The Barna Group recently published a list of changes in American religious behavior over the last twenty years based on data collected via their annual OmniPollSM survey conducted each January.
- Bible reading undertaken during the course of a typical week, other than passages read while attending church events, has declined by five percentage points (to 40%);
- Church volunteerism has dropped by eight percentage points (to 19% who do so during a typical week);
- Adult Sunday school attendance has also diminished by eight percentage points (to about 15%);
- Attendance has receded by nine percentage points (to 40%);
- Percentage of unchurched (all adults who have not attended any religious events at a church, other than special ceremonies such as a wedding or funeral, during the prior six month period) has increased by thirteen percentage points (to 37%).
So What?
More and more attention is being given to a group that Barna calls unchurched. Other researchers use a slightly different term, “nones,” and focus on those who no longer belong to any religious tradition rather than just those not actively involved in a Christian community of faith. In short, being religiously unaffiliated is the fastest growing religion in America.
- What factors do you believe have contributed to the nearly 50% increase in the number of unchurched American adults over the last two decades? Do you believe this trend will continue? Why or why not?
- Of the five decreases in religious behavior, which do you find most surprising and why?