Some recent George Barna research

[lpetrich]

Research by Dr. George Barna at
Cultural Research Center - Arizona Christian University at Arizona Christian University

I like him because he doesn't seem Pollyannaish. He is willing to report what he considers bad news.

Vast Majority of Americans Stitch Together Patchwork Worldview of Conflicting Beliefs, Making “Syncretism” Top Worldview Among U.S. Adults - Arizona Christian University
noting
CRC_AWVI2021_Release01_Digital_01_20210413.pdf

The leading worldviews with respect to American’s beliefs and behaviors are Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (39% of U.S. adults either lean strongly or moderately toward its specific beliefs and behaviors) and the biblical worldview (31% lean strongly or moderately toward its beliefs and behaviors). As for the influence of the other worldviews, the percentage of adults who lean strongly or moderately toward specific beliefs and behaviors include: Secular Humanism (16%); Postmodernism (16%); Nihilism (10%); Eastern Mysticism (10%); Marxism (10%).

 

[lpetrich]

Counterfeit Christianity: ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’ Most Popular Worldview in U.S. Culture - Arizona Christian University
noting
CRC_AWVI2021_Release02_Digital_01_20210427.pdf

Something that gets his goat.

New findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2021 show that nearly four of 10 adults (38%) are more likely to embrace elements of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism than other popular worldviews, including Biblical Theism (or the biblical worldview), Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Nihilism, Marxism (along with its offshoot, Critical Theory) and Eastern Mysticism (or “New Age”).

...
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (or MTD) was initially identified and named by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton in their book, Soul Searching, published in 2005. It was based on national research among the teenagers of the turn of the millennium. At that time Smith and Denton identified several core beliefs that characterized the thinking and behavior of the group. Those components included:

• Belief in a God who remains distant from people’s lives
• People are supposed to be good to each other (i.e., moral)
• The universal purpose of life is being happy and feeling good about oneself
• There are no absolute moral truths
• God allows “good people” into Heaven
• God places very limited demands on people

That seems like a lot of liberal religion.

From the supporting paper,

For instance, among those whose lives are most heavily influenced by MTD:

• 95% do not consider success in life to be described as consistent obedience to God
• 92% do not believe that the wealth they have has been given to them by God to manage for His purposes
• 91% do not believe that people are born into sin and need to be saved by Jesus Christ
• 88% say they get their primary moral guidance from various sources other than the Bible
• 87% do not believe that the ultimate purpose of human life is to know, love, and serve God with all of their heart, mind, strength, and soul
• 76% contend that good people earn a place in Heaven through their good behavior
• 75% do not believe that God is the basis of all truth
• 74% believe in Karma
• 73% say that having some type of religious faith is more important than which faith is embraced
• 71% do not believe that the Bible is the true and reliable communication from God

Other errant beliefs possessed by a majority of adults who are substantially influenced by MTD include the fact that they do not hold an orthodox, biblical understand of God; they do not believe in the creation story; they reject the existence of absolute moral truth; they deny the existence of the Holy Spirit; and they do believe it is possible to reach complete spiritual maturity in their lifetime.

As to who tends to believe in MTD,

As noted, a large majority of those who are attracted to MTD consider themselves to be Christian—and almost half of those are Catholics, with the next largest chunk associated with churches that are traditionally black, Protestant congregations.

Among racial and ethnic segments, Hispanics showed the greatest alignment with MTD, with a majority of them (52%) drawing heavily or moderately from MTD perspectives. CRC noted that because a large share of Hispanics is Catholic—more than four out of 10—this outcome was not surprising.

There was a significant age gap evident, too, as people under age 50 were more than twice as likely as the 50- plus to find MTD appealing. That is also to be expected given the genesis of the worldview itself: research among teenagers at the start of the new millennium.
The AWVI 2021 also found that about six out of 10 LGBTQ adults are consistently engaged with MTD. Although relatively few spiritual Skeptics buy into elements of MTD, individuals who are associated with Islam and Judaism were more likely than average to adopt many MTD tenets.

 

[lpetrich]

Generational Worldview Shift: Millennials Seek World without God, Bible, Churches - Arizona Christian University
noting
CRC_AWVI2021_Release03_Digital_01_20210512.pdf

His definitions:

• Builders: 1927-1945
• Baby Boomers: 1946-1964
• Generation X: 1965-1983
• Millennials: 1984-2002

Builders = Silent Generation, it seems

• They are significantly more likely than older Americans to define success in terms of personal happiness, condone abortion if pregnancy inhibits personal happiness, see premarital sex as morally acceptable, view reincarnation as possible, and embrace liberal positions on social and fiscal issues, as well as liberal theology.
• They are significantly less likely to embrace key traditional biblical teachings, including the nature of God, “original sin”, salvation, creation, life after death, human purpose, and biblical morality.

