Lifeway Research Paper

While the majority of Americans (almost 80%) identify themselves as Christians, religion in the United States is characterized by both a large diversity of believers and variable attendance and adherence levels (Eck, 2002). However, an August 2010 poll showed that almost 70% of Americans believed that religion was losing influence in everyday life, yet most feel that is a negative thing even though politicians continue to discuss religion while campaigning (Religion Losing, 2012). In light of these statistics, many religious scholars have turned to more quantitative methods to establish ways to both improve service attendance, solidify the financial health of churches, and establish a faith-based understanding of current psychographic trends. One of the predominant ways this is happening is through people like George Barna.

I feel that it is more important than ever that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, put it all out there on the line. We should be telling everyone what the saving grace of God can do for them. We already talked last week about when you experience Jesus, you can’t help but love and it is our job to get that word out there to everyone. So why are there so many Christians who don’t do it? In 1991 authors James Patterson and Peter Kim took on the task of surveying America about several different topics. The results were given in their book entitled “The Day America Told the Truth.” In the chapter dealing with America’s religious beliefs they stated that 90% percent of the people questioned said that they believed in God. Yet they also discovered

Bush had with Christians, Obama partook in religiously focused events in hopes of structuring an evangelical backing as well as quieting down his supposed Muslim faith. In the face of creating an advisory council specifically to reach Catholic voters and citing the Bible at different events, Patricia Smith in “Religion & the White House” claims that “18 percent of Americans still believe he’s a Muslim, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center Poll.” An individual can only go so far to convince an assemblage of people of a particular lifestyle before it simply becomes ignorance. In the 2012 presidential race, it was Barack Obama’s competition that was at the forefront of the religious

Wilde quotes Eisenhower in “the transcendence of faith in Americas heritage,” criticizing the validity of his statement, bringing up Americans that have fought and died “for freedom while not believing in “spiritual weapons.” She gives the statistic of only 70 to 80 percent of Americans are affiliated with a form of Christianity and three percent with Judaism; therefore, several million Americans do not believe in the God the Pledge refers to.

As he addresses extensively the subject of evangelism, it appears that Fay is very confident that is book is well needed due to the “sin of silence” that has gripped the Church and the body of Christ, in general. He has a powerful style that uses examples from his personal life and experiences to shows his reader that it is easy to share the Gospel. He also uses witnessing examples from the lives of various Christians to show the readers that they too can share the gospel without fear. He advocates a simple and non-confrontational approach to evangelism and states that God can use even imperfect attempts to share the Gospel. What God cannot use is the Christian’s silence about the Gospel.

The last of the study’s research questions is to find out “Demographically, who has no confidence in the federal government?” Demographic categories investigated include religion, race, education, sex, and age. Sociologists believe that those who are religiously involved and have liberal religious beliefs have a higher level of political participation and therefore a higher confidence in federal government (Brady, 1989). More specifically, “the closer a person is to a church, the more likely they are to support the political authorities” (Hoffman, 1985).

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center as part of a broader Religious Landscape Study, 78 percent of people who do not identify with any religious group were raised in a faith system and then left as adults. Further, about half of those people said that a lack of belief caused them to leave their faith, citing, among other things, "science" and "lack of evidence" as reasons for this skepticism.

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

How many Americans believe in some type of God? A poll taken in 2013, showed that 74% of U.S. adults claim to believe there is a God. In past years, that percentage has been in the 80’s (Jones). This could mean that people are taking other beliefs, such as agnosticism, into consideration. An agnostic is described as “a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God” (OED).

It’s been said the two topics never to discuss with friends are politics and religion. This is because both seem to evoke quite a few strong emotions. Karl Marx once said, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” This is a very broad yet accurate definition of what religion is for most people. It’s something that is in common household discussion yet many do not know what really makes something a religion in the first place. Religion or the belief in some supernatural God(s), is what people use to explain the unexplainable.

In today’s world, many Americans are religious--some more than others. Many Americans think that

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, over 228 million Americans classified themselves as practicing some type of religion. Due to

Religious faith is important to most Americans, with approximately 95% of Americans reporting belief in God and about 50% being active in church organizations (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Despite the widespread prevalence of religious beliefs in society, some researchers have maintained that religion and religious beliefs are often neglected in psychological research (Jones, 1994; Plante, 1996). This neglect stems from a couple of different factors. First, it is difficult for psychologists to overcome the fact that believers in many religions claim to have unique access to the truth. Secondly, truly theological questions such as the existence of God or the nature of an afterlife are often ignored by scientists. This may be in part a

The U.S. News took a survey asking 1000 people questions about their belief in God, or how God played a role in their lives. As a result, 93 percent of people said that they believed in God or a universal spirit (Sheler, 8). Also, when asked to describe their beliefs about God, 76 percent said that they consider God to be a heavenly father who can be reached by prayer (Sheler, 8). That is a remarkable amount of people to belief that they have such a connection with something that they have no actual insurance of existing. Now, obviously America is considered a moral society, so wouldn’t all this faith play a key role in that observation?

Although the connections between religion and politics may be controversial to some, it really isn’t surprising that they overlap. For many people, religion and politics are significant parts of their ideology and morals; they both shape ethical decisions and certainly influence how we view society and the interactions within it. Politics and religion, along with ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, are important identities that shape how others see us, and how we see ourselves. Thus, it makes sense that religious beliefs may influence a person’s politics or vice versa. While I believe a mix of these identities, and thus personal experiences, has the greatest impact on politics, religion clearly is a significant influence