Study: Only 4 percent have biblical worldview

VENTURA, Calif. — Only 4 percent of U.S. adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making, according to a new study by Barna Research Group.

“Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life,” said researcher George Barna.

Everyone has a worldview, but few have a biblical worldview, the survey found. Seven percent of all Protestants, 2 percent of mainline Protestants, and less than one-half of 1 percent of Roman Catholics have such a perspective on life; overall, 9 percent of “born-again” Christians have a biblical worldview. The groups with the highest proportion of such adults were nondenominational Protestant churches (13 percent), Pentecostal churches (10 percent) and Baptist churches (8 percent).

Among the most prevalent alternative worldviews was postmodernism, dominant in the two youngest generations.

A biblical perspective has a significant impact on behavior, according to the survey, which involved 2,033 people.

“Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views on morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices” from the general population, the research group said.

Those with a biblical worldview were 31 times less likely to approve of cohabitation than those without such a perspective (2 percent and 62 percent, respectively); 18 times less likely to approve of drunkenness (2 percent versus 36 percent); 15 times less likely to approve of gay sex (2 percent versus 31 percent); 12 times less likely to approve of profanity (3 percent versus 37 percent); and 11 times less likely to say adultery was morally acceptable (4 percent versus 44 percent). Less than one-half of 1 percent with a biblical worldview said abortion or voluntary exposure to pornography was morally acceptable (compared with 46 percent and 39 percent of other adults, respectively).

People with a biblical perspective were twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the preceding month, the survey found. Less than 1 percent of people with a biblical worldview had had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the past month, compared with one of eight adults overall.

“These are not perfect people,” Barna said, “but once they catch on to the critical principles found in the Bible and train their minds to incorporate those views into their thinking, their behavior varies noticeably from the norm.”

Religionjournal.com.

Published by Keener Communications Group, January 2004

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