Strikingly, while four out of 10 people 55 or older (40%) can be classified as born-again Christians based on their beliefs about personal salvation, just one out of every six Millennials (16%) meets the criterion. Instead, the research shows younger Americans are far more likely to embrace a counterfeit version of Christianity known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism for worldview guidance.

Belief or Behavior	Mill	GenX	Boom	Builder
Willing to try anything at least once	66	57	31	28
Believe in karma	64	61	52	30
Humans developed over time from less advanced forms	54	53	40	34
Reincarnation is a very real possibility	51	39	29	20
Personally receive guidance from your horoscope	35	32	10	3
Individual ownership of property facilitates economic injustice	35	34	13	16
You try to get even with people who have wronged you	38	33	12	10
Universal purpose for all people is to know, love, and serve God with all heart, mind, strength and soul	19	30	42	50
Universe was designed and created, and is sustained by God	30	47	62	67
God is the all-knowing, all powerful, just creator of the universe, He still rules it today	31	47	57	64
Human beings were created by God in His image but are Fallen creatures in need of redemption by Jesus Christ	40	57	65	60
Satan is a real, influential being	44	58	64	55
Deeply committed to practicing my faith	45	57	64	72
You treat others as you want them to treat you	48	53	81	90

 

[lpetrich]

Some of the items are rather odd.

"Personally receive guidance from your horoscope" ??? Are there really that many people who consult astrologers on a regular basis?

"Humans developed over time from less advanced forms" What does George Barna think of Xian evolutionists like Francis Collins?

Spiritual Indicator	Mill	GenX	Boom	Builder
Consider yourself to be a Christian	57	70	79	83
Praise, thank or worship God each week	45	66	70	72
Don't know, care, or believe that God exists	43	31	28	27
Believe that when they die they will go to Heaven but only because they confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior	16	26	41	39
Possess a biblical worldview	4	6	8	9
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism	44	38	32	29
Biblical Theism	9	22	42	47
Postmodernism	18	13	14	17
Secular Humanism	15	11	14	19
Eastern Mysticism	12	7	9	6
Nihilism	11	8	8	13
Marxism	10	9	9	14

I find the three don't's rather interesting. Are there really that many agnostics and atheists? Or do some of them believe in sorts of deities different from the Xian God? Like a pantheist world-soul.

 

[lpetrich]

CRC_2020PostElectionSurvey_Report04_Digital_01_20210216.pdf

The latest findings from the 2020 Post-Election Survey from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University provide new insights into the faith of roughly 81 million Americans—about 31% of all American adults— who voted for President Biden in November.

Most (56%) described themselves as “spiritual but not religious” and only three out of ten (30%) believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Biden supporters are less likely to believe the Bible is true (30%) and reject the idea of absolute moral truth (75%).

Instead, Biden voters are more likely to believe moral truth is up to each individual and that there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time—75% of Biden supporters hold this position compared to 67% of all American adults.

That's a very simplistic view of ethical relativism.

The post-election survey showed that Trump won most of the votes cast by adults who usually attend Protestant churches (47% compared to Biden’s 33%), while Biden received almost twice as many votes (45% to 25%) among adults in the “Don’ts” faith segment (i.e., they don’t know if God exists, don’t believe that God exists, or don’t care if God exists). That group provided 29% of the Biden vote.

Faith-related attribute	All adults	Biden voters
Having faith matters more than which faith you have	74	79
Self-identified "Christian"	70	65
Identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time	67	75
A person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, will earn a place on Heaven	65	72
All religious faiths are of equal value	62	68
The marriage of one man to one woman is God's only acceptable plan for humanity, for all cultures on earth	54	42
The Bible is ambiguous on the matter of abortion; it is possible to make compelling biblical arguments either for or against abortion	51	60
God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules that universe today	47	37
When you die you are certain you will go to Heaven only because you have confessed your sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior	24	15

I have to ask how well these Bible worshippers have read the book that they worship so much, because the Bible has lots of marriages of one man and several women, marriages described without as much as a whiff of disapproval.

