{"id":24190,"date":"2016-05-26T05:50:27","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T09:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=24190"},"modified":"2016-05-25T15:33:51","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T19:33:51","slug":"looking-for-a-new-moral-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/05\/looking-for-a-new-moral-code\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for a new moral code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Barna has released a fascinating study on Americans\u2019 moral beliefs. Eighty percent are worried about the nation\u2019s moral condition, and yet there is little consensus about what morality is and how we can know the difference between\u00a0right and wrong.<\/p>\n

A majority believe that this knowledge is\u00a0a matter of personal experience. \u00a0Three-quarters of Millennials believe \u201cWhatever is right for your life or works best for you is the only truth you can know.\u201d\u00a0(I don\u2019t understand how you can get from experience or \u201cwhat works\u201d to moral truth, given the difference between what \u201cis\u201d and what \u201cought to be.\u201d \u00a0And how do you know\u00a0\u201cwhatever is right for your life\u201d? \u00a0Isn\u2019t that the question we are trying to figure out?)\u00a0<\/p>\n

From\u00a0Barna Group \u2013 Knowledge to navigate a changing world<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Christian morality is being ushered out of American social structures and off the cultural main stage, leaving a vacuum in its place\u2014and the broader culture is attempting to fill the void. New research from Barna reveals\u00a0growing concern about the moral condition of the nation, even as many American adults admit they are uncertain about how to determine right from wrong. So what do Americans believe? Is truth relative or absolute? And\u00a0do Christians see truth and morality in radically different ways from the broader public, or are they equally influenced by the growing tide of secularism and religious skepticism?<\/p>\n

A majority of American adults across age group, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and political ideology expresses concern about the nation\u2019s moral condition\u2014eight in 10 overall (80%). The proportion is closer to nine in 10 among Elders (89%) and Boomers (87%), while about three-quarters of Gen-Xers (75%) and Millennials (74%) report concern. Similarly, practicing Christians (90%) are more likely than adults of no faith (67%) or those who identify with a religious faith other than Christianity (72%) to say they are concerned about the moral condition of the nation.\u00a0Though measurable differences exist between population segments, moral concern is widespread across the demographic board.<\/p>\n

Much less widespread, however, is consensus on morality itself. What is it based on? Where does it come from? How can someone know what to do when making moral decisions?\u00a0According to a majority of American\u00a0adults (57%), knowing what is right or wrong is a matter of personal experience. This view is much more prevalent among younger generations than among older adults. Three-quarters of Millennials (74%) agree strongly or somewhat with the statement, \u201cWhatever is right for your life or works best for you is the only truth you can know,\u201d compared to only 38 percent of Elders. And Millennials (31%) are three times more likely than Elders (10%) and twice as likely as Boomers (16%) and Gen-Xers (16%) to strongly<\/em> agree with the statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From Source: Barna Group \u2013 Knowledge to navigate a changing world<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Follow the link to some very telling charts, especially the one about \u201cThe Morality of Self-Fulfillment.\u201d \u00a0Notice how many Christians are just as subjective and self-absorbed as the general public.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barna has released a fascinating study on Americans\u2019 moral beliefs. Eighty percent are worried about the nation\u2019s moral condition, and yet there is little consensus about what morality is and how we can know the difference between\u00a0right and wrong. A majority believe that this knowledge is\u00a0a matter of personal experience. \u00a0Three-quarters of Millennials believe \u201cWhatever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,42],"tags":[4539,3659,1490],"class_list":["post-24190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-ethics","category-social-science","tag-ethical-beliefs","tag-moral-relativism","tag-morality"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking for a new moral code<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Barna has released a fascinating study on Americans' moral beliefs. 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