Trends in the Churchgoing Community
In Christian pollster George Barna’s recent polling, he discovered some profound insights that Christians need to be aware of concerning the mindset of people in the church – and in many ways it’s not too encouraging.
- A Biblical Worldview Continues to Be in Decline - Only about 30% of churchgoers believe they have a biblical worldview. As low as that is, the reality is even worse, as only 11% actually do.
- Scriptural Belief Is Fading - Only 54% of churchgoers say the Bible is the true or inspired, error-free Word of God.
- Moral Clarity Is Eroding - Only 47% of regular churchgoers believe the Bible speaks clearly on homosexuality, and only 51% believe the Bible is clear about abortion.
- There Is a Shift Away from Conservatism - Only 34% of churchgoers identify as conservative on social and fiscal issues, and only 46% say they base their votes primarily on biblical teaching.
- Support for Socialism Is Rising - As of now, 32% of churchgoers prefer socialism over capitalism.
Barna also listed some other trends, but the five above are the ones that, to me, give us the most insight into what is happening in society, especially in the church. These five drill down to the heart of the issue. Let’s look at them one at a time.
A Biblical Worldview Continues to Be in Decline
This point is really the foundation for all the rest. A person’s worldview underlies their beliefs about morality, the authority of Scripture, their view of politics, and their view of economics. A decline in biblical worldview beliefs by churchgoers means, by default, that some other set of worldview beliefs is ascending within the Christian community. With that comes an entirely different view of morality, the authority of Scripture, politics, and economics.
Scriptural Belief Is Fading
Every worldview has an ultimate authority source. That authority source contains beliefs that define all of the other beliefs a person holds. The Bible is the ultimate authority source for the Christian faith. And from America’s very beginning, it has defined the nation’s beliefs and values. However, in our current time, the beliefs of Naturalism have come to dominate virtually every institution of modern society. With the decrease in the belief that Scripture is true and right, a different belief has emerged defined by peoples’ personal preferences.
Moral Clarity Is Eroding
The Bible has very clear teachings concerning morality. When churchgoers no longer see the Bible as their ultimate authority, they are looking to some other authority source to define what is good and bad, right and wrong. That automatically crates a situation where moral clarity diminishes as the teachings of the Bible come into conflict with non-biblical moral beliefs that many churchgoers hold.
There Is a Shift Away from Conservatism
In the American political scene, the term “Conservatism” is tied to a particular set of beliefs. In a generic sense, there is no such thing as an objectively real conservative position. Something is conservative or liberal in relation to something else. Conservatism is a point of view that considers the status quo to be good, and attempts to resist changing it. Liberalism, on the other hand, desires change from the status quo and wants to liberate people to move in a new direction. Since the traditional, or status quo, position in America is based on biblical moral values and individualist economic values, political conservatism tries to maintain those traditions. Increasingly, however, churchgoers are trending away from that and migrating toward more collectivist liberal beliefs.
Support for Socialism Is Rising
Concerning economics, there is a rise in the number of churchgoers who think Socialism is the direction America should move, and away from Capitalism. That runs contrary to biblical worldview beliefs. Socialism (an expression of Marxism) is atheistic, and describes a political and economic system that advocates collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. It’s aim is to promote social ownership and economic equity. That is opposed to Capitalism that promotes private ownership with its focus on individualism. A biblical worldview emphasizes individual responsibility.
What This All Means
Ultimately there are a couple of things we can discern from Barna’s polling. The first is that most Christians do not know the essential worldview beliefs of the faith that they claim as their own. The second is that there is a distinction to be made between churchgoers and genuine Christians. Not all churchgoers are genuine Christians. God has revealed Himself and His ways in the Bible, and people don’t get to redefine that based on their own personal preferences. There is a way reality is structured and it is not structured any other way. Living by truth provides for a smooth operating society (or church). Other ways provide the opposite.
Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.
You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.
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