As to the Bible and abortion, it says very little, and what it does say is not very explicit.

The post-election survey noted that Mr. Trump won most of the votes cast by adults who usually attend Protestant churches while Mr. Biden won overwhelming majorities of the votes from people aligned with non-Christian faiths (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.). Among Protestant churchgoers Mr. Trump won 47% of the vote compared to 33% for Mr. Biden. (Most of the rest of those attending Protestant churches did not vote.) Catholics gave Mr. Biden a slim 44%- 40% margin of preference.

Among people aligned with non-Christian faiths Mr. Biden was the candidate of choice by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (53% vs. 28%). Among adults in the “Don’ts” faith segment – i.e., they don’t know if God exists, don’t believe that God exists, or don’t care if God exists – Mr. Biden received almost twice as many votes as did Mr. Trump (45% vs. 25%).

 

[lpetrich]

Faith-related attribute	Trump voters	Biden voters
Self-identification: Christian	80	65
The marriage of one man to one woman is God's only acceptable plan for humanity, for all cultures on earth	69	42
God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules that universe today	60	37
All religious faiths are of equal value	56	68
Active in a local Christian church	42	31
Self-identification: theologically conservative	42	25
Absolute moral truths exist and are defined in the Bible	43	25
The Bible is ambiguous on the matter of abortion; it is possible to make compelling biblical arguments either for or against abortion	41	60
When you die you are certain you will go to Heaven only because you have confessed your sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior	34	15
Attend a Protestant church	42	27
Attend a Catholic church	21	21
Attend a Christian church, type undetermined	13	13
Associated with a non-Christian faith	7	9
Don't believe in God/care about God/think God's existence is knowable	18	29

That poll did not distinguish between evangelical and mainline Protestants. I think that much of the Trump - Biden difference is due to evangelicals.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Shame we don't have George Barna type research for every 25 years of the past couple millennia.

 

[steve_bank]

Research by Dr. George Barna at
Cultural Research Center - Arizona Christian University at Arizona Christian University

I like him because he doesn't seem Pollyannaish. He is willing to report what he considers bad news.

Vast Majority of Americans Stitch Together Patchwork Worldview of Conflicting Beliefs, Making “Syncretism” Top Worldview Among U.S. Adults - Arizona Christian University
noting
CRC_AWVI2021_Release01_Digital_01_20210413.pdf

The leading worldviews with respect to American’s beliefs and behaviors are Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (39% of U.S. adults either lean strongly or moderately toward its specific beliefs and behaviors) and the biblical worldview (31% lean strongly or moderately toward its beliefs and behaviors). As for the influence of the other worldviews, the percentage of adults who lean strongly or moderately toward specific beliefs and behaviors include: Secular Humanism (16%); Postmodernism (16%); Nihilism (10%); Eastern Mysticism (10%); Marxism (10%).

Now that I think about it I would agree religion can be therapeutic for believers. People in distress literaly turn their lives around.

 

[lpetrich]

From the 2021 releases, it is hard to see what the Barna team called Marxism, Postmodernism, Eastern Mysticism, Secular Humanism, and Nihilism. In the first one, I found "... Marxism (along with its offshoot, critical race theory) and Eastern Mysticism (also known as “New Age”)"

A "biblical worldview" is what a theologically conservative Xian might believe, and "moralistic therapeutic deism" seems like liberal Xianity and similar in other religious traditions.

Research - Arizona Christian University - research reports (PDF files)

It has 2020 along with 2021 research, so there might be more to be found there.


The ACU people claim to love the "free market", but the Bible is firm about how "you cannot serve both God and money" (Matt 6:24, Luke 16:13) and that "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Tim 6:10). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ says that accumulating earthly wealth is pointless, that it's better to score points with God Almighty (heavenly wealth) (Matt 6:19-21). Also that one should not worry about one's future, because God will rain down on you all the food and clothing that you will need. Just like how God feeds the birds (Matt 6:21) and clothes the lilies in the fields (Matt 6:28-30). Except that that is absolute bullshit. Birds have to search for their food and flowers' colors are built-in.

Can anyone find in the Bible some glorification of wealth accumulation that is comparable to Francisco d'Anconia's "money speech" in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"? In it, that novel's character argues that money is the root of all good.

 

[lpetrich]

That site has "American Worldview Inventory 2020", and I looked in the documents there for results.

