The latest release of data from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University provided more proof to its director, George Barna, that the Christian foundation of America is melting away. It is giving way instead to “syncretism,” a mishmash of pieces and parts from other worldviews, including secular humanism, postmodernism, eastern mysticism, and Marxism.
In his study from a year ago, Barna’s data revealed that 88 percent of those he polled had adopted syncretism, while just 6 percent had what he calls a “biblical worldview.”
His release this week, tracking how the pandemic has affected people, revealed that each of the four demographical cohorts he tracks (Millennials: 25-39; GenXers: 40-57; Baby Boomers: 58-77; Elders: 78 and up) reacted negatively in various degrees to the Covid dictums imposed by various governments allegedly to mitigate its impact.
Using two dozen measures of beliefs and behaviors, Barna and his team discovered that Millennials “had the lowest score on all but four of [those measures],” showing that “they were the generation least closely connected to biblical Christianity.”
His data showed GenXers “moving away from biblical perspectives [and] behaviors.” Among Baby Boomers the results were scarcely any better, with the biblical worldview among Boomers dropping from 9 percent to 7 percent. That worldview among Elders slipped as well, from 9 percent before Covid to 8 percent afterwards.
Barna defines a biblical worldview as
- Believing God is the creator and eternal ruler of the world;
- Believing that everyone is a sinner in the eyes of God;
- Believing in God’s son Jesus Christ as the only means to salvation from God’s wrath that is otherwise due sinners;
- Believing that the Bible is God’s word;
- Believing His Word is absolute moral truth;
- Believing that His purpose for us consists of knowing, loving, and serving Him; and
- Believing that success in this life consists of consistent obedience to God.
Barna wrote that Millennials had largely bought the secular lie of “personal truth” rather than biblical truth, adding:
Millennials entered the pandemic era as the group least open to and engaged with Christianity—and they exited that era largely unchanged in that posture. It is not that Millennials are not spiritual people; they simply are not attuned to biblical beliefs and behaviors and remain the generation that is least impressed by Christianity.
Accordingly, just two out of every 50 Millennials hold Barna’s “biblical worldview.”
Such lack of belief during the pandemic didn’t serve them well, wrote Barna:
Related studies conducted by the Cultural Research Center during the pandemic suggest that the Millennials’ rejection of biblical Christianity did not serve them well. Three-quarters reported lacking purpose and meaning in life.
A large majority contended feeling bereft of deep, healthy interpersonal relationships. More than half reported being impaired by mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, fear, and suicidal thoughts.
The drift away from a biblical worldview was evident among GenXers as well, said Barna, with them “choosing to generally cut ties with churches and biblical content as they searched for life solutions in response to the COVID-19 crisis. They consciously chose to abandon their Christian moorings in favor of more self-centered life solutions.”
The Boomers, on the other hand, “moved in the opposite direction from Millennials and Xers over the course of the Covid-19 period,” with Boomers becoming “more in sync with biblical teachings.” Nevertheless, the percentage holding a biblical worldview dropped two percentage points.
The Elders largely held their ground, too, said Barna: “[They] clearly leaned upon their Christian faith as a primary coping mechanism.” But, their biblical worldview dropped a percentage point from pre-Covid.
Barna asked, “Where were the churches?” during the pandemic:
The last three years have been a time of high anxiety for tens of millions of adults. It was an ideal time for the Christian Church to provide wise guidance and emotional calm.
Unfortunately, most churches agreed to the government’s dictate that they close their doors and remain mostly silent. That left an unprepared populace to follow the primary form of leadership available to them: government perspectives and policies.
Obviously, that has not worked well, given how dissatisfied a large majority of the country is with the direction of the nation and the quality of post-COVID life.
In 2021, Barna revealed just how difficult it is in today’s world to capture and hold his biblical worldview:
Worldview seems to be caught more than it is taught in the United States.… It takes years of holistic teaching, integration of thought and behavior, and reinforcement of appropriate choices before someone is likely to develop a biblical worldview.
Knowing a few Bible verses, attending church services, and praying won’t get the job done.
Attending a Christian school that offers a chapel service and a Bible class won’t accomplish the task.
Going to church services that feature sermons drawn from biblical content is not sufficient to build a biblical worldview….
All of those are token efforts that have proven inadequate toward developing an integrated body of beliefs and behaviors that enable someone to think like Jesus so they can then live like Jesus.
There is some good news, however, as The New American recently reported. The Alpha Generation (ages 18-25) became more attuned to the spiritual during the Covid event, rather than less. In a study by Springtide Research Institute (SRI) that was covered by The Wall Street Journal last month, the Journal noted:
For many young people, the pandemic was the first crisis they faced. It affected everyone to some degree, from the loss of family and friends to uncertainty about jobs and daily life.
In many ways, it aged young Americans and they are now turning to the same comfort previous generations have turned to during tragedies for healing and comfort.
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