A new survey reveals the
scope of influence of non-Christian belief systems on the mindsets of
practicing Christians, with large percentages of them agreeing with ideas from
other faiths and secular philosophies.
The research from Barna in
cooperation with Summit Ministries released this week measured how much the
central beliefs of other worldviews like "new spirituality,"
secularism, postmodernism, and Marxism have affected the beliefs of Christians
about the world and how it should be.
Their "widespread
influence upon Christian thinking is evident not only among competing
worldviews, but even among competing religions," the survey report reads.
In a web-based survey
conducted in March of 1,456 practicing Christians, researchers asked the sample
if they agreed with several statements that are rooted in so-called "new
spirituality." Sixty-one percent of them affirmed at least one of the questions.
Nearly 30 percent agreed
that "all people pray to the same god or spirit, no matter what name they
use for that spiritual being." About that same percentage of people said
they believe that "meaning and purpose come from becoming one with all
that is."
The influence of this
spirituality has also seeped into the thinking of Christians on matters of
ethics, with approximately one third believing in a form of karma. Thirty-two
percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement "if you do
good, you will receive good, and if you do bad, you will receive bad,"
which although not found in Scripture appeals to a sense of justice many have.
"This research really
crystallizes what Barna has been tracking in our country as an ongoing shift
away from Christianity as the basis for a shared worldview," said Brooke
Hempell, senior vice president of research for Barna, in the report.
"We have observed and
reported on increasing pluralism, relativism and moral decline among Americans
and even in the Church. Nevertheless, it is striking how pervasive some of
these beliefs are among people who are actively engaged in the Christian
faith."
Because fragments and
similarities to Christian teachings exist within other systems of thought, this
poses a challenge.
"Some may recognize and
latch on to these ideas, not realizing they are distortions of biblical
truths," Hempell noted.
"The call for the
Church, and its teachers and thinkers, is to help Christians dissect popular
beliefs before allowing them to settle in their own ideology."
The survey also presented
statements rooted in postmodernism, secularism, and Marxism, asking Christians
if they agreed with them. Those numbers were lower than those who agreed with
"new spirituality." Still, overall, 54 percent agreed with some
postmodernist views, 36 percent accepted ideas associated with Marxism and 29
percent said they believe ideas based on secularism.
More specifically, ten
percent of practicing Christians said they believed the "secular"
view that "a belief has to be proven by science to know that it is
true." The postmodern statement "what is morally right or wrong
depends on what an individual believes" resonated strongly with 23 percent
of practicing Christians. Eleven percent of respondents agreed with the Marxist
statement "Private property encourages greed and envy."
Demographically, men, often
at a two to one ratio, were more open to these non-Christian worldviews than
women in all categories. In about half of the survey's questions, Americans of
color were more likely than white Americans to lend credence to non-Christian
worldviews.
Millennials and Gen-Xers,
who came of age in a culture under considerably less influence of the Christian
faith, were eight times more likely to embrace non-Christian worldviews than
were respondents from the Baby Boomer and Elder generations, the study found.
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