’s message. “That characterization is really unfortunate,” he noted with a sigh. “I think there’s a real distinction between being realistic and pessimistic. You cannot enjoy things unless you have a benchmark that shows how you’ve succeeded, and you cannot improve things unless you know how far and in what direction you need to go. I try to give people an accurate understanding of where things are and what the opportunities for growth are. I’m not asking people to like what the research shows, only to understand it and deal with it intelligently. Denial is a strategy for failure. Frankly, there’s no need for denial if we have the Holy Spirit living within us and guiding us as we serve God.” Is there hope for the church? “You know what,” he says with a smile, “we already know we win in the end, so why waste time fighting unnecessary battles over methodology?”

Often at the center of controversy, Barna continued with yet another view that is sure to rankle some. “There are a number of high profile pastors who have been saying that the local church is the only hope for the future. As emotionally comforting as that may feel, it’s just wrong. Jesus Christ is the only hope for the future; the local church is a human institution that God may or may not work through. In the near future we will inevitably see new models of the local church that don’t look or behave at all like the congregational church we have historically fostered. Those new models, as far as they enable us to love God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul, are just as valid and viable as existing models. The more we can place our faith in Jesus Christ and follow the teachings of the Bible, rather than devote energy and resources to saving institutions and structures we created, the better off we’ll be.”

One of the editorial comments in the article that irritated him the most was the “he has restricted vision.” “All vision, by definition, is restricted, but the article made that sound like a failing,” he explained while shaking his head in disbelief. “Vision has to be clear and must operate within parameters or else it becomes some wild, unrealistic notion with little chance of fulfillment or significance. And if the reflection of the vision God has shown me, which is best seen in the church described in Acts 2, is considered restrictive, I can live with that.”

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Americans Draw Theological Beliefs From Diverse Points of View (021008)

Nine out of ten adults own at least one Bible and eight out of ten consider themselves to be Christian, but you’d never know it from the smorgasbord of religious beliefs professed by most people. A new nationwide survey conducted by the Barna Research Group indicates that a large share of the people who attend Protestant or Catholic churches have adopted beliefs that conflict with the teachings of the Bible and their church.

Adopting the Classics

There are some fundamental Christian precepts that most Americans have held on to. The new survey reveals that more than three-quarters of all adults adopt each of three classic Christian beliefs. For instance, the concept of the trinity - “God is one being in three separate and equal persons - God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit” - is deemed to be a reality by 79% of adults. Women are considerably more likely than men to accept the Trinity as real, by an 85% to 72% margin, but few members of either gender doubt its existence.

The idea that “every person has a soul that will live forever, either in God’s presence or absence,” is also embraced by 79% of American adults. Again, women are more likely than men to hold this view (82% of women compared to 72% of men).

The third perspective is that “the Bible can only be correctly interpreted by people who have years of intense training in theology.” This argument, which goes back to the Protestant Reformation of several hundred years ago, was rejected by 76% of adults. The segments most likely to agree with this idea were African-Americans and Hispanics (24% of each group) and Catholics (22%). Even among those segments, however, less than one-quarter believes that accurate comprehension of the Bible is beyond the capacity of the average person.

Straying From the Text

In response to most of the other nine theological statements evaluated, a majority or large minority of Americans expressed points of view that conflict with the Bible. Three of those matters dealt with the nature of spiritual beings.

Six out of ten Americans (59%) reject the existence of Satan, indicating that the devil, or Satan, is merely a symbol of evil. Catholics are much more likely than Protestants to hold this view - 75% compared to 55% - although a majority of both groups concur that Satan is symbolic.

The rejection of Satan’s existence seems to conflict with the fact that a slight majority (54%) also contends that, “a human being can be under the control or the influence of spiritual forces such as demons.” People 57 or older were the group most likely to doubt Satan’s existence (64%) and also emerged as those least likely to accept the notion of demonic influence (39%, compared to 55% among Baby Busters and 62% of Baby Boomers).

A slight majority of adults (51%) believes that “praying to deceased saints can have a positive effect in a person’s life.” Not surprisingly, there is a massive difference between Protestants and Catholics on this matter, with Catholics twice as likely to embrace this idea (80% versus 41%). What is surprising is the large share of Protestants that believes in praying to dead saints, a notion dismissed by most Protestant churches. Amazingly, one out of six evangelicals (16%) and half of the non-evangelical born again Christians (50%) also believe in praying to dead saints. Six out of ten Hispanics possess this belief.

More than one-third of the public (35%) also believes that it is “possible to communicate with others after they die.” This perspective is related to a person’s age: half of all adults under age 38 endorse this view, compared to one-third of the Boomers (mid-thirties to mid-fifties) and just one out of seven older adults. Three out of ten non-evangelical born again Christians believe in communication with the dead. Once again, Catholics were more likely than Protestants to embrace this view (45% of Catholics, 26% of Protestants).

Sin and Salvation

Although most adults are aligned with either a Protestant (54%) or Catholic (22%) church, a large minority of Americans believes that when Jesus Christ was on earth He committed sins. Currently, slightly less than half of the public (42%) holds this view, while half (50%) say Jesus did not sin. The people groups most likely to contend that Jesus sinned include people under age 38 (49%), notional Christians (51%), and atheists and agnostics (62%).

