data and statistics Archives - Baptist & Reflector

AMERICANS DIFFER ON HISTORIC CHRISTIAN VIEWS

November 6, 2018

By Carol Pipes
LifeWay Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — Six in 10 Americans say religious belief is a matter of personal opinion. For 7 in 10 Americans, such religious beliefs include one true God existing in three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But an increasing majority of Americans deny Jesus has always existed and many say the Holy Spirit is a force rather than a personal being.

Those are among the findings of a new study of American views on Christian theology from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

“When the majority of Americans believe religious belief is more personal opinion than objective truth, then we expect to see contradictory beliefs as well as beliefs that change over time,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.

The survey of 3,000 Americans was sponsored by Orlando-based Ligonier Ministries. Titled the “2018 State of Theology Study,” it is the third in a series of surveys examining Americans’ theological beliefs. Previous surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2014. [Read more…]

A CALL TO REVITALIZE EVANGELISM IN THE SBC

March 22, 2018

By David Leavell
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention
& Alan Quigley
Mobilization Team Leader, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma

Last year, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) publicly announced that 29 percent of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches reported no baptisms, and 47 percent reported two or less. In the SBC 2017 Book of Reports, NAMB reported that baptisms had fallen to 295,000 in 2016, which is the first time the convention reported less than 300,000 baptisms since the late 1940s. [Read more…]

ECONOMY HELPS BOOST CHURCH OFFERINGS

February 22, 2018

By Bob Smietana
Lifeway News Office

NASHVILLE — Church collection plates were a little bit fuller last fall, according to Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

About 40 percent of Protestant pastors say their churches received more offerings in 2017 than in 2016.

Three-quarters say their church met or exceeded budget.

And only about a third say the economy gave their church trouble.

Those are among the findings of a new report from LifeWay Research, based on a survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors. LifeWay Research has tracked the impact of the economy on churches since 2009, said Scott McConnell, executive director, and this is the first time the majority of pastors said the economy isn’t troubling their church. [Read more…]

MUSLIMS ON PACE TO OUTNUMBER JEWS IN THE U.S.

January 29, 2018

Baptist Press

Muslims will likely surpass Jews as the second largest religious group behind Christians in the U.S. by 2040, the Pew Research Center reported.
–Baptist Press file photo

WASHINGTON — Muslims will likely surpass Jews as the second largest religious group behind Christians in the U.S. by 2040, elevated by a high birth rate and immigration, the Pew Research Center said in its latest analysis.

The 3.45 million Muslims here will more than double to 8.1 million by 2050, surpassing the number of Jews along the way, Pew estimated Jan. 3. But the research center did not give a Muslim nor Jewish numerical population estimate for 2040. [Read more…]

PEW: CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS, BELIEFS LESS RELIGIOUS

December 15, 2017

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (BP) — Most Americans believe society is increasingly abandoning the religious aspects of Christmas, according to new Pew Research Center findings, but most Americans are not troubled by the trend.

Only 32 percent of Americans find the trend troubling, Pew found in the study released Dec. 12. While 56 percent of U.S. adults identified such a trend, a quarter of that group said the trend doesn’t bother them. [Read more…]

NEW RESEARCH: MOST AMERICANS THINK THEY ARE A SINNER

August 16, 2017

By Bob Smietana
Lifeway Research

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — America is full of sinners—and most of them want to mend their ways.

Two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say they are sinners, according to a new study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. Most people aren’t too happy about it—only 5 percent say they’re fine with being sinners.

As America becomes more secular, the idea of sin still rings true, said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.

“Almost nobody wants to be a sinner,” he said. [Read more…]

SBC IN 2016: MORE CHURCHES, LESS MEMBERS

June 27, 2017

By Carol Pipes
Writer, LifeWay

NASHVILLE — Southern Baptists experienced growth in the number of churches that cooperate with their convention in 2016, according to the latest Annual Church Profile report (ACP).

However, other key measures declined in 2016, including membership, baptisms, average worship attendance, and total giving, according to the ACP compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions.

The number of churches cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention grew by 479 to 47,272, a 1 percent increase over 2015. The number of Southern Baptist churches has increased in the last 18 years. Southern Baptist churches also reported 4,492 church-type missions last year. [Read more…]

AMERICANS LIKE BIBLE BUT DON’T READ IT

May 5, 2017

By Bob Smietana
Lifeway Research

NASHVILLE — Americans have a positive view of the Bible. And many say the Christian Scriptures are filled with moral lessons for today.

However, more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible.

Less than a quarter of those who have ever read a Bible have a systematic plan for reading the Christian Scriptures each day. And a third of Americans never pick it up on their own, according to a new study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. [Read more…]

MUSLIMS OUTPACING CHRISTIANS IN BIRTHS, PEW SAYS

April 11, 2017

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

The growing birth rate among Muslims will put the group’s population at nearly equal that of Christians globally by 2060, according to Pew Research. In this BP file photo, Muslims are praying at Jakarta’s Masjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.

NASHVILLE (BP) — Muslims are so outpacing Christians in births that the two population groups will be nearly equal by 2060, with Christians holding only a slight majority, according to newly released Pew Research data.

An increase in Muslim births compounded by an aging Christian population will put the Muslim share of the global population at 31 percent by 2060, just under the 32 percent for Christians, Pew said in its April 5 report.

Muslim births are nearly double the overall growth rate of the global population, Pew said, characterizing Islam as the youngest major religious group with the highest fertility. Atheists, agnostics and adults who don’t specify a religion, together classified as “nones” by Pew, lag far behind both Muslims and Christians in reproduction. [Read more…]

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