Worldview

This Barna Research survey taken in late 2003 showed that just 4% of America's adult population and 9% of born again Christians had a biblical worldview.  The numbers were even lower among other religious classifications:  Protestants (7%), adults who attend mainline Protestant churches (2%) and Catholics (less than one-half of 1%).

A Biblical Worldview Has a Radical Effect on a Person's Life [Excerpts] 

Any objective social analyst would conclude that  the United States faces its fair share of moral and spiritual  problems. A new research study from the Barna Research Group suggests that a large share of the  nation's moral and spiritual challenges is directly attributable to the absence of a biblical worldview  among Americans. The findings from a [2003] national  survey of 2033 adults that showed only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making Not Just Any Worldview The research indicated that everyone  has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical worldview  - even among devoutly religious people.   The survey discovered that only 9% of born again Christians  have such a perspective on life. The numbers were even lower among other religious  classifications:  Protestants  (7%), adults who attend mainline Protestant churches  (2%) and Catholics (less  than one-half of 1%).  

For the purposes of the research, a biblical  worldview was defined as believing that absolute  moral truths exist; that such truth is  defined by the Bible; and firm belief in  six specific religious views. Those views were that 

Jesus Christ lived a sinless  life;

God is the all-powerful and  all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today;   

Salvation is a gift from God and  cannot be earned;  

Satan is real;  

A Christian has a  responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people;   

And the Bible is accurate in all  of its teachings. 

The Difference a Biblical Worldview Makes 

One of the most striking insights from the research was the  influence of such a way of thinking upon people's behavior. Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views  on morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated  vastly different lifestyle choices.  People's views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply  impacted by their worldview.  Upon comparing the  perspectives of those who have a biblical worldview with those who  do not, the former group were  31 times less likely to accept  cohabitation (2% versus 62%, respectively);  18 times less likely to endorse  drunkenness (2% versus 36%);  15 times less likely to condone gay  sex (2% versus 31%);  12 times less likely to accept  profanity (3% versus 37%);  and 11 times less likely to describe adultery  as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half of one  percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure  to pornography was morally acceptable (compared to 39% of  other adults), and a similarly miniscule  proportion endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who  lack a biblical worldview). Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences  were the lesser propensity for those  with a biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times  less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17 times less likely to place  bets); to get drunk (three times less  likely); and to view pornography (two  times less common). They were also 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. While one out of  every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual  relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior  month, less than one out of every 100 individuals  who have such a worldview had done so. Some Groups Are More Likely to Have a Biblical  Worldview Adults who have a biblical worldview possessed a somewhat  different demographic profile than those who did not.   For instance, individuals who attended college  were much more likely than those who did not to have this  perspective (6% versus 2%, respectively).  Married adults were more than twice as likely as  adults who had never been wed to hold such a worldview (5%  versus 2%).  Whites (5%) were slightly more likely than either blacks  (3%) or Hispanics (3%) to hold this  ideology.  One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a biblical  worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%). Residents of Texas and North Carolina  were more likely than people in other states to  have a biblical worldview.  Among the states in which such a  worldview was least common were Louisiana and the six  states in New England.  The nation's largest state - California - was average (i.e., 4% of its  residents had a biblical worldview). Attributes such as gender, age and  household income showed no statistical  relationship to the possession of a biblical worldview. 

The data from the 2003 survey was compared with figures on  worldview possession compiled from Barna Research Group surveys  conducted in 2002 in order to assess the reliability of the new  data. The 2002 surveys also showed that just 4%  of the aggregate population and 9% of the born again segment had a  biblical worldview.  Other repeated measures were  compared, producing virtually identical results to the current  measures. 

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