Protection from eternal condemnation for one’s sins is widely considered to be earned rather than received as a free gift from God. Half of all adults (50%) argue that anyone who “is generally good or does enough good things for others during their life will earn a place in Heaven.” Although that view is generally considered to be Catholic doctrine and is one of the core beliefs over which the Protestant Reformation was waged, four out of ten Protestants accept this view of salvation ensured by good deeds. Almost half of the non-evangelical born again Christians also adopt this view, in spite of the fact that they have prayed for the forgiveness of their sins and asked Jesus Christ to be their savior - actions which they believe were the basis of their assurance of salvation. Apparently, large numbers of the non-evangelical born again adults believe that people have a choice of means to salvation, either the grace-alone or the salvation-though-works approaches.

In yet another break from biblical teaching, three-quarters of adults (74%) agree that, “when people are born they are neither good nor evil - they make a choice between the two as they mature.” In other words, the concept of original sin is rejected by most Americans in favor of a rational choice approach to human nature. At least seven out of ten members of every demographic segment examined accepts the notion of choice over that of original sin. Unexpectedly, the survey data reveal that a slight majority of evangelicals (52%) also buy this notion.

Sources of Truth

If the patterns underlying these views seem inherently contradictory that may be at least partially explained by people’s willingness to draw from a variety of conflicting theological sources. This is perhaps most clearly evident through the finding that a plurality of adults (44%) contends that, “the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.” Just 38% of Americans reject that idea. The only population segments at odds with this view are those who are 57 or older (35% accept the notion, 36% reject it, the remaining 29% are not sure); evangelicals (10% agree with the statement, 84% disagree); non-evangelical born again Christians (40% agree, 45% disagree), and adherents of Protestant churches (39% agree, 47% disagree).

Taking matters a step further, the survey discovered that most Americans believe “truth can be discovered only through logic, human reasoning and personal experience.” A majority of Americans (54%) embraces this perspective, which is at odds with both the traditional Protestant belief that the Bible is the source of truth and the Catholic perspective that the Bible and papal authority convey truth. Men were more likely than women to buy into this viewpoint (57% compared to 49% of women). Protestants and Catholics also differ considerably on this matter: 46% of Protestants agree with the notion compared to 62% of Catholics.

Read About How... Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings

Homosexuality Addressed

The final perspective addressed in the survey dealt with the issue of homosexuality. By a two-to-one margin, Americans reject the idea that, “the Bible does not specifically condemn homosexuality.” It is important to note, however, that while 53% disagree and 27% agree with the statement, a large proportion (20%) said they do not know. Often, such a large share of people expressing ignorance is indicative of uncertainty even on the part of those individuals who expressed a point of view. In this case, just 15% said they “strongly agreed” with the statement while nearly three times as many (41%) “strongly disagreed.”

Reflections On the Outcomes

The results are a reflection of a nation whose theological views are increasingly inclusive of many faith traditions, according to the director of the research. George Barna, author of numerous books about the religious beliefs and practices of Americans, including The State of the Church: 2002, was not surprised by the findings.

Learn more about the book The State of the Church 2002

“Over the past 20 years we have seen the nation’s theological views slowly become less aligned with the Bible. Americans still revere the Bible and like to think of themselves as Bible-believing people, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Christians have increasingly been adopting spiritual views that come from Islam, Wicca, secular humanism, the eastern religions and other sources. Because we remain a largely Bible-illiterate society, few are alarmed or even aware of the slide toward syncretism - a belief system that blindly combines beliefs from many different faith perspectives.”

Barna indicated that the passing on of a Christian heritage from one generation to the next appears to be rapidly dissipating in America. “Our continuing research among teenagers and adolescents shows that the trend away from adopting biblical theology in favor of syncretic, culture-based theology is advancing at full gallop.” Citing a wealth of statistical evidence drawn from his books on teens lifestyles and religious beliefs, Real Teens, Barna noted that, “relatively few adults are alarmed by this trend, since teens and adolescents are merely reflecting the trail that their parents and teachers have already blazed.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on a national telephone survey among a random sample of adults (age 18 or older) living within the 48 continental states. The survey included the responses of 630 people and was conducted in August 2002. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate national sample is ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% statistical confidence level.

American’s Beliefs

(N=630)

	agree	disagree
the Bible can only be correctly interpreted by people who have years of intense training in theology	19%	76%
praying to deceased saints can have a positive effect in a person’s life	51	39
when people are born, they are neither good nor evil; they make a choice between the two as they mature	74	21
God is one being in three separate and equal persons - God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit	79	13
every person has a soul that will live forever, either in God’s presence or absence	79	12
the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths	44	38
truth can be discovered only through logic, human reasoning and personal experience	54	43
the Bible does not specifically condemn homosexuality	27	53
it is possible to communicate with others after they die	35	55
a human being can be under the control or the influence of spiritual forces such as demons	54	38
when He lived on earth, Jesus Christ sinned, like other people	42	50
the devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil	59	34

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Survey Shows Faith Impacts Some Behaviors But Not Others (021022)

People’s faith affects some aspects of their behavior but not all of it, according to a new survey released by the Barna Research Group (Ventura, California). The nationwide study examines 25 behaviors in seven different dimensions of life. People who attend church are statistically different than those who do not in relation to 12 of the 25 behaviors. Focusing on the Christian faith, the report (available for free at www.barna.org) also notes that there were differences between born again Christians and non-born again adults related to seven of those 25 behaviors.

