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Steep Decline in Practicing Christians Will Have Major Repercussions for Church Leaders: Study
The Christian Post ^ | 3/8/20 | Leah MarieAnn Klett

Posted on 03/09/2020 6:50:48 PM PDT by marshmallow

New research from the Barna Group found that the share of practicing Christians in the United States has nearly dropped in half over the last two decades — a shift the group warns will have “major repercussions” for church leaders.

The latest research from the evangelical Christian polling firm, which examined the role of Christianity in the American Church, reveals that that just 25 percent of Americans are practicing Christians, compared to 45 percent in 2000.

Barna defines a “practicing Christian” as someone who identifies as a Christian, agrees strongly that faith is very important in their lives and has attended church within the past month.

According to Barna, half of those who identified as practicing Christians in 2000 fell away from consistent faith engagement, essentially becoming non-practicing Christians (2000: 35 percent vs. 2020: 43 percent), while the other half moved into the non-Christian segment (2000: 20 percent vs. 2019: 30 percent).

David Kinnaman, president of Barna, said the findings indicate a “major reshuffling of Americans' spiritual lives.”

“Monthly, committed churchgoers are now about half as common as they were two decades ago,” he said. “This shift has major repercussions for church leaders as there is increased struggle to attract and retain the active segment of churchgoers.”

The findings are part of the State of the Church 2020 study, a year-long examination of the spiritual and religious trends that define American life these days. For the report, Barna explored data collected among 96,171 surveys over more than 20 years.

The report also found that while 36 percent fewer Americans attended church weekly in 2020 than in 1993, consistency of Bible reading has remained steady for nearly a decade. Nearly the same percent of U.S. adults today report reading their Bibles weekly as did in 1993 (2020: 35 percent......

(Excerpt) Read more at christianpost.com ...


TOPICS: Current Events; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: christian
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1 posted on 03/09/2020 6:50:49 PM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

The church of Laodecia, the twilight years.


2 posted on 03/09/2020 6:51:56 PM PDT by Karliner (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28 Isa 17 "This is the end of the beginning" W Churchill)
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To: marshmallow
Steep Decline in Practicing Christians Will Have Major Repercussions for Church Leaders: Study

When the church stands for nothing and bends to every social fad; People lose faith in the church as an institution. I'll send you bill for that study.
3 posted on 03/09/2020 6:53:51 PM PDT by JoSixChip (I'm an American Nationalist)
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To: marshmallow
Steep Decline in Practicing Christians Will Have Major Repercussions for Church Leaders: Study

I would have written the headline somewhat differently, but given the mob mentality on the loose today, I understand.

4 posted on 03/09/2020 6:55:16 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrats' John Dean])
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To: JoSixChip

That’s what I was thinking.


5 posted on 03/09/2020 6:56:42 PM PDT by Sans-Culotte (With every passing day, I am a little bit gladder that Romney lost in 2012.)
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To: marshmallow; Karliner

Yeah but the Church of Philadelphia is beginning a revival - the Grace Revolution is underway and the power of the gospel is going to rise quickly I believe. An end-time worldwide in-gathering of souls is about to take place. I think great blessings are in store for many.


6 posted on 03/09/2020 6:58:20 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: JoSixChip

The report also found that while 36 percent fewer Americans attended church weekly in 2020 than in 1993, consistency of Bible reading has remained steady for nearly a decade.


There was an alternative headline..................


7 posted on 03/09/2020 6:58:29 PM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: marshmallow

That means fewer people to fleece. Less new cars and swimming pools!


8 posted on 03/09/2020 6:58:49 PM PDT by DariusBane (Liberty and Risk. Flip sides of the same coin. So how much risk will YOU accept? Vive Deo et Vives)
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To: marshmallow

Not hijacking here, but how many infants who would have grown up to become Christians - and have an impact on the lives of those around them - have been lost to abortion?


9 posted on 03/09/2020 7:06:29 PM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (A law means nothing if it isnÂ’t followed.)
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To: DariusBane

I find your response cynical but sadly spit on in too many cases.

The few charlatans give the many good sincere ones a bad name - and harm the true cause of Christianity.


10 posted on 03/09/2020 7:09:02 PM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (A law means nothing if it isnÂ’t followed.)
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To: PeterPrinciple

That caught my eye as well.


11 posted on 03/09/2020 7:15:21 PM PDT by ameribbean expat (Attention! All persons having the corona virus...please report to the nearest IRS office. Thank you.)
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To: marshmallow

I have a hunch significant parts of it are divorced guys disappearing and faggot hugging leaders.


12 posted on 03/09/2020 7:29:54 PM PDT by polymuser (It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and so few by deceit. Noel Coward)
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To: Karliner
The church of Laodecia, the twilight years.

Would that Americans be EVEN lukewarm!

Besides, these results are PROBABLY from a survey and we ALL remember the validity of surveys from our Statistics 1 course. SURVEYS are the very LEAST reliable source of informantion.

13 posted on 03/09/2020 7:34:16 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: Quality_Not_Quantity
Not hijacking here, but how many infants who would have grown up to become Christians - and have an impact on the lives of those around them - have been lost to abortion?

Any female who would put her very own baby to death doesn't deserve much sympathy.
But, you are correct, Q_N_Q. We don't know about those murdered babies.

I remember that the great German composer Beethoven was from a family with horrible hearing problems. If Mrs. Beethoven had decided NOT to have another deaf/hearing impared baby she might have aborted one of THE greatest composers of all time.

Beethoven wrote his ninth (and final) symphony STONE COLD DEAF! He could "hear" the music in his mind.

14 posted on 03/09/2020 7:39:24 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: marshmallow

bullshit article


15 posted on 03/09/2020 8:05:20 PM PDT by Wpin ("I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny...")
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To: marshmallow

The devil is making strides for sure. Additionally, churches have stopped preaching the full gospel, and only preaching love, love, love. Who needs to show up to church to hear that!?
It’s a sad state of affairs.


16 posted on 03/09/2020 8:06:40 PM PDT by vpintheak (Leftists are full of "Love, peace" and bovine squeeze.)
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To: marshmallow

The steepest decline in practicing Christians in the United States happened in the sixties through the nineties.

They attended church but they didn’t practice anything in their daily lives, didn’t have a relationship with Christ, and pawned their children off on an endless succession of secular activities while providing them with no biblical foundation to speak of.


17 posted on 03/09/2020 8:09:47 PM PDT by MrEdd (Caveat Emptor)
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To: Jim W N

There will be small revivals but over all Christian churches have become lukewarm. There hasn’t been a real revival since the late sixties in to the seventies. Even then pastors were calling those days the church of Laodecia rising. I’ll grant churches will be Holy Spirit filled until the harpazo.

Abortion and immorality are seriously rampant. These are the days of Noah revisited.


18 posted on 03/09/2020 8:19:38 PM PDT by Karliner (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28 Isa 17 "This is the end of the beginning" W Churchill)
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To: marshmallow

Over same time period most denominations have been homosexualized.


19 posted on 03/09/2020 8:31:38 PM PDT by inchworm (al)
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To: marshmallow

If you are in a denomination that is controlled by homosexuals, lesbians and leftist activists, yes you are going to have a problem.


20 posted on 03/09/2020 8:37:29 PM PDT by kaehurowing
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