General Church and spiritual Statistics

Most statistics in this next section are copyrighted from BARNA RESEARCH ARE FROM THE BARNA GROUP, LTD.1957 EASTMAN AVE. SUITE B VENTURA, CALIFORNIA 93003 UNITED STATES VOICE: (805) 639-0000 FAX: (805) 658-7298 They are recognized by an URL beginning with http://www.barna.org .

For clarification within Barna surveys, the term “Christian” is applied to those whom Barna (in italics) says

consider themselves to be Christian but either do not have a 'personal commitment to Jesus Christ' or do not believe that they will experience eternal favor with God based solely on His grace and mercy.

“Born again” Christians are those who say they “have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.”

'Evangelicals' are a subset of born again Christians in Barna surveys. In addition to meeting the born again criteria, evangelicals also meet seven other conditions. Those include saying the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches; their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical has no relationship to church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church they attend. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.” www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=119

Sect. 1	U.S. Teens Spiritual Statistics

34%of U.S. teens are defined as “born again” (1999).¹http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=37 See also http://www.josh.org/notes/file/Internet13-Religion.pdf
Only 4% of U.S. teens are defined as real “evangelicals” (1999). ^¹
82% say they are Christian (1999). ^¹
26% said they are “absolutely committed to the Christian faith. ^{^}¹
83% of teens believe that moral truth depends on the circumstances. ^{^}¹
Only 4% of teens in general and 9% of born again teens actually believe in moral absolutes (2001). ^{^}¹
(65%) say that the devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. (2000). ^{^}¹ [See Rev. 20:10.]
30% of teens believe that all religions are really praying to the same God. ^¹[There are “god's many”, but only One True God and Lord. (Acts 14:15; (1 Cor. 8:5; Titus 2:13).]
61% agree Heaven is gained by personal merit. (2000). ^{^}¹ [A false gospel. Only on Christ's merit and expense, can we be saved, not on ours or a churches: Eph. 1:8-10]
53% ( blasphemously) say that Jesus committed sins while He was on earth.^{^}¹
Just 22% of those ages 25 to 29 attended church in the last week.^{^}¹
Only 9% of “born again” teens believe there moral absolutes." ^{^}¹
Only 57% of teens live in the same home with both of their natural parents. (1999).^{^}¹
65% of teenagers believe music piracy is not a moral issue. (2004) ^¹
80% of teenagers have engaged in some type of music piracy in the past six months. ^¹
39% do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God. ^{^}¹
63% do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. ^{^}¹
51% deny Jesus resurrection. ^{^}¹
Over 60% do not believe Christianity can be proven to be true ^¹
68% believe that all religions teach EQUALLY valid truths. ^{^}¹
Only 4% believe that the Bible is true in every circumstance.^{^}¹
Less than 50% of teen "Christians" assent that salvation is by grace alone though faith in Christ alone. . ©The Gallup Organization www.gallup.com/poll/tb/religValue/20030819.asp?Version=p)
There is a 58% decline in church attendance between the ages 18 to age 29. .www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=149&Reference=B)
Less than 5% of the nation's churches have youth groups that attract 100 or more teenagers. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=103
Teens who are not raised in a family which holds to absolute Biblical truths are 600% more likely to attempt suicide. Barna Research https://give.ccci.org/give?Action=ViewDetail&Desig=2737811&SeqNo=33&pp=Browse+Fund+Appeals
300% of the above are more likely to experiment with drugs. ^
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=37

75% of America’s youth (73%) have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related activity, beyond mere horoscope usage or media exposure (such as Harry Potter movies i assume). ^²http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=216
More than 75% of teens have played a game featuring sorcery or witchcraft elements, 30% of teens have had their palm read, 27% had their fortune told, 14% were physically present when someone else used psychic powers, 10% participated in a séance, 9% visited a medium or spiritual guide, with the same figuring going for consulting a psychic, and 1 out of 12 had tried to cast a spell or mix a magic potion.^²
Only 26% of evangelical teens had experimented had engaged in witchcraft or psychic activities, nearly three times less than the norm. 69% of non-evangelical born again teens and 66% of youth group attenders reported having experimented with or engaged in witchcraft or psychic activities. Denominationally, the figures were Baptists 60%, non-mainline Protestants 62%, Catholics 77%, and mainline Protestants 81%.^{^2}(see Rev. 18:2).
The most common types of witchcraft behaviors were using a Ouija board and reading a book about witchcraft or Wicca, each of which had been done by more than one-third of teenagers. More than one-quarter of teens have played a game featuring sorcery or witchcraft elements. One-tenth of teens had participated in a séance and 1 out of 12 had tried to cast a spell or mix a magic potion.^{^2}
More than two million teens say they have communicated with a dead person (10%). Nearly two million youth claim they have psychic powers.^{^2}
Only one-quarter of churched teenagers (28%) recall receiving any teaching at their church in the last year that helped to shape their views on the supernatural world!^{^2}

More than two-thirds of Protestant young adults exit the church between the ages of 18 and 22, according to a recent report by LifeWay Research, a branch of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Conclusion: this generation largely has been, and is being, brought up in a way they should not go. A much smaller percentage of teens in born again churches are saved and going to Heaven than is often presumed.

¹http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=37. See also http://www.josh.org/notes/file/Internet13-Religion.pdf

²http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=216

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