CRC-AWVI-2020-Release_01-Worldview-in-America.pdf
"CRC Survey Shows Dangerously Low Percentage of Americans Hold Biblical Worldview"

• Only one-fifth of those attending evangelical Protestant churches (21%) have a biblical worldview, as compared to one-sixth of those attending charismatic or Pentecostal churches (16%). The study finds even smaller proportions in mainline Protestant (8%) or Catholic (1%) churches.
• The number of American adults holding a biblical worldview has declined by 50% over the past quarter century.
• Regarding the youngest adult generation the numbers are even more startling. A mere 2% of those 18 to 29 years old possess a biblical worldview

...
As might be expected, church alignments were directly related to worldview. People associated with Christian churches that have a “high view” of the Bible – i.e., believing that the Bible is the inspired, true word of God and is a reliable guide for life – were much more likely to have a biblical worldview than were people attending other types of churches. One-fifth of those attending evangelical Protestant churches (21%) have a biblical worldview, as do one-sixth of those attending charismatic or Pentecostal churches (16%). In contrast, much smaller proportions of people associated with mainline Protestant (8%) or Catholic (1%) churches – segments that typically place less trust in the reliability of the Bible – have a biblical worldview.

Born again Christians–a segment defined in part by their acceptance of scriptural exhortations regarding sin, grace, and salvation – were three times more likely than average to have a biblical worldview (19%). However, the fact that not quite one out of five born again adults holds a biblical worldview highlights the extensive decline of core Christian principles in America over the last several decades. Born again adults currently constitute about one-third of the national adult population.

The largest segment of people who describe themselves as Christian is Notional Christians – those who self-identify as Christian and who do not embrace eternal salvation through a personal confession of sin and accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior. Notional Christians constitute 54% of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christian. Very few Notional Christians – only one-tenth of one percent – have a biblical worldview.

That is honesty. Very commendable honesty. Much better than bragging about how everybody supposedly agrees with them on the size of God's beard.

There are geographic differences of note, as well. Only 4% of adults in the Northeastern and Western states have a biblical worldview compared totwice as many who live in the Midwest and South (8%). ...

Not surprisingly, political leanings were related to peoples’ worldview. Among adults who are politically conservative, 16% have a biblical worldview. That far exceeded the proportion among political moderates (3%) and liberals (1%).

Another hybrid segment is SAGE Cons – an acronym for Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians, who represent about 9% of the population. A group that is active in both politics and faith, they are credited with playing a pivotal role in putting Donald Trump in the White House in 2016. The survey revealed that nearly half of that group (44%) has a biblical worldview.

Some demographic qualities – such as gender, presence of young children in the home, and military experience – showed no relationship to whether or not a person has a biblical worldview.

So GB found what others have found, that a lot of Trump's more hardcore supporters are scriptural percussionists. One might expect such people to go for Mitt Romney, but he wasn't even running in 2020. They'd say "Sure, he's a heretic who wants to be the god of his own planet, but aside from that, he's good. Very very good. Family values, free enterprise, the works. He's everything we need except for his theological beliefs."

 

[lpetrich]

"Teens and individuals in their twenties read the Bible less often than other adults, attend church less often, and are more likely to attend churches that reject the authority of the Bible. Adults under the age of 30 are both the least likely to have a biblical worldview and to engage Christianity through churches that believe the Bible is the true word of God."

• Four out of every ten people (41%) believe that the Bible is the word of God and contains no factual or historical errors. One out of every seven of those adults (14%) has a biblical worldview. While that percentage is low, it is more than double the national average.
• Among the 13% of adults who believe the Bible is the inspired word of God but contains some factual or historical errors, only 2% possess a biblical worldview.
• Nearly one-quarter of the nation (23%) possess a positive view of the Bible but do not believe it is the literal or inspired word of God, or that it is completely accurate. (They see it as a “holy book” of religious teachings or as a valuable guidebook for societal development.) However, less than 1% of these people develop a biblical worldview.
• One out of eight American adults (13%) are indifferent to, or dismissive of the Bible, citing is as merely adescriptive narrative of how its authors viewed the ways and principles of God, or as an unrealistic book of fables and myths. Not quite 1% of the people in this category hold a biblical worldview.
• The remaining 9% of the general public do not know how to describe the nature or value of the Bible. About 1% of that segment has a biblical worldview.

"Stunningly, when comparing the current data with that from 2000, there has been 21 percentage point decline in the proportion of adults who believe the Bible is the word of God (from 75% to 54%) and a 17-point drop in the number who believe the Bible is without error (from 58% to 41%)."

