Friday, January 16, 2009

Americans accept 'array of faiths,' abandon biblical teaching

A new survey finds Christianity is no longer the default faith of most Americans.

The survey was conducted by The Barna Group, which found that half of Americans believe Christianity is just one of many options for genuine faith. George Barna, the group's founder, believes the study confirms that more Americans are adopting a pluralistic mindset.

"Americans are increasingly very accepting of a diverse array of faiths," he notes. "They're less likely to think that Christianity is right or accurate in what it teaches."

According to Barna, the survey also finds that many Americans are adopting their own ideas about faith, apart from God's Holy Word.

"What we find is that people are deriving their biblical literacy and their views of spirituality from conversations that they have with friends, and they give that equal weight to things they might get in church or from other religious settings," he points out. "They'll get their faith views from their own personal reflections as well as from their personal experiences and observations."

The survey reveals that most Americans still call their faith an important source of personal and moral guidance.

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