About the Research
About the Research
Types of Exiles
Prodigals (ex-Christians): Individuals who do not currently identify as Christian despite having attended a Protestant or Catholic church or having considered themselves to be a Christian as a child or teen.
Nomads (lapsed Christians): People who identify as Christian but have not attended church during the past month. The vast majority of nomads haven’t been involved with a church for six months or more.
Habitual churchgoers: Those who describe themselves as Christian and who have attended church at least once in the past month yet do not meet foundational core beliefs or behaviors associated with being an intentional, engaged disciple.
Resilient disciples: Christ followers who (1) attend church at least monthly and engage with their churches more than just attending worship services; (2) trust firmly in the authority of the Bible; (3) are committed to Jesus personally and affirm he was crucified and raised from the dead to conquer sin and death; and (4) express a desire to transform the broader society as an outcome of their faith.
Generations
A generation is an analytical tool for understanding culture and the people within it. It simply reflects the idea that people who are born during a certain period of time are influenced by a unique set of circumstances and global events, moral and social values, technologies, and cultural and behavioral norms. Barna Group uses the following generations:
Gen Z were born 1999 to 2015.
Millennials were born 1984 to 1998.
Gen X were born 1965 to 1983.
Boomers were born 1946 to 1964.
Elders were born prior to 1946.
Methodology
Throughout this book, you will read about research that is not directly footnoted. Those statistics and data-based statements have been derived from a series of national public opinion surveys sponsored by WisdomWorks and conducted by Barna Group between 2007 and 2018 for the Faith That Lasts project.
The main research examination for this book was conducted with eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds who grew up as Christians. This was a multiphase project that began with qualitative interviews.
All of the following studies are referenced in this book and were conducted by Barna Group among a national random sample of the population identified. Upon completion of each survey, minimal statistical weights were applied to the data to allow the results to more closely correspond to known national demographic averages for several variables. All the surveys among adults included a subsample of people drawn from cell phone households. All studies relied on callbacks to households not reached after the first attempt; a maximum of six callbacks were made to each nonresponsive household, with contact attempts made at different times of the day and days of the week. The average length of the surveys in these studies ranged from fifteen to twenty-two minutes.
Date
Audience
Collection method
Sampling error*
2009–2018
Barna’s Cities & States database / US adults
Telephone and online
48,769
±0.5
February 16–28, 2018
US adults 18–29, current/former Christians
Online
1,514
±2.3
July 7–18, 2017
US teens 13–18
Online
507
±4.2
November 16, 2016, to January 17, 2017
US Protestant youth pastors
Online
335
±5.3
January 2–10, 2016
US adults 18–30
Online
803
±3.3
November 4–16, 2016
US teens 13–18
Online
1,490
±2.3
November 8–16, 2016
US engaged Christian parents of teens
Online
403
±4.8
November 4–16, 2016
US adults
Online
1,517
±2.3
January 8–20 and February 3–11, 2015
US adults
Telephone and online
2,010
±2.0
April 29–May 1, 2015
US adults
Online
1,025
±2.9
June 27–28, 2015
US adults
Telephone
1,012
±2.9
July 3–9, 2015
US adults
Online
1,237
±2.6
August 17–21, 2015
US adults
Online
1,000
±3.0
August 24–26, 2015
US adults
Online
1,000
±3.0
July 2014
Christian clergy
Telephone and online
±2.4
July 2014
Clergy from other faith traditions
Telephone and online
159
±7.7
August 18–22, 2014
US adults 18–30
Online
1,000
±3.0
October 10–15, 2013
US adults 18–29
Online
843
±3.2
December 2012
US adults
Telephone
1,008
±2.9
January 2011
US adults 18–29, current/former Christians
Online
1,296
±2.7
January 2011
US adults
Telephone
520
±4.3
December 2010
US adults 18–29, current/former Christians
Online (pretest)
150
±8.0
August–December 2009
US adults 18–35
Telephone
20
Qualitative
*Percentage points; sampling error reflects a 95 percent confidence level.
When researchers describe the accuracy of survey results, the estimated amount of sampling error is often provided. This refers to the degree of inaccuracy that might be attributable to interviewing a group of people that is not completely representative of the population from which the people were drawn. The maximum amount of sampling error is listed in the table. That estimate is dependent on two factors: (1) the sample size and (2) the degree to which the result being examined is close to 50 percent or the extremes, 0 percent and 100 percent. Keep in mind that there is a range of other errors that may influence survey results (e.g., biased question wording, question sequencing, inaccurate recording of the responses provided, inaccurate data tabulation, etc.)—errors whose influence cannot be statistically estimated.