Survey Reports on the Decline of Christian Affiliation and Other Trends
Survey Reports on the Decline of Christian Affiliation and Other Trends
January 2, 2023 – These information in these reports is useful in understanding the problems that Christian institutions face, so that they make the reforms necessary to reverse their decline in membership and reputation.
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Barna Group
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George Barna, Exec. Dir., American Culture and Faith Institute (a division of United in Purpose); Pres. Metaformation. (many books)
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Haven, branding firm, Grand Haven, Michigan & The
Signatry, Overland Park, Kansas; “He Gets Us” Campaign, 2022-23. ($100 million)
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Springtide Research Institute, Josh Packard; The State of Religion & Young People 2020; The State of Religion & Young People 2020, Catholic Edition; The State of Religion & Young People 2021, Navigating Uncertainty; The State of Religion & Young People 2022: Mental Health–What Faith Leaders Need to Know;
https://www.springtideresearch.org
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Josh Packard, Springtide Research Institute (Book: Church Refugees, 2015; other books)
Haven (branding firm, Grand Haven, Michigan), “He Gets Us” campaign (2022-23)
https://www.catholicherald.com/article/national/whos-behind-those-he-gets-us-ads-about-jesus/
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American National Family Life Survey, “Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America,” The Survey Center on American Life of the American Enterprise Institute, Mar. 2022.
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/generation-z-future-of-faith/
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McCrindle Research Pty Ltd, “Faith and Belief in Australia: A national study on religion, spirituality and worldview trends,” Australia; May 2017
https://faithandbelief.org.au/
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Pew Research Center, Report: “’Nones’ on the Rise,” Oct. 9, 2012
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/
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SELECTED QUOTATIONS
George Barna
“All this data leads us to a direct examination of the reasons the unchurched avoid Christian churches. The biggest issue is a perceived lack of value.” [George Barna, David Kinnaman, Churchless: Understanding Today's Unchurched and How to Connect With Them, Tyndale Momentum, 2014, P. 52]
Barna Group
Taken together, a significant number of young adults perceive a lack of relational generosity within the U.S. Christian community. Perhaps more concerning are the two-thirds of Millennials who believe that American churchgoers are a lot or somewhat hypocritical (66%). To a generation that prides itself on the ability to smell a fake at ten paces, hypocrisy is a worrisome indictment. [“What Millennials Want When They Visit Church,” Barna, Mar 4, 2015]
The retreat from Christianity wasn’t happening in a bubble, wrote Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist, in his book “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” [Simon & Schuster, Oct. 5, 2010] Americans were becoming disconnected and didn’t trust their foundational institutions anymore, including the church. / But young people’s rejection of faith went deeper, Putnam argued. The evangelical church was more focused on fighting for morality than compassion, he believed. While churches gave away turkeys at Thanksgiving, organized toy drives at Christmas and helped fund missionaries across the globe to spread the salvation message, the message didn’t translate into grace for the suffering in their own backyards. / Among the growing number of skeptics in America, Barna found the majority thought church members weren’t connected to one another in life-changing ways, did little to add any value to their communities and were led by people who didn’t show love for one another. [Joy Lukachick Smith, “When Helping Heals,” Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tn.), Mar. 2016]
The Barna study points out that despite a growing epidemic of loneliness, only 10% report going to church to find community. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because people expect the church is the last place they’ll find community. And that’s tragic. Of the many criticisms that can be levied at the church, lack of community shouldn’t be one. Nobody should be able to out-community the local church. [Carey Nieuwhof, 5 Reasons People Have Stopped Attending Your Church (Especially Millennials), Carey Nieuwhof, Apr. 2, 2014]
Haven (branding firm), Grand Haven, Michigan & The Signatry; “He Gets Us” Campaign ($100 million)
“We simply want everyone to understand the authentic Jesus as he’s depicted in the Bible — the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love,” its website says. [Kevin J. Jones, “Who’s behind those ‘He Gets Us’ ads about Jesus?” Catholic News Agency, Dec. 6, 2022]
“Jesus said people are going to know my followers by the way they love each other and the way they interact with each other,” [Jason Vanderground, pres. Of Haven] said. “I think when we look at American Christianity now, we don’t see nearly as much of that — and that concerns a lot of people.” [Warren Cole Smith, “A $100-M Ad Campaign Wants to Fix Jesus’ Image, But Will It Work? The “He Gets Us” campaign will culminate with Super Bowl ad,” Ministry Watch, Nov. 1, 2022]
“Our research shows that many people’s only exposure to Jesus is through Christians who reflect him imperfectly, and too often in ways that create a distorted or incomplete picture of his radical compassion and love for others,” … [Bob Smietana (Religion News Service), “A $100 million campaign aims to fix Jesus’ brand from followers’ damage,” The Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2022]
