Many years ago one might assume (notice I gathered no empirical data) most Americans held a Christian worldview. That's because our heritage strongly influenced it. Christian pollster George Barna, provides numbers that paint an entirely different picture today. In a recent survey he defines Christian worldview:
For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.
He continues explaining that overall 9% of Americans possess a Christian worldview. One apparent inconsistency enraged from Barna's poll. He discovered half of all adults believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. Yet, only 27% believe in an evil personality known as Satan. The Bible assumes and affirms his existence. Go figure. Barna continues by offering a multitude of inferences gleaned from the report:
Barna’s research has discovered that there are unusually large differences in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices.
The firm’s studies have also pointed out that a person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13; it is refined through experience during the teen and early adult years; and then it is passed on to others during their adult life. Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children.
George Barna, who has directed this tracking research since the early Nineties, pointed out, “There are a several troubling patterns to take notice. First, although most Americans consider themselves to be Christian and say they know the content of the Bible, less than one out of ten Americans demonstrate such knowledge through their actions. Second, the generational pattern suggests that parents are not focused on guiding their children to have a biblical worldview. One of the challenges for parents, though, is that you cannot give what you do not have, and most parents do not possess such a perspective on life. That raises a third challenge, which relates to the job that Christian churches, schools and parachurch ministries are doing in Christian education. Finally, even though a central element of being a Christian is to embrace basic biblical principles and incorporate them into one’s worldview, there has been no change in the percentage of adults or even born again adults in the past 13 years regarding the possession of a biblical worldview.”
Recently I discovered an institution whose vision seeks to combat this growing secular concern. They are called Code Blue conferences sponsored by the Worldview Network. Here is a description of the Code Blue Conferences:
Worldview Weekend's Code Blue Rally is for adults and students age 9 to 109 because the church in America is in critical condition. Christian adults and young people alike embody worldviews that are no different from those outside the church. Jesus’ warning in Revelation 3:16 should be ringing in our collective ears: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth” (HCSB). Separation from Christ means spiritual death follows quickly. For that reason, Worldview Weekend has declared CODE BLUE for America’s church. Urgent action is vital, or the vibrant Christian faith we all should be sharing will soon be dead.
Worldview Weekend is committed to a four prong strategy for its Code Blue Campaign: 1). Teach Christians to contend for the faith through apologetics training. 2). Teach Christian to think like Biblically minded Christians through worldview training. 3). Teach Christians to evangelize like Jesus did using the Moral Law 4). Challenge Christians to make sure they are true converts by examining their lives in light of the Biblical hallmarks of a Christian. These hallmarks can be found in the book of I John.
Go here to find out more.