Given the nature of the Christian faith, it’s only natural to think that our lives would be different in many ways from those who don’t walk in the faith, but are they?
A fascinating study conducted by Barna Group shows that self-identifying Christians who are churchgoers (one would hope that means fairly committed Christians) don’t really differ from non-churchgoers in most ways. With the obvious exception of the answers to the option “I would describe myself as deeply spiritual” (18% unchurched as opposed to 69% churched), the answers were surprisingly similar for both groups. Take a look at this snip of part of the Barna graphic from their “Sacred Roots”:
A fascinating study conducted by Barna Group shows that self-identifying Christians who are churchgoers (one would hope that means fairly committed Christians) don’t really differ from non-churchgoers in most ways. With the obvious exception of the answers to the option “I would describe myself as deeply spiritual” (18% unchurched as opposed to 69% churched), the answers were surprisingly similar for both groups. Take a look at this snip of part of the Barna graphic from their “Sacred Roots”:
After the “deeply spiritual” question, the only other measure that shows a significant difference between the groups is whether respondents felt they were “fulfilling [their] calling in life” (61% “unchurched” vs. 77% “churched”), but differences regarding other questions were often within the statistical range of probability and certainly not as great as one might expect. When we consider the responses to questions such as “concerned about the future” and “dealing with addiction,” the answers are almost alarming if we believe the results of Christian living should be much different from the alternatives.
It’s a fascinating survey and would seem to lead to only two possible conclusions. Either we Christians are not as different as we think we are (though plenty of biblical verses suggest we should be), or many churchgoers are not much different because they are not really following the guidelines that make us different. We can only look at the study and ask ourselves where we fit in, and if our lives really are different from those who don’t have believing access to the word of God. If we see our lives are not that different, perhaps we can recognize the need for transformation.
As always, Barna Group is to be congratulated for providing meaningful studies that not only show us where we are, but also may sometimes point us in better directions. You can check out the Barna website here.
It’s a fascinating survey and would seem to lead to only two possible conclusions. Either we Christians are not as different as we think we are (though plenty of biblical verses suggest we should be), or many churchgoers are not much different because they are not really following the guidelines that make us different. We can only look at the study and ask ourselves where we fit in, and if our lives really are different from those who don’t have believing access to the word of God. If we see our lives are not that different, perhaps we can recognize the need for transformation.
As always, Barna Group is to be congratulated for providing meaningful studies that not only show us where we are, but also may sometimes point us in better directions. You can check out the Barna website here.
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