May

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Barna Shows Americans Are Spiritually Active, But Biblical Views Wane

May 21, 2007 | Comments Off

The Barna Annual Tracking Survey indicates that while Americans remain spiritually active, but are becoming less orthodox in their beliefs. The Barna study, which began exploring the nation’s religious behavior and beliefs in 1984, shows that commitment to orthodox biblical perspectives is slipping in a number of areas.

For example, the study indicated that “most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs, largely because they do not possess a coherent biblical worldview. That is, they lack a consistent and holistic understanding of their faith. Millions of Americans say they are personally committed to Jesus Christ, but they believe he sinned while on earth. Many believers claim to trust what the Bible teaches, but they reject the notion of a real spiritual adversary or they feel that faith-sharing activities are optional. Millions feel personally committed to God, but they are renegotiating the definition of that deity.”

Other key indicators of the study include:

Two-thirds of American adults firmly embrace the idea that their most important purpose is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. However, a deeper look at people’s full array of spiritual beliefs and behavior calls into question the sincerity of their commitment.

Five out of six core theological perspectives have shifted away from traditional biblical views. These includes perspectives about three spiritual figures: God, Jesus, and Satan.

Sixty six percent of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today, down from 71% a year ago and the lowest percentage in more than twenty years.

One-third of Americans strongly disagree that Jesus sinned (37%) and just one-quarter strongly reject the idea that Satan is not a real spiritual being (24%).

Forty five percent of Americans believe that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches.

Among the spiritual activities studied, 83% of Americans said they had prayed in the last week, 43% had attended a church service, and 41% had read the Bible outside of church worship services. However, only 25% possess an active faith, meaning they engage in all three of these activities (pray, attend church, and read the Bible in a typical week).

Twenty two percent of adults had volunteered free time to help a church; 23% volunteered at another type of non-profit in the last week.

Twenty percent of all adults had attended Sunday school while 19% had participated in a small group for Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship.

Half of all adults said they had donated money to a congregation in the past year.

While 83% of Americans identified themselves as Christians, yet only 49% of these individuals described themselves as absolutely committed to Christianity.

The remaining 17% of the adult population was split almost equally between those who aligned with another faith and those who describe themselves as atheist or agnostic.

Twenty three percent of adults identify as Catholic and 49% identify themselves as Protestant.

About 40% claim beliefs reflecting they are born again Christians compared with 45% in last year’s study. This represents 90 million born again believers nationwide.

The study concludes, “In fact, one reason why beliefs fluctuate is that most Americans’ hold few convictions about their faith. For instance, even among those who disagree with orthodox views, many do so while hedging their bets. Most Americans have one foot in the biblical camp, and one foot outside it. They say they are committed, but to what? They are spiritually active, but to what end? The spiritual profile of American Christianity is not unlike a lukewarm church that the Bible warns about.”

Pretty sad commentary. Reminds me of the Israelites in 1 Kings 18:21when Elijah asked them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” And the people said nothing…

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