The findings also pointed out that of the seven dimensions examined - economics, influence, technology, service, lifestyle, health and morality - the areas in which the greatest differences were found related to morals and service.

Learn more about the Un-Churched in the book Grow Your Church From the Outside In

Moral Distinctions

Survey respondents were asked to react to a half-dozen behaviors related to moral choices. In considering the behavior of churched and unchurched adults, four of the six items showed distinctions. Churched adults were more likely than unchurched individuals to choose not to watch a particular movie or video only because the rating indicated that it contained objectionable material (22% compared to 7%, respectively); to have a discussion with someone about a moral issue (51% versus 41%); and to turn off a television program they were watching because they did not like the values or viewpoint presented in the program (47% compared to 34%). Unchurched adults were more likely to have viewed “adult-only” content on the Internet (19% versus 8% among the churched).

There was no difference in relation to reading a magazine or watching a movie or video that contained explicit sexual images. About one out of every five adults had done so in the past seven days.

There was less of a difference on these matters between born again and non-born again adults. Born again individuals were twice as likely to not watch a movie because of its rating (27% vs. 14% among the non-born agains) and somewhat more likely to turn off a TV program that presented values or viewpoints they did not like (47% vs. 39%). However, there was no difference evident when it came to the likelihood of viewing adult-only content on the Internet, discussing a specific moral issue, or reading magazines or watching videos with explicit sexual content.

Serving Other People

Of the items examined in relation to serving other people, two of the three showed notable differences between church and unchurched adults as well as between born again and non-born again individuals.

Churched adults were nearly twice as likely to have volunteered at least an hour of their time during the previous week to assist an organization that helps needy people (27% versus 15%). Churched people were also more prone to “go out of your way to say something encouraging to a person whom you sensed was in need of a kind word” (79% of the churched did so, 62% of the unchurched did). Both groups were equally likely to have given cash to a poor person whom they encountered during the past week.

Similarly, born again adults were more likely than non-born again people to have volunteered to help a group serving the needy (30% versus 22%) and to have intentionally said encouraging words to a discouraged person (84% versus 73%). There was no discernible difference in their likelihood of giving money to a poor person whom they met.

Read About How... Practical Outcomes Replace Biblical Principles As the Moral Standard

Health Issues

The churched and unchurched had identifiable differences regarding a couple of health matters. The unchurched were more likely to have smoked a cigarette or cigar in the past week (39%, compared to 28% of the churched) and twice as likely to have consumed enough alcohol to be deemed legally intoxicated (15% versus 6%). The two segments were identical when it came to having attended a 12-step or recovery group and regarding the likelihood of spending an hour or more engaged in exercise or physical fitness activity.

On these same four health-related behaviors the only one on which born again adults differed from non-born agains was that they were only half as likely to smoke tobacco during the past week (20% had done so, compared to 37% of the non-born again population).

Lifestyle, Entertainment and Technology

Of the six behaviors related to technology use, entertainment and lifestyle - using the Internet, using e-mail for non-employment purposes, attending a class, recycling, reading a book for pleasure and reading their horoscope - none produced a difference between born again and non-born again adults. However, there were differences among half of the six items based on church involvement. Churched adults were somewhat more likely to have read a book for pleasure, to have used e-mail outside of a job, and a third less likely to have consulted a horoscope report.

Read About How... More Americans Are Seeking Net-Based Faith Experiences

Economic Patterns

The three behaviors associated with finances and spending choices - boycotting products, buying lottery tickets, and gambling - produced no differences between the churched and unchurched. The only difference based on people’s faith commitment was that non-born again adults were marginally more likely than born agains to have purchased a lottery ticket in the past week (24% vs. 17%, respectively).

Seeking to Influence the World

Upon examining responses to the three items concerning personal influence, only one of those showed a gap between the pairs of faith segments under scrutiny. Churched people were four times more likely to have prayed for President Bush during the past week (28% versus 7%); born again adults were twice as likely as non-born again people to have done so (39% compared to 16%, respectively).

People representing each of the four faith segments were equally likely to have contacted a political official to express a point of view (about one out of twenty had done so in the previous week) or to have had a discussion with someone about a political issue during which they tried to influence the other person’s opinion (one-quarter said they had engaged in such interaction).

Perspectives On the Findings

The outcomes suggest that faith does have an impact on how people live, according to George Barna, who directed the research. “It seems that areas of life most clearly related to religious beliefs, such as moral behavior and serving the needs of disadvantaged people, are somewhat affected by involvement in church or through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The data also show, however, that areas of life that are less overtly associated with people’s religious beliefs - dimensions such as economics, political influence or entertainment choices - may not be impacted by their faith. People need more help in determining how their faith speaks to life issues beyond the obvious connections.

“For instance,” he continued, “most devoted Christians see no connection between their faith and recycling, or gambling or even participation in the political process. The fact that there is less of a gap between born again and non-born again individuals than we see between churched and unchurched people indicates that Americans are more likely to be influenced by involvement in any type of faith than they are to be demonstrably changed by commitment to the Christian faith. In other words, because the Christian faith is not associated in people’s minds with a comprehensively different way of life than they would lead if they were not Christian, the impact of that faith is largely limited to those dimensions of thought and behavior that are obviously religious in nature.”

