Author George Barna discusses 'The Seven Faith Tribes'

Cultural Christians. Captive Christians. American Jews. Pantheists. Muslims. Spiritual Skeptics. Mormons. The U.S. can be broken down into seven main faith groups, according to the pollster George Barna in his latest book — “The Seven Faith Tribes” — which is at least his 40th. Even he may have lost count.

“These have more to do with lifestyles and values and draws parallels with faith inclinations,” Barna said in a recent phone interview from his office in California, where he oversees The Barna Group, a research organization. The faith groups are not the nation’s seven largest but are rather clusters of movements he’s intrigued by in research.

Here’s why they matter: Collectively they are determining the course of the country.

In his book’s introduction, Barna lays out some of the crises and issues in the country’s past and future, including: the race riots of the ’60s; health epidemics and natural disasters; the Civil War; and the current economic recession.

“Nations can only rebound when they intentionally seek renewal,” he writes. “And such comebacks, historically, have demanded that Americans either restore or redefine significant dimensions of the prevailing culture.”

An evangelical Christian who leads a house church of 25 people, Barna is self-critical of his own group, the Captive Christians, who in the U.S. “are not seen as loving, but we currently have a window of opportunity to demonstrate our love in the midst of hard times, confusion and cultural chaos facing the nation.

“The best evangelism is that which emanates from people’s respect of our character and lifestyle. Unfortunately, the public perception of our character and lifestyle is one of the major reasons why our evangelistic efforts in the United States have been so ineffective in the past quarter century. ...”

With this group, he challenges Captive Christians — those who work at integrating their beliefs into all areas of their life — to work with non-Christians in bettering society.

Notably, Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are not included in the Christian group, though Mormons call themselves Christian. Founded in 1830 in this country, the LDS Church puts the Book of Mormon on par with the Bible. The Book of Mormon, they believe, was handed down by Prophet Joseph Smith.

“Everybody’s been offended,” said Barna, adding that mail has come from representatives from the other groups as well. “You can’t please everybody when you profile them.”

In “Seven Faith Tribes,” Barna illustrates crossover between Mormons and Captive Christians — for instance, their emphasis on family, abstaining from various vices and paying attention to morality in the media. Ideologically and politically, Mormons are very similar to the Captive Christians.

Barna characterizes the Cultural Christians, meanwhile, as a “megatribe.” Most of the country’s self-described Christians (80 percent) fit in this group, and nearly 2 out of 3 Americans.

No real passion for communicating God in the world, keepers of the “status quo”

“Average. Average. Average,” Barna writes. And yet, like the Mormons and Captive Christians, Casual Christians put a high emphasis on family, getting married and avoiding divorce. They also are soft-hearted, as a group, toward the poor and causes that help the poor, Barna has found.

American Jews — 2 percent of the adult population. A knack for adaptation; accepting of the importance of traditions, customs and teachings; sustain a sense of community and heritage; triumph over hardship; view collective prosperity as reward for hard work. Dominant desires are to be healthy and well-educated.

Muslims — About 2 percent of the population. More than 3 out of 5 Muslims report they are “deeply spiritual.” Forty percent say they are social activists, but report a lower sense of peace with life. Most important elements of life are faith and family. Generally conservative on issues of abortion and homosexuality.

Spiritual Skeptics — At 11 percent of the population, and the largest of the non-Christian tribes, they are the least likely to marry; comfortable creating or dealing with conflict; live in the moment; have a feeling of disconnection from other people.

Pantheists — Less than 2 percent of the public. A belief in multiple gods; solitary lifestyle; do not think of God as a personal entity; most are men; of all the tribes, the least concerned with the moral condition of the nation; prone to cohabitation.

Among all of the tribes, Barna finds a vacuum of leadership in the country, or a misguided definition of leadership. Part of the absence of a national transformational figure, he said, comes from the country’s democratic principle that says all voices are equal.

Yet he also noted the downside to having such a person — especially in the religious arena.

“The bigger the numbers, the greater public awareness, and more power. This is also true in politics and in business. There’s not much of an idea of (faith) as a servant activity, to move people in a better direction.”

In the Columbus area, a major teaching especially in business circles is Servant Leadership. In recent months, Barna interviewed Jim Blanchard, retired chairman of Synovus, about the principle that emphasizes teamwork and empowering employees rather than autocratic authoritarian leadership to move the company forward.

Blanchard will be featured among 30 people in Barna’s upcoming book, “The Master Leader,” to be released in Oct. 1. Co-authored with Bill Dallas, others interviewed include politician Newt Gingrich and surgeon Ben Carson.

“I tried to get into their heads about what made them successful as leaders,” said Barna, who heard of Blanchard through leadership guru Ken Blanchard (no relation, and also featured in the book), who has spoken in Columbus.

Meanwhile, “The Seven Faith Tribes,” sobering as it may be in the problems facing the country, offers hope. Barna places responsibility on the millions of people who make up these tribes. He calls for a new identity, a new community and a new ideology.

“Admittedly, diverse faiths (even as distinguished by religion) can create a culture of separation in which fragmentation and compartmentalization become the norm,” Barna writes. “But ironically, when the members of a faith tribe depend on their religious beliefs and spiritual connections to provide positive value, faith actually becomes the path to overcome such alienation and isolation.”

Barna, born in 1955, grew up Catholic in Princeton, N.J. He has a bachelor’s in sociology from Boston College and two master’s degrees from Rutgers University. He also has a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He and his wife have three adopted daughters.

From the article: Among all of the tribes, Barna finds a vacuum of leadership in the country, or a misguided definition of leadership. Part of the absence of a national transformational figure, he said, comes from the country’s democratic principle that says all voices are equal.

From the article: The [seven mentioned] faith groups are not the nation’s seven largest but are rather clusters of movements he’s intrigued by in research.

From the article: Notably, Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are not included in the Christian group, though Mormons call themselves Christian...Barna has heard from the Mormons. “Everybody’s been offended,” said Barna, adding that mail has come from representatives from the other groups as well. “You can’t please everybody when you profile them.”

With this group, he challenges Captive Christians — those who work at integrating their beliefs into all areas of their life — to work with non-Christians in bettering society.

Boy, isn't this liberal speak?!! Barna would have Christians perpetually dancing to whatever tune the atheists want to dream up. Atheists will never have a good opinion of Christians. To an atheist, bettering society now means pushing ObamaCare.

With this group, he challenges Captive Christians — those who work at integrating their beliefs into all areas of their life — to work with non-Christians in bettering society.

Sigh.

Notably, Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are not included in the Christian group, though Mormons call themselves Christian.
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An educated man...

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