New Barna Survey Finds Most Americans Baffled by 'Holiness'
A new nationwide survey released Monday by The Barna Group indicates that most adults are unclear on the concept of holiness, with Evangelicals faring slightly better.
A new nationwide survey released Monday by The Barna Group indicates that most adults are unclear on the concept of holiness, with Evangelicals faring slightly better than the national average.
The telephone survey of 1,003 Americans in January finds that only one-third of Americans contend that “God expects you to become holy,” and 46 percent believe God has called them to holiness. Young adults (39 years old or younger) are less likely to believe that God expects holiness.
Seventy-three percent of all adults believe that it is possible for someone to become holy, regardless of their past, and 21 percent believe themselves to be holy. Approximately half say they know someone they consider to be holy. Born again Christians average a few more percentage points higher on all three measures of holiness.
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The founder of the research institute, George Barna, said that holiness is a matter embraced by the Christian Church, but not many Americans focus on it in their faith development.
“Realize that the results portray a body of Christians who attend church and read the Bible, but do not understand the concept or significance of holiness, do not personally desire to be holy, and therefore do little, if anything to pursue it," he said. "However, the data identify a remnant that understands holiness, wants to live a holy life, and is engaged in its pursuit."
According to a statement accompanying the statistics, the concept of holiness is woven throughout the Bible and is one of the foundational teachings of many Protestant churches. From Old Testament passages such as Leviticus 19:2 (in which God says, “Be holy because I am holy”) through the more than two-dozen times in the New Testament where God’s people are described as holy, there is “little doubt” that holiness is a central tenet of the Christian faith.
However, the survey indicates that most adults remain “confused, if not daunted, by the concept.”
Many adults describe holiness as possessing a positive attitude toward God and life. Adults who think of holiness as a spiritual condition are among the least likely to identify anyone they know as holy.
When asked what makes up holiness, 21 percent answered, “I don’t know." Other responses fell into categories such as “being Christ-like” (19 percent), making faith your top priority in life (18 percent), living a pure or sinless lifestyle (12 percent), and having a good attitude about people and life (10 percent).
Categories receiving still smaller percentages included focusing completely on God (9 percent), being guided by the Holy Spirit (9 percent), being born again (8 percent), reflecting the character of God (7 percent), exhibiting a moral lifestyle (5 percent), and accepting and practicing biblical truth (5 percent).
Barna believes that in order for the nation’s Christian ministries to foster a genuine hunger for holiness, “we must move them away from a 'cheap grace' theology and replace people's self-absorption with focus on God and His ways.”
The researcher believes a better understanding of the Bible is needed.
"To help them pursue holiness,” he said, “we must help them comprehend and accept biblical theology regarding God, Satan, the purposes of life on earth, the nature of spiritual transformation and maturity, and the necessity of bearing spiritual fruit.”