Barna noted that half (49%) of the adults who are churched are non-born again individuals. The research also showed that a majority of the non-born again adults (55%) is churched.

“Some of the elements that are easy to overlook in this study relate to the actual numbers of Christians who do or don’t do something that their faith requires of them,” Barna commented. “For instance, all Christians are called to regularly pray for their leaders, or to influence other people in accordance with biblical values, but relatively few believers do so. Similarly, while Christians are exhorted to not engage in behaviors such as gambling or filling their minds with inappropriate sexual images through pornography, millions do so on a regular basis. While some of that behavior is perhaps outright disobedience to God’s commands, much of it may be naïve ignorance of what the Bible calls for and how we are to translate its principles into daily living.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on two national telephone surveys among random samples of adults (age 18 or older) living within the 48 continental states. The first survey was conducted among 1006 adults in January-February of 2002; the second was among 630 people during August 2002. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate national sample of the January survey is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the maximum level of estimated sampling error is ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% statistical confidence level for the August survey.

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

Focus On “Worship Wars” Hides The Real Issues Regarding Connection to God (021119)

Magazines have featured articles on the “worship wars” said to be raging in the nation’s churches. According to data from a new study presented at Baylor University by researcher George Barna, however, the real issue is not the choice of music by churches but rather people’s interest in, understanding of, and engagement in the act of worshiping God.

Describing the national research conducted by his company for the Billy Ray Hearn Symposium on Christian Music, held at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Barna indicated that the coverage afforded the “worship wars” has exaggerated the scope of the problem while ignoring the real issues regarding worship. “The major challenge,” according to Barna, “is not about how to use music to facilitate worship as much as it is to help people understand worship and have an intense passion to connect with God.” Citing various findings from three recent nationwide surveys he directed on the issue, Barna noted that relatively few churches have intense musical battles but most churches have too few people who truly engage God in worship.

“Most of the church people who fight about their musical preference do so because they don’t understand the relationship between music, communication, God and worship. Church leaders foster the problem by focusing on how to please people with music or how to offer enough styles of music to meet everyone’s tastes rather dealing with the underlying issues of limited interest in, comprehension of, and investment in fervent worship of a holy, deserving God.” Barna also stated that although music is important in the worship process, it is often elevated beyond its rightful place in the worship effort. “Music is just a tool meant to enable people to express themselves to God, yet we sometimes spend more time arguing over the tool than over the product and purpose of the tool.”

Creating A Controversy

Drawing on national surveys among church-goers, Senior Pastors of Protestant churches and worship leaders from those churches, Barna revealed that while there are definitely battles being waged within Protestant churches regarding music, the battle is not widespread. One-quarter (24%) of Senior Pastors say their church has music-related tensions, but only 5% of them claim that those tensions are “severe” - which amounts to just 1% of the Protestant congregations in the U.S. About three out of ten pastors at the music-conflicted churches say the tensions are “somewhat serious.” All together, then, only 7% of Protestant churches have “severe” or “somewhat serious” music issues rattling their congregation.

One reason identified by Barna for the limited severity of the tensions is that most church people appreciate the use of music for worship, but are not obsessed with the style used. The research found that the style of music relied upon in the service is a matter of high significance to just one-third of all church attenders. In fact, only 17% said that they would definitely or probably change their attendance pattern if their church altered the musical style of the service they usually attend, while three-quarters (76%) said they would just go along with the new style and not make any change in their attendance habits. These figures suggest that in spite of the controversy surrounding church music, people may be more accepting or flexible than assumed. The study did find that the segment of adults most likely to change services or churches rather than accept a style of music they did not like was evangelicals.

As confirmation of the limited significance of the “worship wars” controversy, the research also pointed out that only three out of ten adults say that worship music is the single, most important factor in their choice of what church to attend. The people most likely to list music as a key factor were blacks, people 56 or older, adults who attend a church that has 500 or more attenders, women, and born again Christians.

Music That Dominates

There is plenty of opportunity for people to gain exposure to the style of music they prefer. Three-quarters of Protestant churches (73%) have multiple worship services. Overall, 27% have just one service, 32% offer two services, 33% provide three options and 8% have four or more distinct services.

The styles of music used in church services vary tremendously. Nearly half of all Protestant churches (46%) offer at least one service featuring traditional worship music - hymns and other tunes utilizing a choir, an organ or congregational singing of that music. Just as prolific is the number of churches (43%) using “blended” music - a combination of two or more different music styles within the same service. Less common styles used include rock or contemporary Christian (used in 24% of churches), praise and worship (in 8% of churches) and gospel (in 7% of churches).

The profile looks slightly different if the figures are based on the number of worship services rather than the number of churches using a given style. Viewed from that angle, the data indicate that 35% of all Protestant worship services, including those held Sunday nights and during the week, utilize traditional worship music; 30% are blended; 16% are rock or contemporary Christian; 7% are gospel; 6% are praise and worship; 4% are acappella; and 2% use no music at all. (The percentage of churches using a musical style is different than the percentage of services in which that style is used because many churches have multiple worship services, causing the base number of services to be larger than that of the number of Protestant churches. Also, some churches may have more than one worship service that uses the same type of musical style.)

