Tag Archives: American society

Research from George Barna shows Evangelicalism is shifting with societal changes

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]

Read the original article by clicking here.

Survey shows 76.8% of Americans believe society is declining

Deuteronomy 39:15-18 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.

Important Takeaways:

  • Most voters believe American society and culture declining, poll says
  • The survey by the Trafalgar Group revealed that 76.8% of respondents from all political affiliations said that “American society and culture is in a state of decay,” compared to only 9.8% who said “a state of progress.” The remaining 13.4% said they were unsure.
  • Cahaly said the divisive state of national politics has contributed to voters from both parties finding a rare common ground with their discontent.
  • “People feel like everywhere they turn, there’s an agenda being pushed on them, and they fear it’s going in a direction they don’t want to see,”
  • An NPR/Ipsos poll released Monday found that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is “in crisis and at risk of failing,” with larger percentages of Republicans saying so because of their belief that “voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election.”
  • Real Clear Politics finds that an average of 63.6% of U.S. respondents to all recent polls believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.

Read the original article by clicking here.