Posted on 03/19/2016 7:24:29 PM PDT by daisy12
Society is undergoing a change of mind about the way religion and people of faith intersect with public life. That is, there are intensifying perceptions that faith is at the root of a vast number of societal ills.
Though it remains the nation’s most dominant religion, Christianity faces significant headwind in the court of public opinion. The decades-old trend that Christianity is irrelevant is increasingly giving way to the notion that Christianity is bad for society.
A new major study conducted by Barna Group, and explored in the new book Good Faith, co-authored by Barna president David Kinnaman, examines society’s current perceptions of faith and Christianity. In sum, faith and religion and Christianity are viewed by millions of adults to be extremist.
(Excerpt) Read more at barna.org ...
LOL. Wait until the Muslims get through with us.
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."--Matthew 10:34
3. The range of what constitutes extremism is broad, ranging from behaviors that are almost universally condemned to more narrowly defined extremism.
What actions and beliefs, exactly, come to mind when people think about religious extremism? The researchers examined more than 20 different activities and beliefs, asking a random, representative sample of U.S. adults to identify the degree to which each of those activities appeared extreme. The results essentially fall into four categories, as shown in the infographic below.
•Category 1 included those actions widely considered to be extreme by at least four in five adults in the U.S. This involved using religion to justify violence, refusing standard medical care for children, and refusing to serve a customer whose lifestyle conflicted with their beliefs. For the most part, these three elements were viewed to be extreme by a majority of all demographic segments as well.
•Category 2 were activities and beliefs marked as extremist by at least half, but less than 80% of the public. Eight different factors qualified for this level, ranging from demonstrating outside an organization they consider immoral and protesting government policies that conflict with religious views. Many of these factors related to the claims of faith in the public square—that is, how religious people might interact on social issues and government policies.
•Category 3 included factors that generated extremist concerns among at least one out of five adults, though they are not currently rated as extreme by more than 50% of adults. This group of concerns was populated by elements that are more distinctive to various religious traditions, such as speaking in tongues (characteristic of Pentecostal and charismatic believers), wearing special clothes or head coverings (e.g., Muslim women), and adhering to special dietary restrictions (such as Mormons, Catholics, Jews, and Adventists). [Note: specific religious connections were not provided to respondents.]
•Category 4 was only occasionally indicated as extremist, generating concerns among at least one in 16 adults, but fewer than one-fifth of Americans. However, when calculated on the basis of the entire population, these perceptions represent significant numbers of adults who indicate anxiety about these kinds of religious expression. These factors include reading sacred literature (either the Bible or Koran) in public as well as donating money to or attending a religious institution. Again, these are low on the list of extremism, however, for many Americans even these conventional activities are viewed to be extreme.
I will end up in the camps someday.
I'd like to know what percentage of that same group perceives Islam to be extremist. I'd bet lower than 40%. Perhaps way lower.
(W)hereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the LORD.I see nobody saying words like this today, whether in power or vying for it.
— Abraham Lincoln, paraphrasing Psalm 33:12
2. Nearly half of non-religious adults perceive Christianity to be extremist.
I’d like to know what percentage of that same group perceives Islam to be extremist. I’d bet lower than 40%. Perhaps way lower.
I would think 15-20%.
Looks like I am an “extremist” ping.
Am I the only person reading this post that finds it odd how Christians aren’t asked what they believe extremist behavior to be?
I’d certainly be interested in contributing to that study!
I have some notions of what constitutes “extremist” behavior!
And, I’d be happy to share them.
20 -49% consider fasting or waiting to have sex after marriage “very or somewhat extreme.”
6 - 19% considering giving money to a religious institution, attending church weekly or volunteering to help someone in need to be “very or somewhat extreme.”
Fork. society. done.
Heard someone speaking on a Christian radio program. It may have been Focus on the Family, but I’m not sure.
He talked about how Christians have retreated from standing up for themselves in this culture, not to mention how we don’t even carry out The Great Commission of winning people to Jesus.
He said we gotta get in the game.
To destroy the fears that we Christians have while just thinking of doing this in our current culture, he said we should think of ourselves as football players.
Football players enter the game knowing they will hit and get hit. It’s just the nature of the game. However, they are in it to win.
We Christians must enter the culture war with the same mindframe, because getting hit is in the nature of this game, but it’s mainly about winning. In this case, winning back souls.
The guy ephasized though that we must do so according to Jesus’s principles: Play the game out of compassion.
Such a great encouraging way of viewing our walk with Christ.
Love your post.
Exactly right.
It is a mind-blowing way of looking at Evangelism.
I was running some errands and heard only a part of what he said while driving. I wanted to hear the whole thing, at least to get the guy’s name so I could research more of his works, but the errands couldn’t wait.
But God let me hear what I needed to hear while listening to the guy. What I was able to hear was good enough.
Wow. The study didn’t even mention these:
1. Evangelicals believe that people who don’t choose Jesus as Savior are going to hell (we get real bad grades for this one; good thing the haters don’t give my final grade!). For this, I believe, no evangelical can ever be elected to the Presidency, nor confirmed to the Supreme Court. We’ve never had either, and I say it seems even less possible now. We are marginalized and in a way that makes us 2nd-class citizens. Sorry to say.
2. Most evangelicals believe that the prophecies about Armageddon are very real, and will unfold in due time. For this, we are REALLY ostracized; I mean, who wants one of us evangelicals to be President knowing that one of us might try to engineer Armageddon and just get it over with? I am serious; they really think this of us!
3. Evangelicals mostly believe in Creationism, as opposed to evolution; evangelicals mostly take the Bible literally enough to believe in the Biblical Flood.
Many of our detractors consider us child-abusers, for all of the above, and more (such as, some of us still spank).
Very surprised that these, which are what detractors think of first when they opine about us.
Sodomy is not compatible with Christianity.
Its funny that not all that long ago most of these things would have been considered “normal”, or at most “normal for a religious person”. Growing up in the 50s and 60s, I can’t remember even thinking of religion as “extreme”, except for the really “out there” stuff like speaking in tongues. Catholic schools were taught by nuns who wore the traditional habit and no one gave a thought to this being “special clothing” or extreme. It was perfectly normal.
Nothing new about it. Just something that has worked its way through society since the ‘60s. Lots hate Christians because they refuse to go away. Pretty much the same way they feel about Jews. Right now they condescend to Muslims because they are after all, anti-Jewish and anti-Christian. They are so sure that they will be able to control the Muslims as their zeal dies. Somewhat as the German big shots thought they could handle Hitler.
So what to do? Keep the faith and finds leaders you can trust.
Time to put on the helmet of salvation!
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