TruthBook Religious News Blog

Thu, Dec. 17 2009 01:55 PM EDT
By Audrey Barrick|Christian Post Reporter

About two thirds of Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, a new survey reveals.

Meanwhile, 20 percent celebrate the event as a secular holiday, according to Rasmussen Reports.

Among those who celebrate Christmas, 72 percent say Jesus was born to a virgin and 81 percent believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to die for our sins.

Christians believe Christmas is one of the most important days of the year because it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and those who celebrate Christmas overwhelmingly agree with the central tenets of the Christian faith associated with the holiday, the survey says.

While most Americans seem to affirm Christmas, a number of pastors believe Christians have lost the true meaning of the event.

Pastor Rick McKinley of Portland, Ore., says he's tired of "the monumental moment of Christmas, being ripped by the culture and people being absorbed by spending and chaos and really missing out together as a community on what it means to worship Jesus."

McKinley and two other pastors began a movement called Advent Conspiracy a few years ago to help redeem the Christmas story that they believe has been short sold to them by the culture. This year the movement has gone viral, catching national media attention and drawing the participation of over a thousand churches and more than 45,000 Facebook fans.

"The greatest thing about Christianity to a non-believer like myself is that, even after you strip away the more miraculous elements of the faith, you are left with a central figure in Jesus Christ, who preached love and forgiveness and charity and goodwill to his fellow man," one former Catholic and now professing atheist said in an e-mail to those behind the Advent Conspiracy movement. "At its best, Christianity is a religion about love and peace and I believe that message is all but lost among far too many of today’s Christians,"

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Labels: Advent Conspiracy, Americans, Audrey Barrick, Christian, Christmas

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Survey Profiles Nonreligious Americans

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Aug. 14 2009

A recent survey took a close look at the "nonreligious" population, offering a picture of what they are really like and determining whether stereotypes of nonbelievers are accurate.

Until now, little information has been gathered regarding nonbelievers' social relationships and mental well-being as well as their philosophical shadings, says Luke W. Galen, associate professor of Psychology at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Mich.

But considering their growing numbers and increasing visibility in the public square, Galen sought out to determine who precisely constitutes the nonreligious group.

The Non-Religious Identification Survey, completed by more than 5,000 nonreligious individuals, is said to be the first study of its type with a full range of questions directed to the "nones," or nonreligious population, who make up around 16 percent of Americans.

The survey found the population to be less homogeneous than previous studies have typically portrayed them to be. Forty-eight percent described themselves as atheist, 12 percent identified themselves as agnostic, 22 percent chose the label humanist, 7 percent called themselves spiritual, and 5 percent chose other.

When given the option to choose multiple terms to describe themselves, 77 percent checked "atheist," 63 percent marked "humanist," 29 percent reported "agnostic," and 3 percent checked "spiritual." But when forced to choose only one label among the four, far fewer individuals identified themselves as humanist (24 percent). Meanwhile, 57 percent preferred the label "atheist."

More than three in four nonbelievers said they were somewhat, mostly or absolutely certain that God does not exist. Meanwhile, 15 percent reported they weren't sure and 8 percent said they were at least somewhat certain of God's existence.

Labels: atheists, Audrey Barrick, non-believer, Non-Religious Identification Survey, religion

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Survey: Faith of Blacks Grows Stronger, More Orthodox

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Jul. 25 2009

Blacks remain the most religious ethnic group in America, a new study shows.

And over the last 15 years, African Americans have grown even more religious and orthodox in their Christian beliefs, according to The Barna Group.

Findings from surveys that included 1,272 African American respondents reveal that blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again.

African Americans were found to be the most likely ethnic group to consider themselves Christian with 92 percent saying so. Nationally, 85 percent of Americans in general consider themselves Christian. Blacks were also the most likely to be born again Christians (59 percent vs. 46 percent nationally).

Moreover, blacks had the lowest population of unchurched adults and were least likely to be Catholic.

