George Gallup Jr. has been studying the numbers for a half century and nobody knows better than he does that they just don\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n\n
Most of the familiar, comforting statistics that describe public religion remain remarkably stable from poll to poll. Somewhere around 86 percent of Americans say they believe in God and another 8 percent or so in a \u201chigher power\u201d of some kind. Sixty percent say faith is \u201cvery important\u201d in daily life and another 15 percent say it\u2019s \u201cfairly important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
In the typical poll, around 80 percent identify themselves as some brand of Christian and claim membership in a congregation. Somewhere between 41 and 46 percent of Americans say they attended church or synagogue in the previous week. Can religious faith answer all of today\u2019s problems? Six in 10 say \u201cyes.\u201d Throughout the 1990s, nearly two in three affirmed that \u201cGod really exists and I have no doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
But there is another side of this religion equation, said Gallup, during a recent address at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary outside Boston.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSadly, our society continues to be wracked by domestic problems,\u201d he said. \u201cFour in 10 American children go to bed without a father in the home. One-third of teens have been physically abused in the home. One-fourth of all Americans say that drinking is a problem in their home and half of all marriages this year will end in divorce.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhat lies ahead? Will democracy remain viable? \u2026 How can our faith make a difference? How can it sustain us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n
That final leap of logic \u2014 linking morality, politics and faith \u2014 may seem strange to those who have followed his meticulous work as America\u2019s most trusted brand name in public information and the author of 16 books. But Gallup is convinced that most Americans believe that the state of the nation is closely tied to its spiritual health.<\/p>\n\n
Now, the 74-year-old pollster has officially retired. But this doesn\u2019t mean Gallup will disappear. As a young man with a religion degree from Princeton University, he considered entering the Episcopal priesthood. No one expects him to stop asking questions about the role of faith in American life.<\/p>\n\n
Truth is, Gallup has more questions than answers. But he said being retired will allow him even more time and freedom to discuss the strategies he thinks clergy should adopt if they want to help the faithful follow the doctrines they claim to believe.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSurveys reveal an unprecedented desire for religious and spiritual growth among people in all walks of life and in every region of the nation,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is an intense searching for spiritual moorings, a hunger for God. It is for churches to seize the moment and to direct this often vague and free-floating spirituality into a solid and lived-out faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The key, he said, is that too many pastors naively assume that church members know and understand the core doctrines of their own faith.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFor example, half of all Protestants have no idea whatsoever what the word \u2018grace\u2019 means and what it has to do with their salvation,\u201d he said, in an interview not long after the Massachusetts address. \u201cNow, that\u2019s pretty basic doctrine. Pastors today assume that their people know the basics. They don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Clergy assume that believers are familiar with the contents of those Bibles sitting on their bookshelves. They assume church members understand the teachings of other major religions and can hold thoughtful, respectful conversations about the differences between these faiths.<\/p>\n\n
Many even assume their members sincerely want to repent of their sins, amend their lives and become serious Christians.<\/p>\n\n
Gallup said he is constantly shocked to hear that few pastors ever ask members \u2014 person to person, face to face \u2014 about the status of their faith and personal lives. Many pastors no longer see the need to openly discuss the impact of sin.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSomeone has to challenge people to be true disciples of Christ,\u201d he said. \u201cSomeone has to ask the hard questions. If we don\u2019t talk about the whole dimension of sin, repentance, grace and forgiveness, what is the faith all about? What are we doing? \u2026<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWithout true discipleship, the church can simply turn into a social services agency.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
George Gallup Jr. has been studying the numbers for a half century and nobody knows better than he does that they just don\u2019t add up. Most of the familiar, comforting statistics that describe public religion remain remarkably stable from poll to poll. Somewhere around 86 percent of Americans say they believe in God and another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[216,300,1534,697,794],"class_list":["post-1291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church-life","tag-discipleship","tag-evangelicals","tag-public-faith","tag-sexual-ethics"],"yoast_head":"\n