George Barna may be the most respected Christian researcher in the US. Here’s his year-end review of Christianity in America, synthesized from thousands of interviews and numerous research projects in 2009:
Theme #1: Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than Christianity.
Faith remains a hot topic these days. And nearly everyone has something to say about God, religion, faith, morality, and beliefs. But as the fundamental values and assumptions of our nation continue to shift, so do our ideas about faith and spirituality.
Barna shares, “Ultimately, in a culture where people are busy, distracted, confused and trying to keep it all together, there is less loyalty to a faith brand than to self. The purpose of faith, for most Americans, is not so much to discover truth or to relate to a loving, praiseworthy deity as it is to become happy, successful, comfortable and secure. For a growing percentage of citizens, their sense of spirituality, more than Christianity, facilitates those outcomes.”
Some of the related survey results Barna cited from this year’s studies included:
- Just 50% of adults contend that Christianity is still the automatic faith of choice in the US
- Nearly 90% agreed either strongly or somewhat that their religious faith is very important in their life
- 74% said their faith is becoming more important in their life
- Half of all adults argue that a growing number of people they know are tired of having the same church experience
Theme #2: Faith is now individual and customized.
“Now that we are comfortable with the idea of being spiritual as opposed to devoutly Christian,” Barna pointed out, “Americans typically draw from a broad treasury of moral, spiritual and ethical sources of thought to concoct a uniquely personal brand of faith. Feeling freed from the boundaries established by the Christian faith, and immersed in a postmodern society which revels in participation, personal expression, satisfying relationships, and authentic experiences, we become our own unchallenged spiritual authorities, defining truth and reality as we see fit.”
- 45% of all adults say they are willing to try a new church or even a new form of church
- 71% say they will develop their own slate of religious beliefs rather than accept a package of beliefs promoted by a church or denomination
- 75% of adults believe that God is motivating them and others to connect with Him through different means and experiences than were common in the past
- Only 34% believe in absolute moral truth
Later this week:
Theme #3: Biblical literacy is low and will remain so.
Theme #4: We have little understanding of or interest in spiritual maturity.
To read the complete report click here.
Ed,
Theme #1 should read “Americans are more interested in faith than Pharisees or Religion”.
People want the real Jesus. They don’t want the rules, regulations, traditions and thou shalt not’s, that has been preached over the years.
People want freedom in Christ. They want the Truth and they know the truth when they hear it and see it in demonstration.
Want to say more, but limited in time.
Peace
Tyrone,
The report that Ed pointed out that Americans are more interested in becoming “happy, successful, comfortable and secure” than “discovering truth”. I’m not sure these map to the categories of Faith and Religion as you mean them.
But even if they did, I would have to disagree with you. I not only want the real Jesus, I want the rules, regulations, traditions, etc too. I’m a both/and kind of guy.
–SIDE NOTE–
What’s interesting to me is the possible mapping of faith and happiness (not that anyone here intended this…I’m just thinking out loud to the clickety-clack of my keyboard). If you believe in the transformation of humanity (ie in the Incarnation) and believe in God’s good purpose for humanity, then surely there must be some connection between faith and happiness. On the one hand, I believe that the end of humanity is beatitude and Jesus it the fulfillment of faith. So happiness is found in Jesus. And yet I’m a strong believer in the eschatological nature of that happiness. We don’t yet fully know that happiness any more than we are currently living in the midst of salvation. Then again, it is true that the Spirit is filling our lives with the very liberty of God at this very present time. Perhaps the answer is one of preparation…perhaps the life of the Spirit now prepares/trains us so that we can be happy in the great adventure beyond.
Tyrone,
I want to believe your assessment but I’m not sure the final two themes from Barna’a research supports them. I do believe people may want something of substance but I’m not so sure many are willing to change their life enough to discover it.
Take a look at my post today, yes Christmas day, and let me know what you think. I’d really appreciate your thoughts.
Hope you’re having a blessed Christmas,
Ed
Nick,
I believe most of us are interested in becoming happy but are unsure what happy really is or how to discover it.
Jesus taught paradoxes like:
- If we are to find our life we must lose it.
- The last shall be first and the first last.
- If we are to great in God’s Kingdom we must be the servant of all.
Christ was pointing to a different score card than we find in major league sports, business, politics or the culture at large.
The fact that the wealthy and famous struggle as much as anyone to find purpose and contentment suggests Christ was on to something here. I like your line above:
“Perhaps the answer is one of preparation…perhaps the life of the Spirit now prepares/trains us so that we can be happy in the great adventure beyond.”
I agree that a focus on the great adventure beyond is vital to contentment and happiness. But in His last prayer on earth Jesus prayed we not be taken out of this world but protected from the evil in it.
So, it seems He intended for us to be about His business while we are here. And, he promised to keep us in perfect peace if our minds are focused on Him.
Ed,
People do want something real and of substance, but they don’t know how to change their life to experience it.
The church goers don’t know, because the teachers are not sure. This is evident in the research.
“our research found that a majority of churchgoing adults are uncertain as to what their church would define as a ‘healthy, spiritually mature follower of Christ’ and they were no more likely to have personally developed a clear notion of such a life.”
You can not give what you do not have.
The Barna research gives us the facts to help church leaders assess their effectiveness or act as a barometer. How they view and iinterpret the facts depend on the glasses they are looking from, Religious or Kingdom of God mindset.
Jesus was not a both/and kind of guy.
Peace
Hey Tyrone,
I’m sorry for my slow response. I was in Chicago this week for three days and rarely get back to my hotel room before 9 when traveling.
Thanks for the emphasis on the importance of leadership. No doubt….you can’t give what you don’t have. That may be the saddest part of the Barna insight.
I appreciate all your insights,
Ed