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Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, Bible, Christian, church, faith, religion

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Monday, April 27, 2009

Churches Across Faith Traditions Plant 12,000 Trees

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Apr. 23 2009

In keeping with the biblical mandate to care for God's creation, thousands of people from ten faith traditions have come together to plant 12,000 trees in northern Michigan.

Thousands of volunteers will be picking up tree seedlings on May 2 and planting the equivalent of a forest across 400 miles the following day.

Being stewards of God's creation has taken on greater significance as more Christians view global warming as a serious problem.

According to a Pew Research Center survey from July 2006, 78 percent of white mainline Protestants, 68 percent of white evangelicals and 86 percent of Catholics believe global warming is a serious problem. Nearly half of all Catholics and 40 percent of white mainline Protestants say it's "very serious."

Earlier findings by the Pew Center showed that for Catholics and mainline Protestants, protecting the environment takes priority over abortion and gay marriage concerns. For white evangelicals, the environment still ranks below the cultural issues.

Nevertheless, the Pew Center found a fairly strong consensus across faith traditions on regulations to protect the environment in contrast to other issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Earth Day, global warming, interfaith

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Friday, January 23, 2009

John Piper: Economic Downturn Not Necessarily Bad for Souls

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jan. 16 2009

One of the most influential evangelical authors is encouraging Americans not to complain or get angry at God during these bleak economic times.

God may turn pain, job loss or vanishing retirement funds for our good, said John Piper, pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn., in a video message posted this week.

First, the well-known author and preacher reminded Americans and those around the world that "God tests His people through hardship."

"And sometimes the darkest of days turn out to be the best of days because almost none of us learns the most and the deepest things about God in the rosiest of times but only in the worst of times," he said in the video featured on his Desiring God Ministries website, "and the knowledge of God is the most precious thing in the world."

"Therefore," he continued, "it's not obvious to me that an economic downturn is bad for our souls, maybe bad for our pocketbooks and bad for our stomachs and bad for our egos, but not necessarily bad for our souls."

Citing several verses from the New Testament book of Matthew, Piper says the passage is designed specifically for people who are on the brink of losing everything.

"Don't be anxious about what you should eat or what you should drink or what you should put on ... He says don't worry about these. I'm your father," he noted. "He means for that word to land on a suffering, laid-off family with tremendous peace."

"I (God) will take care of you. I will," Piper stressed.

While that biblical passage may provide comfort to Christians, the Minneapolis preacher also exhorted non-believers to turn to Jesus Christ and trust him.

And even as Christians, Scripture does not say there will be no trials or periods of suffering for believers, Piper indicated. But Piper assured that through hard times, God will meet every need – "real need, not just perceived need."

"Will our (Christians) faith rise or will we be as anxious as the world is and just look like the world in all of our scraping by, scraping to say 'I got to have' instead of 'He's my everything ... I will work and do everything I can to meet the needs of my family and myself but I am not going to lie awake at night and get angry at Him or bemoan my situation.'"

He ended his message on a challenging note: "Do all things without grumbling. Why? You have a sovereign God who is on your side, who works everything together for your good."

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Christian, economics, hardship, hope

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Saturday, January 12, 2008

Study: Most Americans Support School Prayers, Religious Displays

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jan. 11 2008

A majority of Americans believe religious displays, prayers at school and the Ten Commandments display in a court building should be legal in the United States, a new study showed.

While religious Americans were more likely to agree, a majority of those who are not religious also believe such religious expressions and practices should be allowed, according to Ellison Research which conducted the research on a sample of 1,007 adults. The study was released Thursday.

Survey results revealed that 98 percent of born-again Americans compared to 81 percent of those not born again believe voluntary student-led prayer at public school events, such as football games or graduation ceremonies, should be legal. Also, 97 percent of born agains believe the law should support religious groups renting public property for meetings if non-religious groups are allowed to do so while 86 percent of not born again Americans agree. And 94 percent of born agains say a teacher wearing a religious symbol, such as a Star of David or a cross, during class should be legal compared to 85 percent of not born people.

Although conservatives were more likely than liberals to believe in allowing the specific religious expressions and practices, majorities from both the groups agree with many of the issues such as allowing a nativity scene on city property, allowing a teacher to wear a religious symbol during class, and letting religious groups rent public property.

