Only one-quarter of American teenagers believe the Bible is the word of God, and only one-fifth believe it to be absolute truth. A new study warns that teenagers are “following in the unfortunate spiritual footsteps” of the generations that came before them. ”
A poll of U.S. children ages 8 to 12 conducted by the Arizona Christian University Cultural Research Center found that the Bible is “God’s true word that should serve as a guide for knowing good and evil and for living.” It was found that 25% of respondents agreed with this statement. A total of 21% agree with the idea that “absolute truth exists; right and wrong do not depend on feelings, preferences, or circumstances.”
When it comes to Christ and salvation, 36 percent of teens believe that “Jesus Christ is the only way to experience eternal salvation and that they are willing to confess their sins and rely solely on Jesus Christ’s forgiveness of their sins.” “Based on this,” he said.
The data is included in the new publication, Raising Spiritual Advocates: Developing the Hearts of Children Written by George Barna.
“American children are inadequately educated about the Bible,” the survey analysis said.
The analysis also found that “children today are not being raised in an environment where the concept of absolute moral truths is privileged, and widespread doubts about absolute truths clearly have an impact on them.” It is said that
Meanwhile, about a quarter (27 percent) of preteens say their primary reason for living is to know, love, and serve God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. I agree with this.
Barna said the data points to a spiritual and worldview crisis in America.
“Children are intellectual and spiritual sponges during their pre-teen years. They are desperately trying to make sense of the world, their identity, purpose, and how to live meaningful and satisfying lives.” ” Barna explained. “Parents in particular have an obligation to focus on and invest in the development of their children’s worldviews. Worldviews are simply filters for their children’s decisions in life.” , school, and even the child’s peers will influence the construction of that worldview. ”
Historical data shows that “the percentage of Americans who embrace a Biblical worldview has been declining since we began tracking Biblical worldviews in the early 1990s,” Barna said.
“There is a strong correlation between a Biblical worldview and true Christian discipleship, so unless we take this crisis seriously and invest heavily in fixing what is broken, we will continue to struggle in this nation. “We are on the precipice of losing sight of Christians,” Barna said. “This is far more important than the simple debates that go on and on in church circles about attendance rates or musical tastes. The development of children’s worldviews is an existential challenge facing the American church today. .”
Image credit: ©Getty/Anastasiia-Stiahailo
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
