CRISIS IN THE WEST: The Loss of Belief in Jesus and Christianity
Based on the data below, now would be a really good time to respond to our current cultural crisis. How can you make a difference? It is no longer necessary to think about going somewhere else to do mission work. Instead, ask God if he has called you to be a missionary to your town. Keep us posted on your efforts, and we will, at a minimum, hold you up in prayer.
The following statistics present a question asked to Preteens, parents and youth ministers with the answers below. I hope you found the answers as disturbing as I did.
“Jesus Christ is the only way to experience eternal salvation, based on confessing your sins and relying only upon His forgiveness of your sins”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 36% | 34% | 54% |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 64% | 66% | 46% |
“The Bible is the true word of God that should be a guide to knowing right from wrong and living a good life.”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 25% | 44% | 62% |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 75% | 56% | 38% |
“There are absolute truths”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 21% | 28% | 36% |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 79% | 72% | 64% |
“The main reason to live is to know, love and serve God, with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 27% | 33% | 56% |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 73% | 67% | 44% |
“Real success in life is consistently obeying God,”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 17% | 19% | 42% |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 83% | 81% | 58% |
“Consistently consult the Bible when trying to determine right from wrong”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 26% | x | x |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 74% | x | x |
“The means to eternal salvation is by confessing their sins and asking Jesus Christ to save them from the consequences of their sin.”
Agree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastors |
| 36% | 35% | x |
Disagree
| Preteens | Parents | Youth Pastor |
| 64% | 65% | x |
The biblical worldview among children between the ages of 8 and 12 is 2%. (98% do not have a biblical worldview)
Among Youth pastors, that figure rises to just 12%. (88% do not have a biblical worldview)
Among adults the biblical worldview has dropped to 4% and among parents of young children it is 2%. That means that 96% of all adults do not have a biblical worldview and 98% of young children’s parents do not have a biblical worldview.
Preteens are defined as children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. Parents are defined as parents of children younger than 13, and pastors of youth in Christian churches.
The findings of the research are based on responses from 400 preteens collected in December 2022, 600 parents of children younger than 13 gathered in January 2022, 600 pastors of Christian churches collected in February 2022, 400 teenagers gathered in November and December 2022, and a January 2023 survey of 2,000 adults.
The “disagree” section is calculated based on the percentage of those who agree. It is useful to get a perspective of how many do not agree with Christian values, it was not part of the original article.
In the latest report from the American Worldview Inventory 2023, Barna identifies the “seven cornerstones of the biblical worldview.” They are:
- An orthodox, biblical understanding of God.
- All human beings are sinful by nature; every choice we make has moral considerations and consequences.
- Knowing Jesus Christ is the only means to salvation, through our confession of sin and reliance on His forgiveness.
- The entire Bible is true, reliable, and relevant, making it the best moral guide for every person, in all situations.
- Absolute moral truth exists—and those truths are defined by God, described in the Bible, and are unchanging across time and cultures.
- The ultimate purpose of human life is to know, love, and serve God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul.
- Success on earth is best understood as consistent obedience to God—in thoughts, words, and actions.1
1George Barna, “Barna, CRC Research Identify ‘Seven Cornerstones’ for Restoring Biblical Worldview,” American Worldview Inventory, March 14, 2023, accessed February 13, 2024, https://www.arizonachristian.edu/2023/03/14/barna-crc-research-identify-seven-cornerstones-for-restoring-biblical-worldview/#:~:text=In%20the%20latest%20report%20from,has%20moral%20considerations%20and%20consequences
“Barna is quick to point out that these seven cornerstones are basic Christian tenets, not advanced or sophisticated theological constructs.” Yet only 4% of Americans can affirm all of them, with younger Americans’ agreement dropping to 2%. This raises several critical questions about why so few affirm these points and why 96% of the population will not. Please note the following image, which reflects the percentage of Americans who self-identify religiously. There has been a precipitous decline in those who self-identify as Christian, dropping to from 90% in the 1990s to 63% in 2021. Worse yet is the fact that of that 63%, 59% cannot affirm all seven of Barna’s Christian Worldview statements.