Tag Archives: survey

Barna Report on Christianity’s Contribution to Society

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The Barna Group has just added a survey report to their website entitled “Americans Say Serving the Needy is Christianity’s Biggest Contribution to Society.” Some interesting results from the survey that I found interesting:

“In response to an open-ended question… one out of every five adults (19%) mentioned how Christians in the United States have helped poor or underprivileged people to have a better life.”

“The most frequent response, however, was the inability to think of a single positive contribution made by Christians in recent years. One out of every four respondents (25%) said they could not recall anything of this nature. Skeptics (34%), unchurched adults (33%), and Independent voters (29%) were more likely than other people to fall into this response category.”

The survey also pointed out some interesting patterns and connections.

  • Although many churches are worried about offending people by sharing the gospel, less than 1% of the population complained that Christians are too aggressive in their evangelistic efforts. This corresponds with recent Barna studies that have shown that relatively few Christians discuss their faith with non-Christians in ways intended to encourage non-believers to adopt the Christian faith.
  • The people who seemed least aware of either the positive or negative contributions of Christians were the largest segment of Christians: Notionals. Along with the unchurched, Notional Christians were the segment most likely to not be able to identify either a positive or negative contribution of American Christians. Notionals currently represent about half of all Christians in the U.S.
  • Most of the non-Christian segments of the population cited serving the poor and underprivileged as the best thing that Christians have done.
  • Overall, there was a more extensive and diverse list of complaints about Christians and their churches than there was of examples of the benefits they have provided to society.
  • It is ironic that Baby Boomers – the generation famous for Woodstock, sexual liberation, the rise of recreational drug use, introducing the culture of narcissism, and the explosion in the number of divorces – was also the generation most likely to applaud the morals and values that Christians have stood for in the U.S.

I had never heard the term “Notional” Christians before. “Notional Christians” are defined as those who consider themselves to be Christian but do not meet the born again criteria: made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and believe they will go to Heaven after they die because they confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

Some Personal Thoughts

It seems to me that perhaps Evangelicals have over reacted to the very small percentage in our society who complain about evangelistic efforts (less than 1%). Perhaps we need to be more bold in our willingness and approach to share our faith with others?

Perhaps my generation (Baby Boomers) applaud the morals and values that Christians have stood for because we are now reaping the consequences of the choices we made, and are realizing what moral bankruptcy produces?

The “Notionals” who are unable to identify either a positive or negative contribution of American Christians are living out their label. They seem to have no “notion” about what it means to be a Christian (a follower or imitator of Jesus Christ). I wish they would realize this and either become a real follower, or find another term for themselves other than “Christian.” It is people who call themselves “Christian” but who do not live like a “little Christ” that confuse the meaning of the term and make it harder on those who are serious about following Christ.

Evangelistic Atheists

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The Church as a TargetRecently, George Barna has conducted a survey and published results that reveals an emerging movement of atheists and agnostics who are intentionally and aggressively making a united effort to belittle people of faith, and discredit their personal beliefs in God. For the study, atheists were defined as people who have determined there is no God and agnostics are those who doubt his existence.

This new survey shows some alarming gaps between Christians and other people of “active-faith” (defined as simply having gone to church, read the Bible and prayed during the week preceding the survey.) and those Americans who are in the “no-faith” camp. According to the study, “most atheists and agnostics (56%) agree with the idea that radical Christianity is just as threatening in America as is radical Islam.” Wow! This view is so misguided it is frightening!

The study also reveals that, “two-thirds of Christians (63%) who have an active faith perceive that the nation is becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity. ” No kidding! I wonder where they get that idea?

As a Christian who believes in God, I have a difficult time with the misguided belief that my faith is “just as threatening in America as is radical Islam.” Where do these people get this idea? How many Christians have committed acts of terror? How many people have had their heads cut off in the name of Jesus? How many people really believe that people are being tortured, mutilated, humiliated and murdered by fanatic, fundamentalist Christians? Where do the atheists and agnostics in this survey get these warped ideas?

I fear that it is partially due to our “news media,” which loves to paint a negative biased picture of people of faith on a regular basis in print, on the radio and in mass media. The “entertainment” industry also does this on a regular basis in movies, TV shows and in music.

Then there is the realm of politics, where public servants who profess a belief in God are maligned, slandered and denigrated by those of a more “liberal” and “progressive” party or label. Their views and even their very right to serve the citizens they represent, is questioned.

So, we know the caricatures that are widely promoted in the public arena. But the facts bear out a different picture when the lifestyles of “no-faith” people are compared with people of “active faith.”

People of “no-faith” are:
• Less likely than active-faith Americans to be registered to vote (78% versus 89%)
• Less likely to volunteer to help a non-church-related non-profit (20% versus 30%)
• Less likely to describe themselves as “active in the community” (41% versus 68%)
• Less likely to personally help or serve a homeless or poor person (41% versus 61%)
• More likely to be registered to vote as an independent or with a non-mainstream political party

Another glaring difference between the groups is the paltry amount of money that “no-faith” people donate to charitable causes. In 2006, the average “no-faith” American donated just $200, and “active-faith” Americans averaged $1,500. If you subtract church based giving from these figures, “active-faith” adults still donated twice as much as atheists and agnostics. Looking at it a bit differently, just 7% of active-faith adults failed to contribute any personal funds in 2006, compared with 22% among the no-faith adults.

So, I ask… which group generally does more good for our society, especially toward those who need help… the poor and needy? Which group exhibits good citizenship, care for others and involvement in our society? Which group actually more often practices what it preaches? Which group contributes less toward the common good?