From Dr. George Barna, Director of Research Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University
Evangelical Morality is at Odds with the Moral Choices of Most Americans
Highlighted segments below (full report is available here)
"The depth of the depravity is shocking. But the deterioration of this once-great nation begs the fundamental question: How did we get here?
What happened to so quickly introduce new philosophies of life and ways of living that radically depart from the historical Judeo-Christian moorings and consensus of America? The indisputable cultural decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation, according to veteran researcher Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
Citing data from recent studies from the Cultural Research Center, Barna notes that even cultural analysts not typically inclined to offer spiritual explanations, such as Tucker Carlson, have recently arrived at the same conclusion. The Demise of Evangelicals Most significantly, the research shows that much of this steep cultural decline flows from the dramatic transformation in the evangelical community of the United States in the past 30 years.
In reality, evangelicals are far fewer in number than typically reported, often are far less biblical in their thinking than one might think, and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected. Although more conservative on moral issues, as a whole evangelicals reflect fewer lifestyle differences from the culture than often thought. Surprisingly, most evangelical do not possess a biblical worldview—only about one-third do. In fact, the data strongly suggests that evangelicals are more likely to be shaped by the culture around them than they are to influence or “evangelize” it.
The National Association of Evangelicals defines evangelicals as people who recognize their sinful life, rely upon Jesus Christ for their redemption, and receive practical life guidance and wisdom from the Bible in their quest to live under the lordship of Jesus.
What is an Evangelical? Evangelicals take the Bible seriously and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The term “evangelical” comes from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “the good news” or the “gospel.” Thus, the evangelical faith focuses on the “good news” of salvation brought to sinners by Jesus Christ. (emphasis added) Media reports commonly cite that anywhere from 25% to as many as 40% of American adults are evangelicals. But those figures are suspect. Most statistics regarding the incidence of evangelicals are based on self-reporting. It is also common for journalists and cultural analysts to deem survey data of self-identified “born-again Christians” and self-identified “evangelical Christians” as the same group, even though theologically speaking, they are not.
The Faith and Worldview of Evangelicals Evangelicals, for the most part, embrace many matters that are clearly spelled out in the Bible. To their credit, an overwhelming majority evangelicals have adopted some foundational biblical truths. Specifically, the research shows that more than nine out of 10 evangelicals believe:
• God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, just, and perfect Creator of the universe who still rules the world today;
• God is the basis of all truth, and those truths are conveyed to us through the Bible;
• the purpose of life is to fully know, love, and serve God with all your heart and soul, mind and strength;
• the universe was created by God; • Jesus Christ is an important guide for their life;
• that Satan exists—he is real and influential; • all humans are born into sin and can only escape the consequences of sin through Jesus Christ.
A large share of the theologically-defined evangelical segment rejects a number of perspectives popular within other worldviews. One example is the view held by Secular Humanists, Wiccans, and Satanists, among others, that “as long as you do no harm to others, you can do whatever you want.” While half of non-evangelicals have adopted such thinking, it is common to just one out of five evangelicals."