There were larger discrepancies between the two groups on other issues such as voluntary student-led prayer at public school events. While 95 percent of conservatives say that should be legal, only 73 percent of liberals agree. Moreover, 87 percent of conservatives believe it should be legal to display the Ten Commandments in a court building but only 60 percent of liberals agree.

Comparing the religious and non-religious Americans, 94 percent of born agains believe the Ten Commandments in a court building should be allowed but only 70 percent of those not born again agree.

Still overall, the survey found an overwhelming majority of Americans united on many of the issues. Ninety percent agree that religious groups renting public property if other groups are allowed to do so should be legal and 89 percent also say it should be legal for a public school teacher to permit a "moment of silence" for prayer or contemplation for all students during class time.

Although most Americans (83 percent) believe nativity displays should be allowed, 67 percent of born-again Christians say an Islam display on city property, such as a city hall, during Ramadan (a Muslim holiday) should be allowed and only 56 percent of those not born again agree.

Other findings showed that 52 percent of Americans overall believe it should be legal for a religious club in a high school or university to determine for itself who can be in their membership, even if certain types of people are excluded, and 33 percent say it should be legal for a landlord to refuse to rent an apartment to a homosexual couple.

Labels: Americans, Audrey Barrick, Ellison Research, prayer, religion

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

New Survey Refutes Claim that Taking Kids to Church is Harmful

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Nov. 14 2007

Most Americans, even those who no longer attend religious services, say their childhood experiences of attending worship has had a positive impact on them, a new study showed.

The latest Ellison Research study, released Tuesday, found that 66 percent of Americans believe their religious attendance before age 18 gave them a good moral foundation and 62 percent say it's something they are glad they did. Even among those who have currently abandoned regular worship attendance (once a month or more), a majority says childhood attendance has been more positive than negative.

Fifty-six percent of Americans who no longer attend services say their attendance as a child has had a positive influence on their life; 55 percent feel their childhood attendance gave them a good moral foundation; 51 percent say they are glad they attended as a child; 48 percent say it gave them important religious knowledge; 35 percent believe it helped them grow spiritually; 34 percent feel it helped them prepare for life as an adult; and 27 percent say it deepened their spiritual faith.

On the negative side, 31 percent of adults currently not attending services say their childhood attendance turned them off to organized religion; 24 percent believe that past experience is not relevant to their life today; and 13 percent believe it sent them down a different spiritual path than the one they were on at that time.

Only 9 percent of adults who currently attend worship say childhood attendance turned them off on organized religion and 19 percent of all surveyed adults say the same. Fifteen percent of all adults say it is not relevant to their life today and 13 percent feel it helped send them down a different spiritual path than the one they were taking at that time.

The vast majority of Americans have attended religious worship services regularly at some point in their lives. Only 7 percent have not had any point in their lives when they regularly attended. Currently, 51 percent of adults say they attend religious worship services of some kind once a month or more.

However, attending worship services as a child is becoming less common, according to the study. Among Americans who do not regularly attend worship services today, 24 percent of those under age 35 also did not attend as a child, compared to 13 percent of people age 35 to 54 and 9 percent of those 55 or older.

Still, most Americans who look back on their childhood attendance view it in a positive way. Fifty-seven percent of all adults believe it gave them important religious knowledge; 50 percent believe it helped them grow spiritually; 47 percent feel it helped them prepare for life as an adult; and 44 percent say it deepened their spiritual faith.

Seventy-eight percent of those who currently attend religious services feel their childhood attendance has made them more interested in religion as an adult compared to 30 percent of adults who do not currently attend services. Also, only 8 percent of those who currently regularly attend say childhood religious involvement decreased their interest in religion as an adult compared to 30 percent of adults who do not currently attend services regularly.

Only 8 percent of all adults and 13 percent of adults currently not attending services said childhood attendance has had a negative influence on their life. Also, 18 percent of all adults and 30 percent of those who have stopped attending services feel it has had no real influence.

Sellers noted that the survey findings should have some influence on parents.

