BarnaVENTURA, CA:
SINCE 1991, the adult population in the United States has grown by 15 per cent. During that same period the number of adults who do not attend church has nearly doubled, rising from 39 million to 75 million - a 92 per cent increase!
These startling statistics come from the most recent tracking study of religious behaviour conducted by The Barna Group, a company in Ventura, California, that follows trends related to faith, culture and leadership in America. The latest study shows that the percentage of adults that is unchurched - defined as not having attended a Christian church service, other than for a holiday service, such as Christmas or Easter, or for special events such as a wedding or funeral, at any time in the past six months - has risen from 21 per cent in 1991 to 34 per cent today.
DEMOGRAPHIC DISTINCTIONS
An examination of a dozen demographic attributes showed that unchurched adults differ from the churched population in at least four dimensions.
As might be expected, men dominate the ranks of the unchurched. Although they comprise slightly less than half of the national population, men constitute 55 per cent of the unchurched. They represent only 38 per cent of the born-again public, indicating an even wider disparity between those who are most devoted to their faith and those who are least interested in such matters.
The unchurched are also younger than the norm. The median age of U.S. adults is 43, but it is just 38 among the unchurched. Born-again adults are substantially older than either group (median: 46).
Corresponding to their younger age, the survey also found that unchurched people are more likely than others to be single and to never have been married. Whereas one-quarter of American adults (26 per cent) are single-never-married, nearly two-fifths of the unchurched fit that definition (37 per cent).
The unchurched are also attracted to the coastal regions of the nation. Although just four out of 10 adults (42 per cent) live in the northeast or west, more than half of the unchurched (51 per cent) live there. In fact, the two largest states in the nation - California and New York contain 18 per cent of the nation's residents, but one-quarter of its unchurched adults (23 per cent).
RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES
A study of 18 different religious factors - nine behaviours and nine beliefs - found that the unchurched are different from the national average on every one. The gap is even bigger on 16 of the 18 factors between the unchurched and the born-again public.
In a typical week, unchurched people are less likely than all adults to read the Bible (19 per cent compared to 44 per cent) and to pray (63 per cent versus 83 per cent), and they are less likely to have embraced Jesus Christ as their Saviour. One of the more surprising outcomes, however, is that while about half of the churched population has accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour, one out of every six unchurched adults (17 per cent) has done so, as well.
Interestingly, if the minority of unchurched adults who are born-again were connected to a church, the resulting increase would be nearly 13 million new people - more than have joined the nation's churches in the past decade combined.
Among the theological differences uncovered were that unchurched adults are less likely than others to believe the Bible is accurate, that Jesus was sinless, that Satan is real, that salvation is through the grace of God, and that God is the creator and present-day ruler of the universe.
PATTERNS IDENTIFIED
Upon examining the data, the director of the study, author and researcher George Barna, concluded that unchurched adults are notable for three unique behavioural patterns.
"The unchurched are more likely than others to be somewhat isolated from the mainstream activities of the society in which they live," he explained. "They see themselves as outsiders and often take refuge in that status. Evidence of this arms-length approach to life, beyond their refusal to participate in church life, includes lower levels of voter registration, less money donated to non-profit organisations, fewer non-profits supported, lower levels of media usage, and less engagement in community service activities."
Continued next week Taken from the May 4, 2004 edition of the Barna Update, a publication of the Barna Group (www.barna.org).
