Americans losing faith
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- Published on Wednesday, 10 August 2011 07:21
- Written by John Draper
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Over the past 10 years, Americans have been practising their religion less even though more could now be described as "born again". This is shown by surveys done by The Barna Group in 1991 and in 2011. The results can be found here but the data is not shown in table or graph form so it is hard to see trends. I have taken their data and put it into tables and some things are clear. Despite the fact that there are more "born again" Christians (see footnote) and the number who call themselves Christians is not declining, fewer actually act on their beliefs. Fewer go to Church, volunteer at their Church or believe as strongly as 10 years ago. In addition, women are losing faith faster than men. Trends for age groups are not clear. The full original report also looks at race, geography and sect differences – go to Barna's page for these results. No big surprises – the American South has not changed much but the Midwest is going more secular; and Catholics are gradually losing their faith. Of the races, blacks are most likely to keep the faith.
George Barna comments on the results and as a Christian he is not happy. However, they do give American atheists and agnostics cause to have hope for the future.
General
| 1991 | 2011 | ||
| Activity | Church Attendance | 49% | 40% |
| Bible Reading | 45% | 40% | |
| Church Volunteerism | 27% | 19% | |
| No Church involvement | 24% | 37% | |
| Belief | Call themselves Christians | 84% | 84% |
| God is omniscient, omnipotent, perfect creator | 74% | 67% | |
| Bible is totally accurate | 46% | 38% | |
| "Born again" Christians | 35% | 40% | |
| Faith is very important | 56% | 56% | |
| Must share belief | 25% | 25% | |
Changes with age
Changes that occurred for age groups as they got older by 10 years. Only statistically significant changes are shown – if there is no data, it means there was little change.
| Years born | 1991 | 2011 | |
| Church Attendance | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
50% |
38% |
| Bible reading | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
32% 54% |
41% 46% |
| Church Volunteerism | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
10% 28% |
19% 18% |
| No Church Involvement | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
31% 23% 21% |
39% 41% 29% |
| Call themselves Christians | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
71% | 80% |
| God is omniscient, omnipotent, perfect creator | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
73% 80% |
67% 71% |
| Bible is totally accurate | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
46% 45% |
35% 38% |
| "Born again" Christians | 1965 - 1983 1946 - 1964 1927 - 1945 |
23% 38% |
37% 49% |
Differences by Gender
Only statistically significant changes are shown – if there is no data, it means there was little change.
| Gender | 1991 | 2011 | |
| Church Attendance | Women Men |
55% 46% |
44% 36% |
| Bible reading | Women Men |
50% 40% |
40% 41% |
| Church Volunteerism | Women Men |
29% 24% |
20% 18% |
| No Church Involvement | Women Men |
18% 30% |
35% 39% |
| God is omniscient, omnipotent, perfect creator | Women Men |
80% | 70% |
| Bible is totally accurate | Women Men |
49% 43% |
42% 33% |
| "Born again" Christians | Women Men |
38% | 44% |
One has to wonder whether the trend for women to see religion in much the same way that men do is an indication of the move to full equality. They no longer need to hope (and pray) for equalization after they are dead.
Note:
Born again Christians are defined by Barna as those who believe "that they will experience eternal salvation based on their commitment to Jesus Christ, personal confession of sins, and acceptance of Christ as their savior."