Twenty-Year Study of Religious Trends

The Barna Group released over the past two weeks, a six-part study dealing with the state of the church in the United States. The report, which is based on 20 years of research, covers topics such as generational trends, gender differences, racial/ethnic differences and regional differences in expressions of faith.
Some of the more interesting findings in the study include:

• The percentage of Baby Busters (born from 1965 through 1983) who are unchurched, rose to 39 percent (an increase of eight percentage points) since 1991.
• The percentage of Busters who describe themselves as Christians increased by nine points to 80 percent.
• A majority of women (56 percent) do not attend church services during a typical week, and 64 percent of men do not attend.
• The Midwest is the region with the greatest degree of religious change since 1991, including a drop in church attendance from 55 percent to 40 percent.
• Most Americans (about four out of five), consider themselves to be Christians, but only 47 percent of this group attend church services during a typical week.

To read all six parts of the State of the Church Series, 2011, go to Barna.org.

(from FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)