Important Takeaways:

• George Barna, director of research at Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center, released new data earlier this month that “reveals the limitations of Christian evangelicalism in American society.” The events from recent years have caused “millions of Americans to realize just how depraved American society has become,” the report stated. “Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets, broken social institutions, immoral religious leaders, unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more, have generated non-stop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States.”
• It went on to contend that “The depth of the depravity is shocking” and that it’s “indisputable” that the “decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation” ­— particularly the way in which the evangelical community has changed over time. The idea of a denomination or even individual churches being “evangelical” has lost much of its definition and certainty in the past quarter-century.
• Among adults who regularly attend evangelical churches, close to two-thirds (62%) are not born-again…
• Half believe that people can earn eternal salvation through their good works.
• About half (45%) also contend that there is no absolute moral truth.
• Four of 10 are unable to identify a God-given purpose for their life, or believe that human beings are born into sin and need Jesus Christ to save them from the consequences.
• Unexpectedly large minorities of adults at evangelical churches reject the biblical nature and character of God (24%), worship spirits other than the God of the Bible (26%), and admit they are afraid to die (27%).
• A stunning number—15%—revealed that they occasionally cast spells on other people.
• Given these insights, it is not surprising to find that only one-eighth of the adults who regularly attend evangelical churches (13%) have a biblical worldview.
• And contrary to the media’s depiction of the politics represented by people in evangelical churches, just one-third are very likely to vote in the 2024 general election, only half are consistently conservative in their socio-political views, and one out of every five prefers socialism to capitalism. Those outcomes are substantially different from the results among people who theological positions qualify them as evangelicals, regardless of the type of church they attend.
• [There’s a lot more in George Barna’s research that I couldn’t fit here so feel free to follow the link]

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