Yet more evidence of the decline of religion in US society.

 

[lpetrich]

This and some of my previous post were from
CRC-AWVI-2020-Release-02_Faith-and-Worldview-1.pdf
"Is the Bible True? CRC Survey Shows America’s Distrust of the Bible Undermines Its Worldview"
What do they expect people to do? Worship it?

1. the inspired word of God that has no errors, although some verses are meant to be symbolic rather than literal
2. the actual, true word of God that should be taken literally, word for word
3. the inspired word of God but with some factual or historical errors
4. just one of the many holy books that provide religious teaching; it is neither more nor less reliable than the sacred literature of other religious traditions
5. not inspired by God but tells how its authors understood the ways and principles of God
6. a valuable text that has helped society develop, but it is neither divine nor inspired
7. a book of fables and myths that have little, if any, basis in reality
8. don't know

Comparing all adults, Evangelical, Pentecostal / Charismatic, Mainline Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Atheist / Agnostic / None.

As one might expect, evangelicals and Pentecostals were the biggest on the first two. Mainline Protestants the most likely to believe the third and fourth, and Jews close behind on the fourth but most likely to believe the fifth and sixth. About the seventh, they were second to the AAN's, and the AAN's were equally likely to support that and the fourth one.

The sixth one is what one might expect a culturally Jewish atheist/agnostic to believe about the Bible.

Individuals who fall within the realm of Spiritual Skeptics (i.e., atheists, agnostics, and those with no religious interest/affiliation) constitute the fastest-growing faith segment in the nation. They currently represent more than one out of every five adults (21%). As might be expected, given their dismissal of the Bible and Christianity, less than one-half of one percent of the Skeptics had a biblical worldview.

...
As expected, although 8% of the nation aligns with faiths other than Christianity or Judaism, less than one-half of one percent of those individuals qualified as Integrated Disciples. The small number of people who fit the definition were affiliated with the Mormon church.

Mormonism isn't Xianity???

 

[lpetrich]

CRC-AWVI-2020-Release-03_Perceptions-of-God.pdf

Stunningly, Americans are more confident about the existence of Satan than they are of God. Overall, 56% contend that Satan is an influential spiritual being, yet almost half (49%) are not fully confident that God truly exists. And 44% of believe Jesus Christ sinned while on Earth.Americans are also confused about the nature of the Holy Spirit, with over half—52%—saying that “the Holy Spirit is not a living entity, but merely a symbol of God’s power, presence or purity."

I call it the Holy Spook.

... some of the largest drops in belief in a biblical description of God in the past 30 years are among youngest Americans ages 18 to 29 (down 26 points), oldest Americans, i.e., born before 1946 (down 25 points), and women (down 25 points). The largest drop was among those attending Pentecostal or charismatic Protestant churches (down 27 points). Only those in households with income at least 20% above the national average saw an increase (up 2 points). Overall the study found a 50% drop in biblical worldview in America in the past 30 years, from 12% to the current 6%—the lowest number ever recorded.

• A major shift in beliefs about God shows dramatically increasing skepticism about His existence. Those who say “a higher power may exist, but nobody really knows for certain” has exploded from 1% of the public 30 years ago to 20% today.
• Americans are almost evenly divided on the nature of Jesus Christ. Overall, 44% agreed that “when He lived on earth, Jesus Christ was fully divine and also fully human, and therefore committed sins, like other people.” Slightly fewer (41%) viewed Jesus as fully divine and fully human, and sinless while on earth.
• Among those least likely to possess an orthodox biblical view of God:
  • “nones,” i.e., atheists, agnostics, with no religious interest or associations(9%);
  • political liberals (35%);
  • adults who self-identify as LGBTQ (36%);
  • and adults 18 to 29 years old (38%)

That big a jump in fraction of agnostics seems a bit much. As to being divine, did they try to clarify whether that was meant literally or metaphorically? A god-human hybrid vs. just plain great.

• One-fifth of the public (20%) embraces a conventional agnostic perspective: “a higher power may exist, but nobody knows for certain.”
• One-tenth (10%) possess a common “new age” or modern mystical point of view, claiming that “‘God’ refers to the total realization of personal, human potential or a state of higher consciousness that a person may reach.”
• A traditional atheistic view – i.e., that “there is no such thing as God” – is a view held by 6% of U.S. adults.
• Less common views include the 4% who possess a polytheistic view (“there are many gods, each with different powers and authority”) and 3% who are pantheistic (“everyone is god”).
• The remaining 6% of the public does not know what to think about the notion of God.