What type of worship music do congregants gravitate toward? If the service attended is any indication, traditional worship music still reigns, although a minority of church-going adults experiences it. Presently, 40% of adults say they attend a service that uses traditional music (e.g., a choir, hymns, organ). The next most common styles are “blended” music (used in the services frequented by 12% of adults); gospel (11%); praise and worship (10%); and contemporary Christian (i.e., CCM) or Christian rock (9%). One out of every eight attenders (13%) said they don’t know what the style of music is at their services.

The Real Issues

The Barna study discovered that among the key worship issues is that church-going adults and Protestant Senior Pastors do not share a common perception of the most important outcome of worship. Congregants were most likely to understand worship as activity undertaken for their personal benefit (47%) while Senior Pastors described the purpose of worship as connecting with God (41%) or experiencing His presence (30%). Only three out of ten church-going adults (29%) indicated that they view worship as something that is focused primarily on God. One out of every five attenders admitted that they had no idea what the most important outcome of worship is.

Another relevant research finding was that most pastors do not prioritize worship as a main thrust of their church’s ministry. When asked to list the two or three top ministry priorities of their church, the survey revealed that worship was included in that list by only one out of every four pastors (26%). Other top-rated priorities included evangelism (listed as a top-3 priority by 41%), preaching/teaching (34%), ministry to youth and children (25%), and discipleship (19%).

Some Mixed Signals

If significant changes will be made in worship, don’t expect them to be driven by the laity. For the most part, people are satisfied with the worship experiences they currently have. Four out of five individuals (83%) say they leave the services feeling accepted or completely loved by God “every time” or “most of the time.” Two out of three adults (69%) usually leave feeling inspired. Three out of five (62%) say they typically feel like they have connected with God or been in His presence in most cases. Half of the congregants (50%) frequently leave feeling challenged to change. Relatively small numbers of people say they usually feel guilty or disappointed in themselves (10%), or frustrated because their needs have not been met (8%).

Adults are typically satisfied with the quality of the music, the sermon and the prayer in their services. Four out of ten are “completely satisfied” with the music and with the sermons, and half are “completely satisfied” with the prayer. Most of the remaining adults said they were “mostly satisfied” with each of those elements.

However, Barna pointed out that church-goers and pastors have conflicting notions of what is considered necessary in order to worship effectively. Out of ten facilitation factors studied, parishioners and pastors differed substantially on the importance of six of these items.

The areas of agreement related to prayer, which nine out of ten pastors and parishioners said was very important to facilitate effective worship; having communion (mentioned by two-thirds of each group); giving money (mentioned by slightly more than half of both groups); and having a time for the “turn and greet” experience (mentioned by half of each group).

Among the factors of divergence were having time for quiet reflection during the service, deemed very important by two-thirds of all adults - twice the proportion measured among pastors. Half of all congregants said that having time for private confession was very important, but just one out of every three pastors agreed. A surprisingly large number of people (38%) expressed the importance of reciting creeds, which was more than double the percentage of pastors who concurred (14%). On the other hand, pastors were considerably more likely to assign importance to the sermon, the public reading of Scripture, and the use of music than were congregants.

More than four out of five pastors (84%) said music is very important to facilitate effective worship. However, barely half of the congregants (55%) agreed. In fact, in assessing the ranking of the ten worship elements studied, pastors rated music second only to prayer, and tied with the sermon, in importance. Congregants, however, rated music in a tie for fifth place, following prayer, the sermon, communion, and a time for reflection. The music was deemed no more important than the public reading of Scripture, confession, the offering and the turn-and-greet time. In fact, music was more important than only one of the ten elements evaluated: reciting creeds and responsive readings.

If the people in the pews are going to push for changes, those transitions may relate to the substance of the songs they sing and being able to sing songs they know more often. Overall, nearly half of all worship attenders said that the words in the currently popular praise and worship songs lack the spiritual depth of traditional hymns while three out of ten adults noted that too many new worship songs are introduced into their services.

Opportunities for Growth

Barna expressed gratitude to Baylor University for funding the study and expressed the hope that the information can help more pastors and congregants get on the same page regarding worship. “The study does not minimize the fact that some churches are enduring painful divisions regarding worship music. The good news, however, is that those tensions are less common than anecdotes and journalistic hype have suggested. The Baylor study puts the controversy in perspective and places the ‘worship wars’ notion in the category of ‘myth.’”

Based on the data from the studies, Barna cited two important patterns of behavior. “Notice that the churches most likely to have worship-related problems are those that utilize blended music, which is a questionable attempt to please everyone at once. It appears that the use of blended music merely reminds people of the fact that they have to share the music space with others who cannot tolerate their own preferences - just as they cannot tolerate those of others. The reliance on blended music seems to actually fuel rather than dampen the fires of discord. Other recent studies we have conducted even show that people are less likely to feel connected to God in a blended service than in one that uses a single style of music.

Returning to his main takeaway from the research, Barna encouraged church leaders to get back to basics. “Many church people fight about music because they have yet to understand the purpose of music in the worship process. That lack of insight causes them to focus on and fight for their preferred sound, instruments, presentation techniques, or their desired order of service. Too often, church leaders get caught up in the fuss.

