geoff@uunet.uu.net (Geoff Allen) (08/30/90)
rodvan@microsoft.UUCP (Rod VAN MECHELEN) wrote: |According to the STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE US, 1989 edition of the |National Data Book, in 1987 (more recent stats are not available) |56 percent of Americans believe themselves to be Christians. And rjd4507@venus.tamu.edu (DEFRESE, RAYMOND JACK) followed up: > I seem to remember seeing the results of a Gallup poll that > said 95% of Americans believe in God (not necessarily the > Judeo-Christian God), 84% believed Jesus to be the Son of > God and 25% considered themselves "evangelical" (of which > I am one). |Setting aside debates over "professors" vs. "possessors," that means |the majority of Americans have a predisposition to serve a Christian |agenda. > Judging from the Gallup results, I'd say you're right. I'd love to believe that the majority of folks in the US are either Christians or predisposed to Christianity, but I just don't see it. I think people in the US believe they are Christians because they are Americans. You can talk about God and Jesus in a generic sort of way, and everyone's happy. But if you start talking about sin, repentance, or the need for a personal commitment to Christ, most will start tuning you out (or even become hostile). Evangelism Explosion has encouraged the use of the following question to get to the heart of the issue: If you were to die today and God said to you, ``Why should I let you in to my heaven?'' what would you say? The majority of answers you'll hear will say nothing about Jesus. Most answers will go something like: Well, I'm a pretty good person, and I've never killed anybody.... The 25% evangelical is an interesting figure, though. Summary: I think most people in the US *think* they're Christians, but don't really know what Christianity is about. Disclaimer: I've lived all my life in the west. Maybe things are different down in the Bible Belt. -- Geoff Allen \ Since we live by the Spirit, uunet!pmafire!geoff \ let us keep in step with the Spirit. bigtex!pmafire!geoff \ -- Gal. 5:25 (NIV)
rjd4507@venus.tamu.edu (DEFRESE, RAYMOND JACK) (09/02/90)
>And rjd4507@venus.tamu.edu (DEFRESE, RAYMOND JACK) followed up: >> I seem to remember seeing the results of a Gallup poll that >> said 95% of Americans believe in God (not necessarily the >> Judeo-Christian God), 84% believed Jesus to be the Son of >> God and 25% considered themselves "evangelical" (of which >> I am one). I'm going to follow this up with the hard data. The book is called "100 Questions and Answers: Religion in America" by George Gallup, Jr. and Sarah Jones. I'll post some questions, along with the answers given in a national survey. Q: Do you believe in God or a universal spirit? Yes: 94% No: 5% No opinion: 1% Q: What do you believe about Jesus Christ--do you think Jesus Christ was God or Son of God, another religious leader like Mohammed or Buddah, or do you think Jesus never lived? God or Son of God: 84% Another Leader: 9% Never actually lived: 1% Other: 2% No opinion: 4% Q: Do you describe yourself as a "born-again" or evangelical Christian, or not? Yes: 33% (!) <----(Higher than I thought--rjd) No: 63% No opinion: 4% > >I'd love to believe that the majority of folks in the US are either >Christians or predisposed to Christianity, but I just don't see it. You'll see why in a minute... >I think people in the US believe they are Christians because they are >Americans. You can talk about God and Jesus in a generic sort of way, >and everyone's happy. But if you start talking about sin, repentance, >or the need for a personal commitment to Christ, most will start tuning >you out (or even become hostile). Q: Did you, yourself, happen to attend church or synagogue in the last seven days? Yes: 42% Q: How often do you read the Bible? (Asked of all, not just Christians--rjd) Daily: 11% Weekly: 22% Monthly: 14% Less than monthly: 26% Never: 22% Can't say: 5% The responses to these last two questions disturbs me. Though I don't believe one needs to attend church to be a Christian, I do think it is important to fellowship with other believers and to grow in the Body of Christ. As my pastor puts it, "There are no 'Lone Ranger' Christians". We need each other. I also think reading the Bible is very important for any Christian. Otherwise, how are we supposed to know what God wants from us? And if we don't know, how can we live it and become "lights of the world"? > >Summary: I think most people in the US *think* they're Christians, but >don't really know what Christianity is about. Sadly, I would tend to agree. > >Disclaimer: I've lived all my life in the west. Maybe things are >different down in the Bible Belt. You bet they are. I'm originally from New York and became a Christian when I started going to school here at Texas A&M. The attitude down here is so different; it's a much friendlier environment. > >-- >Geoff Allen \ Since we live by the Spirit, >uunet!pmafire!geoff \ let us keep in step with the Spirit. >bigtex!pmafire!geoff \ -- Gal. 5:25 (NIV) Ray De Frese RJD4507@TAMVENUS Texas A&M University