The Center for Cultural Studies at Arizona Christian University conducts an annual national survey to measure the incidence of both the biblical worldview and competing worldviews, such as Satanism, Wicca, Marxism, moral therapeutic deism, nihilism, and secular humanism.
In the latest “American World View Index”
reportDr. George Barna and his team have noted a steep decline in the number of adults who hold a biblical worldview over the past five generations, and while this may be welcome news to secularists and opponents of Christianity, this decline appears to coincide with an increase in acceptance of immorality.
“America is witnessing the destruction of biblical morality,” Barna said. “No matter how people feel about that reality, they must recognize that the inevitable consequence of the rejection of traditional morality is the weakening of personal relationships.
The report found that a majority of respondents said they believed “lying, abortion, consensual sex between unmarried adults, same-sex marriage and the rejection of absolute moral truths are morally acceptable.”
Just under half of respondents said the Bible is their primary moral guide, and a significant majority (29%) said actions are acceptable as long as they cause no harm.
When it comes to abortion, support increases with age: 60% of baby boomers say the execution of a fetus is acceptable, while 67% of millennials and 69% of Gen Z support abortion.
Sixty percent of Baby Boomers say that sex between unmarried adults is morally acceptable. Younger generations are much more tolerant, with 63% of Gen Xers, 69% of Millennials, and 73% of Gen Zers saying they see nothing wrong with such infidelity.
But there were two cases in which Gen Z bucked the demoralizing trends: They were found to be less likely than previous generations to believe that people are fundamentally good and to support gay “marriage.”
Barna and his team found that among Christian respondents, Protestant churchgoers were more likely to hold biblical moral views than Catholic churchgoers for three-quarters of the moral choices identified in the survey. Even within the Protestant group, a divide was found between evangelicals and mainline Protestants, with the former much more likely to hold biblical views on most moral issues.
The report’s “Moral Index” shows that 62% of adults who attend evangelical churches, 42% of Catholics, 46% of mainline Protestants, 35% of those of non-Christian faiths, and 27% of non-believers say they live in accordance with the Bible’s teachings.
“The percentage of people who hold a biblical worldview has declined in each of the past five generations,” Barna says, “During that time, the national percentage of adults who hold a biblical worldview has plummeted from 12 percent to today’s 4 percent level.”
Burna’s ratings and figures are:
surely Pure adherence to his particular standards.Professing Christians who attend church, follow Christ, and seek to live moral lives may fall into the “syncretist” camp along with the 92% of other Americans who have allegedly assimilated philosophies and practices that the CRC considers alien to the biblical world.
“Our survey of teens and preteens indicates that, unless a dramatic and unusually effective spiritual renewal event occurs, national incidence rates will fall by another two percentage points within the next 15 years,” the sociologists continued. “The projected decline can be explained by the increasing influence of the worldview espoused by Millennials and Gen Z, as the proportion of adults in the Baby Boomer and Elder generations declines substantially.”
Barna argues that intergenerational moral decline is “a sign that Americans are
No longer trusting central authorities Or in human relationships. Lying, stealing and cheating have become the new moral code for the majority of our population. We are steadily reverting to the jungle mentality of ‘every man for his own good.'”
Understanding that enduring worldviews are more or less formed by the time an individual enters his or her teenage years, Barna
Said Tony Perkins’ Washington Watch argues that the key to stemming the moral decline is for parents to take action early on.
“Make them your disciples.”
“Our research consistently shows that children are not being guided toward developing a biblical worldview,” the sociologist said, “in other words, a filter for decision-making based on biblical truth. Instead, they adopt the ways of the world. In part, that’s because parents love their children and want them to be successful in life, but to that end, they’re not necessarily guiding their children toward developing a biblical worldview.”
Barna suggests that the unwillingness or failure of religious institutions and parents to teach their children a biblical worldview does not lead to open-minded children, but rather leaves them at the mercy of the ideological and intellectual fads of the day.
“Only disciples can make disciples. So, first of all, as parents, if you want your children to be followers of Jesus, you have to be a disciple. And secondly, realize that according to the Bible, that’s your primary responsibility in life. The most important thing in life may be to raise your children to be devout followers of Jesus Christ,” Barna said. “Make them disciples.”
“Spend more time on this than on sports, shopping, hobbies, watching movies or TV together. This is the most important thing you’re going to do. Do it well,” he added.
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