That was the subject of a Barna poll back in 2003. The poll discovered that only 4% of all adults held a biblical world view. See the article for the definitions they used.
https://www.barna.com/research/a-biblical-worldview-has-a-radical-effect-on-a-persons-life/
Well a new study has now determined that — oh wait — it’s now 1 out of 10? The study is reported on by the same researcher at…
But instead of celebrating what looks to be a clear *doubling* of progress *INCREASING* a Christian worldview, the article portrays it in the worst light possible. Help me out here. What am I missing? Wouldn’t 1 out of 10 be a 150% leap *forward* in progress — in less than 15 years?
The problem with these articles is that they’re measuring something that’s very biased and culturally skewed. My guess is that the two polls are divided by content, not just time. In the first article: “Whites (5%) were slightly more likely than either blacks (3%) or Hispanics (3%) to hold this ideology. One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a biblical worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%).”
I wonder how many non-white people were the engineers of this test of a biblical worldview. Does a biblical worldview narrow the culture and practices of conservative white evangelical Christians? What about believing and practicing Catholics? Those who are protestants, but not evangelical? And what about the very Christian– but very different– worldview of Black, Hispanic, and Asian Christians? How much of the “Biblical Worldview” that they’re testing for is actually American Evangelical? As a former language surveyor, I find it very suspicious. No matter how you swing it, there’s no posture from which one can test for this and NOT come out with a skewed answer.
I love the disclaimer Barna gives at the end, basically saying that the study doesn’t really prove anything: ‘”Any time you attempt to measure people’s worldview or spiritual standing, you have to tread carefully. We recognize that this research provides an estimate, not an absolute. Only God really knows who is a Christian. Only He knows who has a biblical worldview. God alone knows what’s in the mind and heart of each person,” Barna said in response to potential criticisms of the study.’