Which people groups are most likely to embrace the orthodox biblical view of God? The AWVI 2020 data indicates that such a belief is most likely to be held by Integrated Disciples (i.e., adults with a biblical worldview –97%); SAGE Cons (Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians –92%); born-again Christians (84%); political conservatives (70%); blacks (62%); upscale individuals (i.e., college graduates with above average household income, 59% having a biblical God view); Republicans (67%); and people 50 or older (57%). In addition, the South is the only region that has more than half of its residents maintaining an orthodox biblical understanding of God (59%).

Among those who are least likely to possess an orthodox biblical view of God are the “nones” (i.e., atheists, agnostics, those who have no religious interest or associations, 9% of whom have a biblical view of God); political liberals who are Independent (23%); adults associated with non-Christian faiths (29%); political liberals, regardless of their party affiliation (35%); adults who self-identify as LGBTQ (36%); and adults 18 to 29 years old (38%).

Changes over 30 years:

• Biblical view of God: 73% to 51%
• “a higher power may exist, but nobody really knows for certain.”: 1% to 20%
• “there is no such thing as God.”: 1% to 6%
• “God refers to the total realization of human potential, or a state of higher consciousness that a person may reach.”: 16% to 10%
• Pentecostal/Charismatic: down 27%
• 18 to 29: down 26%
• born before 1946: down 25%
• women: down 25%
• only increase: household income >= 20% national average: up 2%

That human potential / higher consciousness view of God may have declined from people not wanting to call that sort of thing "God".

 

[lpetrich]

Belief about God	Pct of adults
God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who rules the universe today	51
A higher power may exist, but nobody really knows for certain	20
God refers to the total realization of personal, human potential or a state of higher consciousness that person may reach	10
There is no such thing as God	6
There are many gods, each with different power and authority	4
Everyone is god	3
don't know	6

Here again, George Barna deserves a LOT of credit for highlighting specific contrary beliefs about deities.

 

[lpetrich]

CRC-AWVI-2020-Release-04_God-is-Absent-from-Views-of-Purpose-and-Success.pdf
"An increasingly secular America insists that life has purpose and meaning, terms commonly associated with the historic Christian faith and biblical understanding, but doggedly refuses to include God as a possible route to finding either."

As if one is supposed to say "I'm just following God's orders".

The survey finds little consensus in how Americans define the purpose of life. The most widespread view, held by nearly one-quarter of adults (23%), identified “experiencing happiness and fulfillment” as the ultimate reason for living. Followed by “evolving to our full potential physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually” (18%); “knowing, loving, and serving God”(18%); “furthering the development of humanity”(10%) or “living a long, healthy life”(10%).

...
The most widely adopted view of success was “living a healthy, productive, and safe life”, a view adopted by one-quarter of the public (25%). One out of five adults selected either “being a good person” (22%) or “consistent obedience to God” (21%) as the best reflection of their view of success. Almost as many (18%) chose the description “experiencing personal happiness or freedom.”

4The other four possibilities offered to respondents were each chosen by less than one out of every twenty people. Those included “being liked and respected by other people” (4%); “having or achieving things that society values” (3%); “whatever society determines success to be” (2%); and “returning as a more evolved life form” (2%). The remaining 4% said they did not know how to define success.

Is one supposed to hate everything but God? There is some support for that in the Bible. Jesus Christ says:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword! For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. (Matt 10:34-36, NET)

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26, NET)

 

[lpetrich]

AWVI-2020-Release-05-Perceptions-of-Truth.pdf
"Survey Finds Americans See Many Sources of Truth—and Reject Moral Absolutes"

Agreed: Identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to every person, all the time:

All adults 58%, Attend evangelical church 46%, Attend Pentecostal church 63%, Attend mainline Protestant church 50%,
Attend Catholic church 62%, Born-again Christian 48%, Faith other than Christianity 70%, Spiritual Skeptic 64%, Republican 51%, Democrat 63%, Independent 60%, Not registered to vote 62%, Political conservative 51%, Political moderate 59%, Political liberal 67%, SAGECon 33%.