The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, among a representative sample of 1,007 American adults. The sample was balanced by gender, age, income, race, and geography.

Labels: adults, Americans, Audrey Barrick, children, church, Ellison Research, religion, spirituality

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Friday, September 21, 2007

Study: Men Lack Church Support

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter

Thu, Sep. 20 2007

The majority of men in the United Methodist Church attend worship service almost every week but most feel they lack support from friends and from the pulpit, a new report revealed.

With churches struggling to keep men in the pews and women more likely than men to attend church, the Commission on United Methodist Men conducted the Study of Men report, surveying 1,350 people –a sample reflecting the demographics of the total number of men in the United Methodist Church.

The top reason why the church doesn't reach many men is a lack of interest in religion, survey respondents said they believe. They also listed "societal emphasis on individualism/materialism" and "distrust of organized religion" as common reasons churches struggle to reach men.

Despite wider church trends of fewer men in attendance than women, the majority of United Methodist men (86.5 percent) said they attend church almost every week and 65 percent are involved in small groups or a men's program. Also, half of the survey respondents said they had a strong connection to their congregation that is growing stronger and 75 percent said they use a devotional at least several times a week.

While United Methodist men show a commitment to church, the report's findings revealed that they're getting little support.

Only 27.2 percent of the men have a close male friend that knows or supports them and 68 percent said that the senior pastor could do more to support men in the congregation.

Hanke will conduct further reviews on the study with a think tank and the report will be submitted to the 2008 General Conference, the top legislative body of the denomination. The study was undertaken at the request of the 2004 General Conference, according to the United Methodist News Service.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Methodists, religion, Study of Men report, support

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Survey Reveals Biggest Spiritual Challenges for Christian Parents

by Audrey Barrick, Christian Today Correspondant
Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 8:33

The biggest spiritual challenges Christian parents identified are related to the spiritual development of their children, a new survey found.

Only four out of every 10 Christian parents of children between the ages of 3 and 18 said they do not face any spiritual challenges in their life, according to The Barna Group. Among those who do, 14 percent said the biggest personal challenge related to faith is raising moral children with a strong faith, which was the most common response.

Ten percent identified the need to personally invest more time in religious activities, such as reading the Bible or praying, as their greatest faith challenge.

When asked to rate the significance of eight specific challenges related to their faith, most do not perceive themselves to face major spiritual challenges.

Only 34 percent said having enough time to devote to their faith was a major challenge; and 30 percent said helping their children to become more spiritual was a major challenge.

"Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life,” said George Barna, who directed the survey. “Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.

"This was a study exclusively of Christian parents with young children in their household. Given companion surveys showing that such parents often convey dismay over the eroding cultural environment for raising children, and how difficult parenting is these days, we anticipated a broader emphasis upon the challenges related to bringing up spiritually whole and healthy children.”

Evangelical Christian parents were three times more likely than other Christian segments to identify responding to the declining morals and values of society as a major challenge. They were also more likely than other Christian parents to feel they failed to devote enough time to their faith.

Among other challenges identified, 23 percent overall said enabling their spouse to be more spiritual; 21 percent said growing spiritually, personally; 20 percent identified understanding what's in the Bible; 19 percent named finding a church or faith community that's right for them; 18 percent said getting a sense of direction from God; and 18 percent identified practicing the faith principles they had learned.

Hispanics were the most likely ethnic group to identify challenges related to parenting and family matters with one out of every three Hispanic parents listing the challenge. Meanwhile, only one out of six white parents and one out of eight black parents listed the same challenge.

Black parents were much more likely than others to name faith-driven behavioral challenges. And white parents were much more likely than others to list participating in more religious activity as their major spiritual challenge. At the same time, white parents were substantially less likely than parents of other ethnic groups to indicate that growing spiritually and understanding the Bible were major challenges.

Other findings showed that notional Christians – those who are not born again but consider themselves to be Christian – were twice as likely as born-again parents to list attending church more often as a major challenge.

Regionally, Christian parents in the Northeast were the least likely to feel challenged to have enough time to devote to their faith and to feel that growing spiritually was a major personal challenge.

