A colleague shared this Barna Survey with me. If you have not seen it, you may find it interesting and helpful. I would say there is nothing terribly earth-shatteringly new in it, but it is always helpful to have this kind of “take” on the situation in which we find ourselves. Here is the link to the full story, but here is an excerpt:
Some of the related survey results Barna cited from this year’s studies included:
o Just 50% of adults contend that Christianity is still the automatic faith of choice in the US
o Nearly nine out of every ten adults (88%) agreed either strongly or somewhat that their religious faith is very important in their life
o 74% said their faith is becoming more important in their life
o Substantive awareness of other faith groups is minimal; even simple name awareness of some groups, such as Wicca, is tiny (only 45% have heard of Wicca)
o Most self-identified Christians are comfortable with the idea that the Bible and the sacred books from non-Christian religions all teach the same truths and principles
o Half of all adults (50%) argue that a growing number of people they know are tired of having the same church experience
December 31st, 2009 | 8:43 pm | #1
These polls are always so depressing. People are “spiritual” and “interested,” yet don’t believe Scripture is true even in principle…yet they also (81%) say that knowing and living according to the Bible leads to spiritual maturity. The majority of people in America (including self-identified Christians) are so individualistic, yet inconsistent in their worldview. They believe whatever they want to believe even if those beliefs are clearly at odds with each other. How sad and strange. May the Lord pour out His grace on His people in miraculous ways in 2010.