Majority of Unchurched Claim Christian Faith, Says Barna Survey

A new Barna survey found that 76 million adults in America do not attend church although more than half of the unchurched say they are Christian.

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, March 21, 2006

A new Barna survey found that 76 million adults in America do not attend church although more than half of the unchurched say they are Christian.

Having more than two decades of studies on the unchurched population, the Barna Group surveyed 1,003 adults from across the nation for the latest study and found that 34 percent of the adult population has not attended any type of church service or activity, other than a special event such as a funeral or wedding, during the past six months. And nearly one-quarter say that a person's faith in God is meant to be developed mainly through involvement in a local church.

Denominationally, Catholics made up the largest share of unchurched adults with 29 percent and Baptists followed with 18 percent.

Although unchurched, 77 percent say they are either absolutely or moderately committed to the Christian faith and millions of them engage in spiritual activity during a typical week. Nearly two-thirds pray to God, one-fifth read from the Bible, and five percent participate in a small group for Bible study, prayer or Christian fellowship.

Among the adults disassociated with a conventional church, 66 percent agree that their religious faith is very important in their life today, 50 percent agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches, 51 percent believe that Jesus Christ sinned while he lived on earth, 61 percent say their single, most important purpose in life is to love God with all their heart, mind, strength and soul, 55 percent argue that they are totally committed to having a deeper relationship with God and will do whatever it takes to get and maintain that relationship, and 66 percent say they are completely committed to making the world, and other people's lives, better.

While millions have not attended a church service, some have attended house church meetings. The study also noted that 21 percent are born again Christians and four percent possess a biblical worldview. Geographically, the highest numbers of unchurched adults are in the Northeast and West. People group-wise, more than half of Asians and liberals say they have not attended church.

The study, which was published on Monday, comes a few weeks ahead of one of the Christians' biggest celebrations – Easter.

"Every year, many previously unchurched people return to a church for one or more Easter season services. More often than not, this is the result of one of two motivations: the compelling invitation of a close friend who accompanies them to the service, or a personal crisis that compels them to seek God more fervently," said the research institute founder, George Barna. "Impersonal marketing efforts generally have limited impact in persuading the unchurched to break their normal Sunday morning habits."