After a series of telephone interviews conducted in October, The Barna Group determined that much confusion surrounds what it really means to call oneself a “born-again Christian” in America.
Research indicated that the terminology used by followers of Jesus Christ reflects a variety of meanings, Barna said. While the most widely held description is simply “Christian,” “that term represents a segment of adults who engage in less religious activity and possess less orthodox views than do people who associate themselves with other descriptions.”
Although 80 percent of adults in the United States call themselves “Christian,” Barna found that 68 percent, or two out of three adults, consider themselves “a committed Christian” and 45 percent use the phrase “born-again Christian.”
Barna discovered that one-quarter of those who call themselves born again did not meet The Barna Group criteria for born again, generally meaning they rely upon something other than God’s grace as their means to salvation.
The standard Barna uses to determine whether a person is born again is if they claim they will go to heaven after they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The research suggests that phrases do not necessarily possess universally understood meaning, Barna said in a late-November news release.
“With more than 250 Protestant denominations in the United States and the increasing diversity and customization within the spiritual realm, it’s not surprising that there is very limited common understanding with such language,” said George Barna, directing leader of The Barna Group. “The challenge may be to avoid reliance on labels and brief adjectives as religious profiles.
“In our sound-bite society, with everyone moving quickly and making snap judgments, the temptation is to rely upon simple characterizations to provide a broad perspective on who a person is and what they represent.” (BP)
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