“These battles are inappropriate distractions from meaningful ministry and fruitful discipleship. Christians need to be more zealous about, and devoted to worshiping God. The Church needs to move on and focus on the One worthy of worship and the desire of His heart - which is to be worshiped with intensity and passion by His people - rather than to focus on the tools used to facilitate our expressions of love and gratitude.”

Access to the Information

The worship research and a series of worship-related presentations were funded by the Billy Ray Hearn Symposium on Christian Music in association with Baylor University. Also speaking at the recent symposium on the Baylor campus in Waco, Texas were Pastor Jack Hayford, Christian musical artist Charlie Peacock, theologian Robert Webber, worship leader Louie Giglio, and other individuals involved in Christian music and worship. Barna’s research report, along with presentations by the symposium speakers, will be available in a book, entitled Music and the Church: Relevance in a Changing Culture, to be published by Baylor University in Spring 2003.

Research Methodology

The research data were generated through three separate surveys. Using a national omnibus survey conducted in April 2002 by the Barna Research Group, 1007 randomly sampled adults were surveyed, of which 727 described themselves as Christian who attends a Christian church. In April and May 2002, 601 Senior Pastors of Protestant churches were interviewed, as well as a sample of 69 worship leaders serving at churches from which the Senior Pastor had already been interviewed. Many of the questions asked of each population were identical, to allow direct comparisons for many important factors under scrutiny.

All of the survey respondents were drawn from random samples of qualified individuals living within the 48 continental states. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate national sample of the 727 adults who described themselves as Christian is ±3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level; the maximum level of estimated sampling error among the 601 Senior Pastors, also randomly selected from all U.S. Protestant churches, is ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% statistical confidence level.

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

Surprisingly Few Adults Outside of Christianity Have Positive Views of Christians (021203)

One reason why evangelical churches across the nation are not growing is due to the image that non-Christian adults have of evangelical individuals. In a nationwide survey released by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California among a representative sample of people who do not consider themselves to be Christian, the image of “evangelicals” rated tenth out of eleven groups evaluated, beating out only prostitutes. The non-Christian population was not as dismissive of all Christians or religious people, however, as ministers and “born again Christians” were among the three highest-rated segments evaluated.

Impressions Count

Adults who do not consider themselves to be Christian were asked to provide their impressions of eleven groups. The only group that received a “favorable” opinion from a majority of the non-Christian individuals was “military officers.” Fifty-six percent had favorable opinions of the group and just 6% had an unfavorable opinion. (The remainder was somewhere in-between or did not have an opinion of the group.) Higher positive scores were awarded this group by men (64% held favorable impressions), people 55 or older (67% favorable), whites (62%) and college graduates (65%).

Just less than half - 44% - said they have favorable opinions of ministers, with only 9% having a negative opinion of the group. Born again Christians ranked third, with one-third (32%) saying they had a favorable impression of the group, and half as many (17%) indicating an unfavorable impression.

Among the remaining eight groups, half had a higher positive than negative image and two had a predominantly negative image. The segments whose image tended to be more favorable than unfavorable included Democrats (32% favorable, 12% unfavorable), real estate agents (30% positive, 11% negative), movie and television performers (25% positive, 14% negative), and lawyers (24% positive and 18% negative). Republicans (23% favorable, 22% unfavorable) and evangelicals (22% favorable, 23% unfavorable) were the only groups whose image was equally positive and negative. Groups with a predominantly negative image were lesbians (23% positive, 30% negative) and prostitutes (5% favorable, 55% unfavorable).

In terms of the actual positive and negative percentages awarded to different groups, the study points out that less than half of the non-Christian public has a favorable impression of any of the three religious groups evaluated. Just 44% have positive views of clergy, only one-third (32%) have a positive impression of born again Christians and just one-fifth (22%) have a positive view of evangelicals.

Learn more about the Un-Churched in the book Grow Your Church From the Outside In

Views Vary by Demographics

Different slices of the non-Christian population possess divergent views of such groups. For instance, non-Christian men were more likely than non-Christian women to have a positive view of military officers (64% vs. 47%, respectively), while non-Christian women had substantially more positive impressions of born again Christians (38% vs. 27% among men), lesbians (31% vs. 15% of the non-Christian males), and lawyers (33% compared to 17% of the men).

Age impacts people’s perspectives, too. Non-Christian Baby Busters - those aged 19 to 37 - were nearly three times more likely to have a favorable impression of lesbians than were older non-Christian adults, and were also more likely to have a positive view of movie and TV stars (32% compared to 18% among people 38 or older). They were less likely than their elders to have a favorable impression of evangelicals (18% vs. 25%, respectively). Busters were twice as likely to have a positive impression of born again Christians (35%) as they were to hold a favorable view of evangelicals (18%).

White non-Christians were twice as likely as non-white non-Christians to have a favorable opinion of Republicans (28% vs. 15%).

Non-Christian college graduates give their approval more sparingly than do less highly educated non-Christians. College graduates gave comparatively lower favorability ratings to born again Christians, ministers, evangelicals, lawyers and media stars.