Those most likely to identify helping their children grow spiritually as a major challenge were parents in the South. Meanwhile, parents in the western states were among the least likely to feel that growing spiritually and finding a viable church or faith community were major challenges.

Christian parents in the Midwest were the least likely to feel that helping children grow spiritually was a major challenge; least likely to identify exhibiting spiritual-driven behavior as an issue; and least likely to say they had no faith-related or spiritual issues facing them.

"Americans focus on what they consider to be the most important matters; faith maturity is not one of them. The dominant spiritual change that we have seen – Americans becoming less engaged in matters of faith – helps to explain the surging secularization of our culture.”

The survey was conducted in October and November 2006 among 601 adults who described themselves as Christian.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, children, Christian, faith, morality, parents, spirituality

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Survey Reveals Biggest Spiritual Challenges for Christian Parents

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Sun, Aug. 05 2007

The biggest spiritual challenges Christian parents identified are related to the spiritual development of their children, a new survey found.

Only four out of every 10 Christian parents of children between the ages of 3 and 18 said they do not face any spiritual challenges in their life, according to The Barna Group. Among those who do, 14 percent said the biggest personal challenge related to faith is raising moral children with a strong faith, which was the most common response.

Ten percent identified the need to personally invest more time in religious activities, such as reading the Bible or praying, as their greatest faith challenge.

When asked to rate the significance of eight specific challenges related to their faith, most do not perceive themselves to face major spiritual challenges.

Only 34 percent said having enough time to devote to their faith was a major challenge; and 30 percent said helping their children to become more spiritual was a major challenge.

"Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life,” said George Barna, who directed the survey. “Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.

"This was a study exclusively of Christian parents with young children in their household. Given companion surveys showing that such parents often convey dismay over the eroding cultural environment for raising children, and how difficult parenting is these days, we anticipated a broader emphasis upon the challenges related to bringing up spiritually whole and healthy children.”

Evangelical Christian parents were three times more likely than other Christian segments to identify responding to the declining morals and values of society as a major challenge. They were also more likely than other Christian parents to feel they failed to devote enough time to their faith.

Among other challenges identified, 23 percent overall said enabling their spouse to be more spiritual; 21 percent said growing spiritually, personally; 20 percent identified understanding what's in the Bible; 19 percent named finding a church or faith community that's right for them; 18 percent said getting a sense of direction from God; and 18 percent identified practicing the faith principles they had learned.

"In addition to making parenting a 24/7 priority, we found that parents must have an authentic and vibrant faith in order to provide meaningful spiritual guidance to their children," said Barna. "Children rarely embrace spiritual principles and practices that their parents fail to demonstrate in their lifestyle.”

Hispanics were the most likely ethnic group to identify challenges related to parenting and family matters with one out of every three Hispanic parents listing the challenge. Meanwhile, only one out of six white parents and one out of eight black parents listed the same challenge.

Black parents were much more likely than others to name faith-driven behavioral challenges. And white parents were much more likely than others to list participating in more religious activity as their major spiritual challenge. At the same time, white parents were substantially less likely than parents of other ethnic groups to indicate that growing spiritually and understanding the Bible were major challenges.

Other findings showed that notional Christians – those who are not born again but consider themselves to be Christian – were twice as likely as born-again parents to list attending church more often as a major challenge.

Regionally, Christian parents in the Northeast were the least likely to feel challenged to have enough time to devote to their faith and to feel that growing spiritually was a major personal challenge.

Those most likely to identify helping their children grow spiritually as a major challenge were parents in the South. Meanwhile, parents in the western states were among the least likely to feel that growing spiritually and finding a viable church or faith community were major challenges.

Christian parents in the Midwest were the least likely to feel that helping children grow spiritually was a major challenge; least likely to identify exhibiting spiritual-driven behavior as an issue; and least likely to say they had no faith-related or spiritual issues facing them.

“Many of the same people who claim that their faith is very important to them and that they are absolutely committed to Christianity also say that they face no spiritual challenges in life," Barna noted. "Many other adults are only vaguely aware of such challenges, and do not put much energy into addressing them.

