Sermon Central
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America's Faith Changing: George Barna Has ...
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006 (message contributor)
America’s Faith Changing: George Barna has discovered discernible faith transitions have occurred across various subgroups. Young Adults—When Baby Busters (born between ‘65 and ‘83) enter a new life stage, a 1st marriage or parenthood, religious faith stabilizes. Since ’96 7% more attend Sunday school; since ’98 6% more volunteer at their church; church attendance is up 4%; participation in small groups jumped 6%; and 7% more read the Bible. Busters are 7% more likely to say they are “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith than 5 years ago. They are 6% more likely to accept personal responsibility for sharing their faith with others who believe differently. Older Americans have reduced their involvement in organized faith endeavors such as church attendance by 6% since ‘98, evangelizing 8% since ’97, and volunteering at church 7% since ’93. There is no indication that the intensity of their personal faith is fading. Blacks are 10% less likely to read the Bible and 6% less likely to share their faith with non-believers than they were 3 years ago. They are 4% less likely to attend a Sunday school class than in ‘96. Strong core biblical beliefs have declined 9%-11%. Bible Belt Weaker Although Southerners are more likely to attend weekly church services than people from any other region, weekly attendance has fallen 6% since ’97, church volunteerism is down 8% since ’98, evangelizing 7% in 3 years. The number of born again believers is off a startling 9%. Evangelicals are the most spiritually-inclined population subgroup. They are 3 times more likely than the national average to attend Sunday school (58% do so), 3.5 times more likely to share their faith with others (75% did so in the past year), are 3 times as likely to belong to a small group (58%), 3 times as likely to volunteer at their church (63%), and twice as likely to attend weekly church services (79%). However, they represent just 6% of the adult population. Nearly 66% volunteer at church, up 10% since ’96. (Barna Research Online 3/18/03)
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