Language and Sources Considered

The survey data suggest that people form impressions of others on the basis of one-dimensional images created and communicated by the mass media. “Our studies show that many of the people who have negative impressions of evangelicals do not know what or who an evangelical is,” commented George Barna, whose firm conducted the research. “People’s impressions of others are often driven by incomplete, inaccurate or out-of-context information conveyed under the guise of objectivity when, in fact, there is a point-of-view being advanced by the information source. Too often, we develop mental images of others without knowing those people.”

Barna said he hopes people will reflect on these findings and examine their own perceptions of people who may be different from themselves. “During the holiday season millions of people slip into churches they do not usually attend, or give money to charities, or talk and sing about peace and goodwill. While we are in a more ponderous, generous and forgiving mood we may also consider people groups about whom we have developed a negative or unflattering impression, and examine the basis of those attitudes. We find that when people examine the foundation of their impressions and then talk to a few people from the groups of which they have a low opinion, they discover that those people are not so bad after all. There may be some differences of opinion, but the negative impressions that result in animosity and division often dissipate if we dig beneath the surface of our attitudes.”

The research also reveals the power of language. “Somehow, ‘born again Christians’ have a more favorable image than do ‘evangelicals,’ although few adults are able to identify any substantive differences between those two groups,” noted Barna. “This is most likely a result of the thrashing that evangelicals receive in the media. It seems that millions of non-Christians have negative impressions of evangelicals, even though they cannot define what an evangelical is, accurately identify the perspectives of the group, or identify even a handful of people they know personally who are evangelicals. There appears to be a lot of religious divisiveness in America based on caricatures and myths rather than on the basis of true ideological or theological differences.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on a national telephone survey among a random sample of 1002 adults (age 18 or older) living within the 48 continental states conducted in May of 2002. Among that sample were 270 adults who indicated that they do not considered themselves to be Christian. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the sub-sample of non-Christians is ±6.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Question: Is your impression of people in this group generally favorable, generally unfavorable, or somewhere in-between?

	Favorable	In-Between	Unfavorable	Don’t Know
Military officers	56%	32%	6%	6%
ministers	44	40	9	7
Born again Christians	32	41	17	10
Democrats	32	47	12	9
Real estate agents	30	51	11	8
Movie and TV performers	25	54	14	7
Lawyers	24	53	18	5
Republicans	23	47	22	8
Lesbians	23	38	30	11
Evangelicals	22	33	23	22
Prostitutes	5	29	55	11

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Barna Identifies Seven Paradoxes Regarding America’s Faith (021217)

After reviewing three dozen survey-based reports he wrote during 2002, researcher George Barna noticed a pattern running through most of the studies. That pattern was one of paradoxes, contradictions and deception in people’s attitudes, opinions and beliefs related to their faith. Until these misunderstandings and misperceptions are addressed, he contends, it will be difficult for churches and individuals to focus effectively on faith development.

The Success Paradox

In one national study Barna discovered that people’s views of success had little to do with their faith and spiritual wholeness. People focused on personal accomplishments, family solidarity and emotional fulfillment.

Barna notes that only 7% identified spiritual wholeness and development as the factor that will produce a successful life. “The Christian faith commends sacrifice, servanthood and sharing as the means to significance,” he noted. “How is it possible to have more than 120 million adults attending Christian churches on a regular basis, but only 15 million who grasp the message that success is not about personal accomplishment or material possessions?”

The Commitment Contradiction

Various studies conducted by Barna during 2002 pointed out how much Americans identified faith as a key factor in their life. Large majorities claimed that their “religious faith is very important” in their life and described themselves as “deeply spiritual.”

Yet, those same studies revealed that less than half of the people who describe themselves as Christian also described themselves as “absolutely committed to the Christian faith.” Less than one out of every ten regular attenders of Christian churches give 10% or more of their income - a “tithe” - to their church. A majority of teenagers attend a Christian church today, but only one-third is likely to do so once they reach adulthood. The persecution delivered by the terrorist attacks has produced no increase in spiritual practices, such as attending worship services, reading the Bible, praying, or serving the needy. Giving levels have actually decreased this year. In fact, not even half of Americans indicated that their faith had been an important factor in helping them process the effects of the terrorist attacks.

Barna suggested that many Americans may have fallen in love with faith rather than the object of their faith. “It’s much less demanding to be devoted to the idea of faith than to invest yourself in a true relationship with the living God. The data raise the question of just what people have become infatuated with: the idea of being a person of faith or the reality of having an intimate, growing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Deceptions Regarding Truth

Almost everyone in the U.S. believes that truth exists. However, a large majority of both adults and teenagers, Christian and non-Christian, contends that there is no absolute moral truth. More than two out of three adults and more than four out of five teenagers argue that truth is always relative to the individual and the circumstances. While most of these people describe themselves as followers of Christ and say that the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings, they nevertheless believe that truth is based on feelings, experience or emotion.

“This is one of the great deceptions of our age,” Barna pointed out. “Embracing relativism under the guise of Christian faith facilitates comfort with sin. By claiming the authority to determine right from wrong, we crown ourselves the kings and queens of reality, yet we have no such authority and we constantly pay the price for the arrogance of believing and acting like we are in control of our destiny and experience. What an affront it is to God for us to claim His name and protection but to resist His moral truths on the basis of human feelings.”