"Americans focus on what they consider to be the most important matters; faith maturity is not one of them. The dominant spiritual change that we have seen – Americans becoming less engaged in matters of faith – helps to explain the surging secularization of our culture.”

The survey was conducted in October and November 2006 among 601 adults who described themselves as Christian.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, children, Christian, faith, family, parents, spirituality

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Survey: Christians Worldwide Too Busy for God

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter

Mon, Jul. 30 2007

Christians worldwide are simply becoming too busy for God, a newly released five-year study revealed.

In data collected from over 20,000 Christians with ages ranging from 15 to 88 across 139 countries, The Obstacles to Growth Survey found that on average, more than 4 in 10 Christians around the world say they "often" or "always" rush from task to task.

Busyness proved to be the greatest challenges in Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Indonesia. Christians in Uganda, Nigeria, Malaysia and Kenya were least likely to rush from task to task. But even in the less-hurried cultures, about one in three Christians report that they rush from task to task. In Japan, 57 percent agreed.

About 6 in 10 Christians say that it's "often" or "always" true that "the busyness of life gets in the way of developing my relationship with God." Christians most likely to agree were from North America, Africa and Europe. By country, Christians in South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, Singapore, Ireland, Philippines, the United States, and the United Kingdom, are more distracted from God, respectively, than those in other countries.

While across gender lines, busyness afflicts both men and women, the distraction from God was more likely to afflict men than women in every surveyed continent except North America, where 62 percent of women reported busyness interfering with their relationship with God compared to 61 percent of men.

By profession, pastors were most likely to say they rush from task to task (54 percent) which adversely also gets in the way of developing their relationship with God (65 percent).

"It's tragic. And ironic. The very people who could best help us escape the bondage of busyness are themselves in chains," said Dr. Michael Zigarelli, associate professor of Management at the Charleston Southern University School of Business who conducted the study.

Managers, business owners, teachers and salespeople were among Christians most likely to say they rush from task to task. And professionals whose busyness interferes with developing their relationship with God include lawyers (72 percent), managers (67 percent), nurses (66 percent), pastors (65 percent), teachers (64 percent), salespeople (61 percent), business owners (61 percent), and housewives (57 percent).

"The accelerated pace and activity level of the modern day distracts us from God and separates us from the abundant, joyful, victorious life He desires for us," said Zigarelli.

While the study does not explain why Christians are so busy and distracted, Zigarelli described the problem among Christians as "a vicious cycle" prompted by cultural conformity.

"[I]t may be the case that (1) Christians are assimilating to a culture of busyness, hurry and overload, which leads to (2) God becoming more marginalized in Christians’ lives, which leads to (3) a deteriorating relationship with God, which leads to (4) Christians becoming even more vulnerable to adopting secular assumptions about how to live, which leads to (5) more conformity to a culture of busyness, hurry and overload. And then the cycle begins again."

Zigarelli, who believes busyness and distraction may be a global pandemic, suggested breaking the cycle by "re-ordering our thinking," including "the way we think about who God is and how He wants us to live our lives."

The Obstacles to Growth Survey was conducted on 20,009 Christians – the majority of whom came from the United States, from December 2001 to June 2007. With small sample sizes (less than 30 people) used in Germany, Ireland, Mexico and Japan, Zigarelli urges caution when drawing conclusions about those countries.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Christian, conformity, culture, God, Michael Zigarelli, Obstacles to Growth Survey

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Study: Mothers Spiritually Active; Fathers Lag Behind

Mothers are among the most spiritually active segments of the America population, a new study found. They also outpace fathers in spiritual activity and commitment for the most part.

Audrey Barrick Correspondent
Monday, May. 7, 2007 Posted: 2:48:PM PST

Mothers are among the most spiritually active segments of the America population, a new study found. They also outpace fathers in spiritual activity and commitment for the most part.

The Barna research group revealed that three-quarters of women who are raising children said faith is very important in their life while only two-thirds of fathers agreed. The majority of mothers also said they have been greatly transformed by their faith compared to less than half of fathers.

