The Barna Group seems to be a Christian research organization. They’ve done a study of people who identify themselves as “evangelicals”; the demographics and attitudes of that group were compared with those of people who revealed themselves as evangelicals on a nine-point scale that the Barna people developed based on the belief statements of the national’s leading participants in the National Association of Evangelicals. The two groups—self-described evangelicals and “nine-point” evangelicals—were very different:The most striking differences relate to the beliefs of each group. Compared to the 9-point evangelicals, those who say they are evangelicals are:
- 60% less likely to believe that Satan is real
- 53% less likely to believe that salvation is based on grace, not works
- 46% less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others
- 42% less likely to list their faith in God as the top priority in their life
- 38% less likely to believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth
- 27% less likely to contend that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings
- 23% less likely to say that their life has been greatly transformed by their faith
In fact, the Barna research also noted that one out of every four adults (27%) who say they are evangelicals is not even born again, based upon their beliefs.
The self-defined evangelicals were also less likely than the nine-point believers to be well-off, to have a college education, and to be married. And this one surprised me: the self-defined group was less likely to call themselves conservative on social and political issues and more likely to identify themselves as Democrats.
The most important finding in the Barnes study involves numbers. By the study’s count, the “true” evanglicals, i.e. those who fit the evangelical ideological pattern, number just about 9-10% of the population, compared to the 35-40% who label themselves “evangelical”. It’s the latter number that’s used most often, and it’s misleading. It implies a level of rigidity and dogmatic belief in the U.S. population that just does not exist. Thank God!
Post a Comment