Notes
Notes
[1] Those resources include “Never On a Sunday,” George Barna, Ventura, CA, Barna Research Group, 1990; “Re-Churching the Unchurched,” George Barna, Ventura, CA, Issachar Resources, 2000; and Grow Your Church from the Outside In, George Barna, Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002.
[2] When describing the current size of the unchurched population or its subgroups, or the demographic qualities of those populations, we have drawn from the surveys conducted in 2014 in order to provide the most current statistics.
[3] The fifteen criteria used are: 1. do not believe in God; 2. identify as atheist or agnostic; 3. disagree that faith is important in their lives; 4. have not prayed to God (in the last week); 5. have never made a commitment to Jesus; 6. disagree the Bible is accurate in the principles it teaches; 7. have not donated money to a church (in the last year); 8. have not attended a Christian church (in the last year); 9. agree that Jesus committed sins; 10. do not feel a responsibility to “share their faith”; 11. have not read from the Bible (in the last week); 12. have not volunteered at a church (in the last week); 13. have not attended Sunday school (in the last week); 14. have not attended religious small group (in the last week); 15. do not participate in a house church (in the last year). The classifications were: post-Christian was classified as meeting at least 60 percent of the fifteen factors (i.e., nine or more factors satisfied); highly post-Christian required meeting at least 80 percent of the fifteen factors (i.e., twelve or more factors satisfied). For additional information about the study, go to https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/608-hpca.
[4] For more information on TED Talks, see www.TED.com.
[5] Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (New York: Basic Books, 2012).
[6] See http://hispanics.barna.org/products/.
[7] This majority is a combination of those who say they “strongly agree” and those who “somewhat agree” with the statement.
[8] The “average” referred to in this paragraph is the mean.
[9] The theological statements to which people respond in order to be classified as an evangelical include the following: believe that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect creator of the universe who still rules the world today; strongly agree that their religious faith is very important in their life today; strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; strongly agree that they have a personal responsibility to share their faith in Christ with people who believe differently; strongly disagree that when Jesus was on earth he sinned, like other people; strongly disagree that if people are good enough, or do enough good things for other people, they can earn their way into heaven; and strongly disagree that the devil, or Satan, is not a living entity but is just a symbol of evil. For more information about this classification approach, and the research that led to and supports it, visit https://www.barna.org/component/content/article/47-misc/647-definitions#.U1cAWeZdV9c.
[10] See 2 Timothy 3:16.
[11] David Kinnaman, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving the Church . . . and Rethinking Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011).
[12] In demographic literature a “traditional family” in the American context is generally defined as a married man and woman with two or more children under the age of eighteen.
[13] For more information, see http://whatisorange.org/.
[14] For more information regarding the impact of faith at an early age, see George Barna’s books Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2012) and Revolutionary Parenting (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007).
[15] Women earned 54 percent of all college degrees in 1993; by 2010, women earned more than 60 percent of degrees.
[16] Mark Binelli, “The Rolling Stone Interview: Sean Penn,” Rolling Stone (February 19, 2009): 49.
[17] Penn Jillette, “There Is No God,” NPR series (November 22, 2005): http://www.npr.org/2005/11/21/5015557/there-is-no-god.
[18] Penn Jillette, “Don’t Replace Religion; End it,” New York Times (January 22, 2013): http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/22/is-atheism-a-religion/atheism-should-end-religion-not-replace-it.
[19] Quoted in Pastors’ Weekly Briefing, February 25, 2005; 1.
[20] Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 2011. See http://www.gallup.com/poll/153374/Churchgoers-Boast-Better-Mood-Especially-Sundays.aspx.
[21] Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 2011. See http://www.gallup.com/poll/152723/Religious-Americans-Enjoy-Higher-Wellbeing.aspx.
[22] Among the resources to examine are unChristian, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008); You Lost Me, David Kinnaman (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011); Maximum Faith, George Barna (Strategenius Group: New York, 2011); and The Seven Faith Tribes, George Barna (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010).
[23] For the most recent research on this matter, including the questions used in the survey, see, “Christians: More Like Jesus or More Like the Pharisees?” posted April 30, 2013, accessible at http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/619-are-christians-more-like-jesus-or-more-like-the-pharisees. Barna Group appreciates John Burke’s permission to use this information for this book.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid. Also see Mud and the Masterpiece, John Burke (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013).
[26] From “Clocks,” written by Guy Barryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion, and Chris Martin.
[27] https://www.barna.org/barna-update/faith-spirituality/648-is-evangelism-going-out-of-style#.U09aydyVi2w.
[28] George Barna, Maximum Faith: Live Like Jesus (Ventura, CA: Metaformation Inc.; New York: Strategenius Group LLC; Glendora, CA: WHC Publishing, 2011), 7.
[29] https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/605-what-do-americans-really-think-about-the-bible#.U09r5tyVi2y.