I found this one interesting:

Basis of Truth?	All	Evan	Pent	MLP	Cath	BAC	Other	Skep	GOP	Dem	Indy	Con	Lib
God	42	72	70	37	43	69	25	7	59	36	34	62	26
Scientific proof	15	7	6	13	12	6	22	33	10	19	17	8	25
Inner certainty	16	9	11	17	20	12	19	22	12	19	17	10	21
Tradition	5	3	2	7	9	3	4	4	6	5	5	6	3
Public agreement	4	3	7	4	4	2	10	4	3	6	4	3	8
There is no truth	5	1	0	7	3	1	7	11	2	4	6	2	6
don't know	13	5	3	16	11	7	14	20	9	12	17	9	11

• Nearly nine out of ten (87%) SAGECons –the Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians–selected God as their basis of truth, while less than half that proportion (37%) did so among the rest of the nation.
• Unexpectedly, those who describe themselves as part of the LGBTQ community were twice as likely to identify God as the basis of truth (34%) as they were to list either scientific proof (17%) or inner certainty (15%).
• There was no region in the country where a majority of people chose the same basis of truth. However, almost half of the residents of the southern states (48%) said God is the source of truth, compared to an average of 38% in the other three regions of the United States.
• Adults who have a biblical worldview are two-and-a-half times more likely than other people to say that God is the basis of truth (96% compared to 38%)

 

[lpetrich]

AWVI-2020-Release-06-Perceptions-of-Morality-Moral-Choices.pdf
"Our nation is facing a potential moral freefall unthinkable to earlier generations—with a majority of Americans today no longer embracing values of honesty, respect for the rule of law, the sanctity of life, and traditional sexual morality when facing moral issues"

The latest findings of the American Worldview Inventory 2020 show that political ideology dramatically affects Americans’ sources of moral guidance. Political conservatives were most likely to rely upon the Bible (40%), while moderates (17%) and liberals (11%) were least likely, instead relying on their own feelings, beliefs, and knowledge for moral direction.

Age also has a dramatic effect. Younger Americans (18-29) are least likely (15%) to consider the Bible in moral decisions and instead look to themselves (29%) or to family (25%). About one-quarter of older Americans look to the Bible, including 23% of those ages 30 to 49, 25% of those 50 to 64, and 26% of those over 64.

"As Americans embrace the consequences of unrestrained moral choices, we will see further rejections of traditional marriage, conventional child-rearing practices and objectives, millions more abortions, excessive substance abuse, and wider acceptance of suicide, polygamy, sexual perversion, and religious persecution."
POLYGAMY???

I have to ask how much George Barna has read his Bible. Look at how many wives some men had in the Old Testament.

He might be referring to serial polygamy, having several marital partners in sequence. Like what evangelicals' hero Donald Trump has done.

 

[lpetrich]

AWVI-2020-Release-07-Perceptions-of-Value-of-Life.pdf
"Majority of Americans No Longer See Human Life as ‘Sacred,’ Yet See Humanity as ‘Basically Good’"

"Only 39% of Americans today view human life as “sacred,” or as having unconditional, intrinsic worth." - they should explain that more clearly, because "intrinsic worth" != "sacred".

The research also shows that almost seven out of ten—a whopping 69%—of Americans see human beings as “basically good.”This view is so pervasive that a majority of every population subgroup examined adopted that view, ranging from just over half to more than three-quarters of those groups. The segment least likely to say “people are basically good” are people with a biblical worldview (52%).

Seeing human beings as “basically good” runs counter to the foundational biblical teaching that human beings are created by God and made in His image but are fallen and in need of redemption. Only a slight majority of Americans—56%—hold this biblical view.

Traditional Xian theology is grossly self-contradictory about that. If God is exactly like us, at least mentally, then God must be capable of terrible sins, like eating some fruit that he was told was a no-no. A sin supposedly so terrible that all the descendants of the people who committed that sin deserve eternal damnation, not just the people who committed it.

For my part, I don't believe in the absolute goodness of humanity, any more than I believe in the absolute depravity of humanity. Both views are, IMO, nonsense.

Instead, one-third of Americans possess alternative views about humanity, according to the AWVI 2020. For instance, one out of eight (12%) claims that people are simply “material substance – biological machines.” Another one-eighth (12%) argues that people are “part of the mind of the universe.” Smaller numbers describe humans as “an illusion,” claim we do not exist; or as “sleeping gods, part of the soul of the universe.

New-Agey and naturalist/materialist views.

 

[lpetrich]

AWVI-2020-Release-08-Perceptions-of-Sin-and-Salvation.pdf
"Salvation through Christ Attracts Just One in Three Adults; More Believe It Can Be ‘Earned’"

Some evangelicals denounce "works-based religions", those that teach that one can be "saved" by doing good things. But what they believe seems to imply that one can commit whatever sins one wants to as long as one believes in Jesus Christ.