Read About How... Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings

The Deception of the Worship Wars

In a study conducted for Baylor University’s Hearn Symposium on Music in the Church, the contours of the worship wars were evaluated. While many people believe that churches throughout the country are paralyzed by infighting over the style of music to use in worship services, the study found relatively few churches experiencing such angst. The bigger issues were people not understanding what worship is and who it is for - resulting in the failure to connect with God through genuine worship - and the widespread use of “blended worship,” which winds up hindering rather than helping people’s worship.

“The worship wars research is another example of the media creating a false reality on the basis of anecdotal analysis,” commented Barna. “The most important issues are sometimes the ones we’re most likely to ignore. In this case, the fact that most churches assume people know what worship is, that it is for God’s benefit and pleasure, and how to engage with God through worship has left millions of individuals spiritually crippled rather than spiritually empowered. Study after study emphasizes that we make assumptions about people’s spiritual understanding that are unjustified. The American Church desperately needs a back-to-basics movement to fill in the cracks in our spiritual understanding.”

The Contradictions Regarding Religious Beliefs

More than four out of five Americans claim to be Christian and half as many can be classified as born again Christians. Nine out of ten adults own a Bible. Most adults read the Bible during the year and a huge majority claims they know all of the basic teachings of the Bible. How, then, can most people say Satan does not exist, that the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol, that eternal peace with God can be earned through good works, and that truth can only be understood through the lens of reason and experience? How can a plurality of our citizens contend that Jesus committed sins and that the Bible, Koran and Book of Mormon all teach the same truths?

“In a sound bite society you get sound bite theology,” Barna lamented. “Americans are more likely to buy simple sayings than a system of truth that takes time and concentration to grasp. People are more prone to embrace diversity, tolerance and feeling good than judgment, discernment, righteousness and limitations. People are more focused on temporal security than eternal security and its temporal implications. Hopefully, once Christian leaders and teachers comprehend this we can be more devoted to effectively challenging the superficial spirituality of our nation. As Paul wrote in the letter to the Galatians, we are only fooling ourselves; God will not be mocked.”

The Paradox of Ineffective Outreach

A survey among Protestant pastors showed that evangelism and outreach ranked as the top priority of churches. Another survey indicated that Christian churches would raise and spend more than $50 billion on domestic ministry in 2002. Pastors also suggested that the September 11 attacks had created a new spiritual awareness among non-Christians.

However, Barna says that his latest surveys show that the proportions of both non-Christian adults and unchurched adults have remained unchanged since 2000. “In fact, because our population has increased, the number of unchurched and non-Christian people in the nation has actually grown.” The researcher also noted that a recent study showed that ministers, born again Christians and evangelicals do not enjoy a positive image in the eyes of non-Christian Americans. In fact, lawyers, real estate agents, and actors all have a better image than do evangelicals.

The year’s research also underscored the fact that half of the people who attend Christian churches on any given weekend are not Christian - that is, they do not trust in Christ alone for their eternal salvation. The vast majority of those people have been attending Christian churches for more than decade.

“Regardless of its true character and intent, the Christian community is not known for love, nor for a life transforming faith,” explained the researcher. “Outdated means of outreach, inappropriate assumptions about people’s faith, and a lack of passion for helping non-believers to receive God’s love and acceptance are hindering the Church from fulfilling its mandate. America remains one of the largest mission fields in the world, and the American Church remains the most richly endowed body of believers on the planet. There is no lack of potential.”

The Deception of Effective Leadership

Most pastors are content with the way things are going in their ministry. A national survey among pastors revealed that a majority feels they are doing an excellent or good job in leading people spiritually in relation to 12 of the 13 areas of performance evaluated. (The exception was in the area of raising money for ministry.) In fact, the larger the church is, the more likely the pastor is to feel pleased with his performance as its leader.

Barna confessed confusion over that outcome. “Pastoring is a difficult job,” he acknowledged, “and it’s important not to become discouraged by the magnitude of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged - after all, we know that we are aligned with the winning camp. However, it’s a bit troubling to see pastors feel they’re doing a great job when the research reveals that few congregants have a biblical worldview, half the people they minister to are not spiritually secure or developed, kids are fleeing from the church in record numbers, most of the people who attend worship services admit they did not connect with God, the divorce rate among Christians is no different than that of non-Christians, only 2% of the pastors themselves can identify God’s vision for their ministry they are trying to lead, and the average congregant spends more time watching television in one day than he spends in all spiritual pursuits combined for an entire week. “Pastors, alone, cannot be held accountable for the spiritual disrepair of America. But it’s worrisome when there is a strong correlation between church size and self-satisfaction, because that suggests that attendance and budget figures have become our mark of success. It’s troubling when our spiritual leaders cannot articulate where we’re headed and how the Church will fulfill its role as the restorative agent of our society. Maybe the comfort afforded by our buildings and other material possessions has seduced us into thinking we’re farther down the road than we really are.”

Research Methodology

The data described in this report are based on a dozen national telephone surveys conducted during the previous 12 months among nationally representative samples of adults, teenagers, and Protestant pastors. The surveys ranged in size from 301 to 1012, providing a maximum margin of sampling error that ranged from ±3.2 to ±5.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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