Additionally, mothers were more likely than fathers to be born-again Christians, to say they are absolutely committed to Christianity, and to embrace a personal responsibility to share their faith in Jesus Christ with others.

In a typical week, mothers are more likely than are fathers to attend church, pray, read the Bible, participate in a small group, attend Sunday school, and volunteer some of their time to help a non-profit organization, the study showed. Fathers were only equally active with mothers when it came to volunteering to help at a church.

The Barna study further measured differences between younger and older mothers. Moms from the Buster generation (ages 23-41) show less passion for spirituality and less commitment to Christianity than moms from the Boomer generation (ages 42-60). Young moms are less likely to volunteer to help at a church, to read the Bible or to attend worship services at a church and they are less inclined to describe their faith as very important in their life compared to Boomer moms

Buster moms are in the crux of that challenge, being much more spiritually minded than young dads, but still wrestling with the Christian faith in ways Boomers did not. If moms are the spiritual backbone of families today – and they often are – it is imperative to find new approaches that help moms connect faith and family, especially for young mothers.

"Most Buster moms are currently married, but three out of ten are not and one-sixth have never been married, which is double the proportion found among Boomer moms. On a further note, the study found that among even younger moms – ages 18-22 – four out of five are not married. That shows how millions of young moms do not have the support of a husband when parenting, the study noted."Still, moms of every generation deserve an enormous amount of credit for empowering the spiritual pursuits of their family and, in turn, energizing faith in America," Kinnaman stated.

"Compared to men, women are more likely to communicate about faith, prioritize activities that develop their faith and that of their children, and they are more vulnerable about their needs and emotions."There is still room for growth among moms,” noted the report director, however.

“Church leaders and parents still need to focus on outcomes and the depth of their parenting efforts. Yet our nation would not be the same without the significant spiritual influence of mothers. Imagine the impact on our society if fathers were to simply match the intensity of their parenting peers."

An earlier study by the research group showed that parenting based on one's faith in God produced the most desired outcomes for Christian children exemplifying Christian morals and attitudes.

The latest Barna study is based on ten nationwide surveys on 10,035 adults, age 18 and older, conducted from January 2005 through January 2007.

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, Bible, children, Christianity, faith, fathers, mothers

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Poll: More Americans Prefer Focus on Personal Faith Over Changing Society

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Feb. 23 2007 10:07 AM ET

Highly religious Americans are almost evenly split on whether it is best to live the best possible personally religious life or it is also necessary to spread their beliefs, a recent Gallup Poll found.

Polls conducted last fall found that the largest percentage of Americans label themselves as "somewhat religious" (39 percent). Those who classify themselves as "extremely" or "very religious" constituted 37 percent of polled Americans. And 23 percent say they are "not too religious" or "not religious at all."

Among the highly religious people, 48 percent say it is sufficient to live the best possible personal life based on their religious beliefs and principles without having to spread their faith. An earlier study by the Barna Research Group had found similar figures with 46 percent of those who claim to be evangelicals being less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others.

Still, the Gallup Poll found that 49 percent believe it is necessary to attempt to spread their beliefs and principles to other people.

More than half of highly religious Americans who believe it is necessary to spread beliefs to others say this is best accomplished by converting others to one's religion, which the Gallup report labeled as the traditional evangelical view. Only 31 percent say the best way to spread their religion is by changing aspects of society. The latter portion makes up only 6 percent of all American adults.

The bottom line, the report stated, is that the majority of highly religious Americans believe that they do not need to change the society around them to conform to their religious beliefs, but instead can live the best possible personal religious life, or focus on one-on-one conversion.

The poll comes amid the 2008 presidential campaigns. A key to Republican successes, the Gallup Poll noted, was the highly religious voters, who were particularly concerned for and focused on changing societal elements in such areas as abortion, same-sex "marriage," and stem cell research using embryos. The recent poll, however, indicated little interest in changing society on the basis of their religious beliefs.

Data is based on telephone interviews with 2,013 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted in September and November 2006.

Labels: Americans, Audrey Barrick, Gallup Poll, religious practice