The market research split Americans into four categories: non-Christians (16 percent of the sample), people who are “spiritually open” (20 percent), “Jesus followers” (34 percent) and “engaged Christians” (30 percent). It showed a wide gap between the first three groups and the last category. Most people in the first three categories said the behavior of Christians is a barrier to faith. More than two-thirds agreed with the statement: “Followers of Jesus say one thing, but do not follow those things in practice.” [Bob Smietana (Religion News Service), “A $100 million campaign aims to fix Jesus’ brand from followers’ damage,” The Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2022]
Joshua Packard“So what’s different about this era that so many people are leaving the church? What happened?” . . . “Nothing. People have always been leaving the church. It’s just that now they’re not coming back. We’re the problem. We’ve dechurched them. They’re done with us.” [Josh Packard & Ashleigh Hope, Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal why people are done with church but not their faith, Group pub., 2015, p. 5]
[Josh Packard’s research, Exodus of the Religious Dones] shows that American congregations have lost over 30 million adults who are the Dones–those who have left the organized church, but not their faith. . . . They aren’t done because they lack faith in God. They aren’t done because they lack faith in the concept of Church–the community of believers. They’re done because they lack faith in the current church model that some leaders desperately try to defend. “The type of person that is typically found among the Dones is this really high-capacity, super-involved congregant, who’s super-involved -- really the, sort of, lifeblood and pulse of a lot of these churches before they walk out. And so they are really the movers and shakers that are often leaving. [Thom Schultz, “Are the Dones Really Christian?” Holy Soup Podcast, Apr. 20, 2016]
“The current church structure does serve a purpose. There are a lot of people who find value there. But from my perspective, it serves too narrow a purpose. It primarily serves the purpose of order and routine. The problem is that they’ve taken that order and routine and rigidity and liturgy and applied it to absolutely everything. It’s like everything has become liturgy. It’s all routine. And a lot of people need that, but there has to be room for me, too. I mean, shouldn’t there also be room for me in the church?” [“Mark,” in: Josh Packard & Ashleigh Hope, Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal why people are done with church but not their faith, Group pub., 2015, p. 129]
[Josh Packard’s] research shows that American congregations have lost over 30 million adults who are the Dones–those who have left the organized church, but not their faith. . . . They aren’t done because they lack faith in God. They aren’t done because they lack faith in the concept of Church–the community of believers. They’re done because they lack faith in the current church model that some leaders desperately try to defend. “The type of person that is typically found among the Dones is this really high-capacity, super-involved congregant, who’s super-involved -- really the, sort of, lifeblood and pulse of a lot of these churches before they walk out. And so they are really the movers and shakers that are often leaving. [Thom Schultz, “Are the Dones Really Christian?” Holy Soup Podcast, Apr. 20, 2016.]
Ipsos & Episcopal Church
EXCERPT: asked if Christians were hypocritical: Most religiously unaffiliated Americans said yes (55%), whereas 20% or less of all Christian groups agreed. Evangelicals in particular were the least likely (12%) to describe Christians as hypocritical. . . . When asked how well Christians represent the values and teachings of Jesus, many religiously unaffiliated respondents said “not at all” (29%), while only 2% said Christians represent Jesus’ values and teachings “a lot.” The numbers were a bit less harsh among respondents of non-Christian religions, but still 18% said “not at all” and just 6% said “a lot.” [Emily McFarlan Miller, Jack Jenkins, “Episcopal Bishop Curry says ‘more to do’ as poll shows Christians viewed as hypocrites,” Religion News Service, Mar. 9, 2022]
American National Family Life Survey, American Enterprise Institute
In terms of identity, Generation Z is the least religious generation yet. More than one-third (34 percent) of Generation Z are religiously unaffiliated, a significantly larger proportion than among millennials (29 percent) and Generation X (25 percent). Fewer than one in five (18 percent) baby boomers and only 9 percent of the silent generation are religiously unaffiliated. /// It’s not only a lack of religious affiliation that distinguishes Generation Z. They are also far more likely to identify as atheist or agnostic. Eighteen percent of Gen Z affirmatively identify as either atheist (9 percent) or agnostic (9 percent). In contrast, fewer than one in 10 (9 percent) baby boomers and 4 percent of the silent generation identifies as atheist or agnostic. [American National Family Life Survey, “Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America,” The Survey Center on American Life of the American Enterprise Institute, Mar. 2022.]
Pew Research Institute
The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%). [Report: “’Nones’ on the Rise,” Pew Research Center, Oct. 9, 2012]
McCrindle Research Pty Ltd
The greatest attraction to investigating spirituality and religion is seeing people who live out a genuine faith. [McCrindle Research Pty Ltd, “Faith and Belief in Australia: A national study on religion, spirituality and worldview trends,” Australia; May 2017, p. 26]
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