Where is the faith ?
It is often claimed, with great pride by religionists, that faith is stronger than ever, and perceived to be as relevant as ever. Although religion is personnalizing itself, preachers and charismatic churches also make good business. So it seems like what we are seeing is a diversification of religious belief.
However, statistics seem to argue drastically against this assessment. While it may seem that, on the surface, faith is not waning, if we look more carefully it seems that it is drastically waning. In fact, it seems like religion is coming apart at the seams, but this change is hidden under a laxity of standards.
Two studies form the cornerstone of this understanding. The first is a Barna Research study conducted in November and December 2003, and released January 12th, on the biblical worldview. It turns out that only half of Christian pastors, amongst all people, have a biblical worldview !
Based on interviews with 601 Senior Pastors nationwide, representing a random cross-section of Protestant churches, Barna reports that only half of the country's Protestant pastors - 51% - have a biblical worldview. Defining such a worldview as believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize), the researcher produced data showing that there are significant variations by denominational affiliation and other demographics.(...)
[T]he nation's two largest denominations, (...) [t]he Southern Baptists had the highest percentage of pastors with a biblical worldview (71%) while the Methodists were lowest among the seven segments evaluated (27%).
Among the other segments examined, 57% of the pastors of Baptist churches (other than Southern Baptist) had a biblical worldview, as did 51% of non-denominational Protestant pastors, 44% of pastors of charismatic or Pentecostal churches, 35% of pastors of black churches, and 28% of those leading mainline congregations.
"Only Half Of Protestant Pastors Have A Biblical Worldview," January 2004, Barna Research
The study also found that seminary graduates were less likely to hold a biblical worldview than those who aren't, that white male pasters were more likely to hold such a worldview than blacks or women, and that inexperienced and young pastors were more likely to hold such a worldview than experienced or old pastors.
These results are extremely interesting, because they confirm a negative correlation between education, experience and extreme religious belief, even within the demographic of pastors, where only religious education and experience is acquired. Education, whether secular or religious, turns people away from belief.
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