Christian researcher George Barna has outlined what he considers his most significant findings for 2006. Among these is his assessment that, although large majorities of the public claim to be "deeply spiritual" and say that their religious faith is "very important" in their life, only 15 percent of those who regularly attend a Christian church ranked their relationship with God as their top priority.
Barna, who has been conducting national public opinion surveys and cultural analysis for 25 years, notes that even clergy have to compete for people's attention and acceptance in contemporary American society. "One of the reasons that the Christian faith is struggling to retain a toehold in people's lives," he contends, "is because even the highest-profile leaders of the faith community have limited resonance with the population."
According to the researcher, the latest survey statistics suggest Christians may be more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to matters of faith. "People pay attention to what they deem important," he says. "These figures may be another indicator that millions of Christians invest more of their mental energy in cultural literacy than in biblical literacy."
Barna's recent studies also found that the notion of personal holiness has slipped out of the consciousness of the vast majority of Christians. According to his research group's findings, while just 21 percent of adults consider themselves to be holy, by these respondents' own admission, large numbers have no idea what "holiness" means and only one out of every three believe that God expects people to become holy.
In contrast, however, to this apparent spiritual decline, the researcher also found that there is a group he calls "Christian Revolutionaries" who are growing in number. He says they are the type who show a great interest in things such as personal Bible study and spiritual mentoring. Also, he notes, individual Christians' involvement in house churches is rapidly growing.
In his year-end review, Barna describes what he sees as three general spiritual patterns that are likely to gain prominence in the coming years. The first of these, he says, is diversity: along with new forms of spiritual leadership and expressions of faith, he predicts that ecumenism will expand as the emerging generations pay less attention to doctrine and more attention to relationships and experiences.
The second prediction from the head of Barna Research has to do with what he calls "bifurcation." He expects to see a widening gap between the intensely committed and those who are casually involved in faith matters. The difference, Barna says, will become strikingly evident between those who make faith the core of their life and those who simply attach a religious component onto an already mature lifestyle.
Barna's third prediction deals with the use of media. He says new technologies will significantly reshape how people experience and express their faith, as well as the ways in which they form communities of faith.
Read Barna's complete report on his 'Significant Religious Findings' of 2006
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