New research shows that unlike past generations, who readily recognized the reality of sin and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ, American adults today increasingly adopt a “salvation-can-be-earned” perspective, with a plurality of adults (48%) believing that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things during their life, they will “earn” a place in Heaven. Only one-third of adults (35%) disagree, according to findings from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

Most surprising in the latest findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2020 is that a majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a “works-oriented” means to God’s acceptance. More shocking, huge proportions of people associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good. That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. A much larger share of Catholics (70%) embrace that point of view.

The Catholic Church has been known to take salvation by works to rather corrupt extremes, like saying that a sure way to salvation is to finance the Church. Protestants asserting salvation by faith alone was a reaction to such corruption.

• Only half of Americans (54%) believe they will experience Heaven after they die; 15% said they don’t know what will happen after they die; 13% said there is no life after death; 8% expect to be reincarnated; another 8% believe they will go to a place of purification prior to entering Heaven. Just 2% believe they will go to Hell.
• Born-again Christians, defined as people who not only claim to be Christian but also believe that when they die they will go to Heaven only because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, were least likely to hold the “salvation-can-be-earned” view.
• Conservatives are much more likely (75%) to “consciously and consistently attempt to avoid sinning because they know it offends God,” compared to liberals (41%) or moderates (49%).

 

[lpetrich]

AWVI-2020-Release-09-Worldview-and-Political-Beliefs.pdf

George Barna: “The 2020 election is not about personalities, parties, or even politics. It is an election to determine the dominant worldview in America.” So he thinks that Trump is some sort of evangelical hero?

The findings show that that those who possess a biblical worldview are more likely to be consistently conservative (78%), preferring capitalism over socialism (83%), favoring conservative fiscal (80%) and social (91%) policies, opposing abortion based on clear biblical teaching (89%), and holding a more conservative, limited view of the size and scope of government (83%).

Conversely, only 5% of those with a biblical worldview are likely to adopt liberal views on fiscal, social and governance issues. According to the research, those without a biblical worldview are more likely to support liberal fiscal (26%) and social (40%) policies, do not believe the Bible is unambiguous in its views on abortion (38%), and favor a more liberal, expansive view of governance (26%). And a full 98% of those who prefer socialism over capitalism also reject the biblical worldview, instead adopting a non-traditional worldview.

CRC_AWVI2020_Release10_Digital_03_20200922.pdf
"Millennials and Worldview"

Claims that Millennials are less tolerant, but they may be more willing to own up to unflattering things about themselves. Consider how the Religious Right reacts to LGBT people and abortion. Also consider how George Barna complains about people not accepting what terrible sinners they are.

CRC_AWVI2020_Release11_Digital_04_20201006.pdf
"Churches and Worldview"

• Evangelicals are embracing secularism: A majority (52%) of evangelicals reject absolute moral truth; 61% do not read the Bible on a daily basis; 75% believe that people are basically good. The study found that one-third to one-half of evangelicals in the survey embrace a variety of beliefs and behaviors counter to biblical teaching and longstanding Evangelical beliefs.
• Pentecostals and charismatics take secularization a step further: Two-thirds (69%) reject absolute moral truth; 54% are unwilling to define human life as sacred, with half claiming the Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion; and 69% say they prefer socialism to capitalism. A full 45% did not qualify as born-again Christians.
• Mainline Protestants are the most secular of the four faith families: Sixty percent (60%) of mainline Protestants’ beliefs directly conflict with biblical teaching. Three key values define this group: truth and morality are relative; life has no inherent value or purpose, so individuals should pursue personal happiness or satisfaction; and traditional religious practices are no longer seen as central or essential to their Christian faith. Only 41% of mainline Protestants are born-again.
• Catholics are increasingly secular and permissive: Catholics’ beliefs are surprisingly similar to those of mainline Protestants, but considerably different from that of evangelical and charismatic Protestants. They are most likely to believe in salvation through works or living a good life, and least likely (28%) to be born again. Today’s Catholics are more permissive than other groups, being most likely to accept sexual relations outside of marriage, lying, speeding, and refusal to repay a loan as morally acceptable behaviors.

WHy not look at what they do in practice?

I also find it very offensive to link nonmarital sex with dishonesty and refusing to honor one's obligations.