US Evangelicals Want To Engage Culture More Than They Actually Do
Evangelicals may be bigger on cultural engagement in theory than in practice. They say they want to share biblical truth but don’t always take the opportunities in front of them. Some don’t even spend time regularly reading Scripture.
A Lifeway Research study sponsored by the Institute for Faith & Culture surveyed 1,000 Americans who say they belong to a Protestant or non-denominational church within the evangelical religious tradition.
More than seven in 10 (72%) say they attend worship services at their church at least monthly, including 59% who attend at least weekly. Another 9% attend several times a year, and 20% say they rarely or never attend.
The study gives a complicated picture of how U.S. evangelicals view and interact with society around them and make personal value decisions. Robert J. Pacienza, Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Founder of the Institute for Faith and Culture, stressed the need for Christians to know and understand the Bible.
“For decades there has been a dearth of prophetic Christian voices in our culture. The North American church exists in a time when biblical literacy is at an all-time low,” said Pacienza. “Without an understanding of Scripture, Christians cannot faithfully engage the culture with a biblical worldview.”
Biblical influence
Evangelicals say they believe the Bible provides answers for personal and societal issues, but many of them aren’t spending consistent time reading it.
More than a third (37%) say they read the Bible daily and 32% say they read it once a week or several times a week. But 13% say they may engage with Scripture once a month or several times a year, and 19% rarely or never read it.
The lack of regular reading doesn’t stop some from espousing support for the Bible’s wisdom and application to their lives. Few say the Bible is a good foundation but not relevant for most daily decisions (20%) or that they have trouble understanding how to apply the Bible’s teaching to important questions in their life (17%). Almost nine in 10 (87%) say only the Bible can define what a life of faith and service to God includes.
When asked what influences how they typically make personal decisions, around half (52%) say the Bible is their primary influence. Close to one in five point to personalities and influencers from social media or the news media (19%) or their own experiences (17%). Fewer say what influences them most is their education, teachers they’ve had or reading they’ve done (5%), friends’ beliefs (4%) or parents’ and family’s beliefs (4%).
“Individuals choose what and who they allow to influence their personal decisions,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Far more evangelicals say only the Bible is capable of defining life than how many actually allow it to define their life decisions.”
Evangelicals don’t only believe the Bible should impact them personally, they see it as valuable for everyone else and a means to better understand the world. Nine in 10 (92%) say Christians have the responsibility to share truth from God’s Word with people holding different views.
Additionally, 93% say it is important to interpret things seen and heard in the world through what Scripture says. Most (56%) always or often test what they see in society against Scripture, including 25% who say they always do so. Another 23% sometimes test what they see with Scripture. Fewer say they do so rarely (9%) or never (7%).
The vast majority believe the Bible speaks to modern issues. Just 13% say the Bible is silent on most of the big questions our society is facing. More than 4 in 5 (83%) disagree.
As a result, 50% of U.S. evangelicals say the Bible is the top influence on how they typically form opinions about solutions to problems in our society. Fewer say they turn first to personalities and influencers (17%), their own experiences (10%) or their political party (10%). Few say they are most influenced by their education (5%), their parents’ or family’s beliefs (5%) or their friends’ beliefs (3%).
Engagement opinions
As they think about taking a biblical influence into broader culture, few evangelicals have thrown in the towel. Around a quarter (24%) say they have given up on the culture and don’t try to influence it in any way, but 70% disagree.
Almost all (97%) say God cares how they engage the world around them. Most U.S. evangelicals see that playing out in how they vote, relate to the government and laws and view their job and coworkers.
Thinking about voting, around 1 in 4 (24%) say God is unconcerned with if or how they vote. As they prepare for an election, 81% say they seek to make voting decisions by applying biblical truth to the issues and candidates.
Most evangelicals hold a high view of their work and those they work with. More than three in four (78%) believe work is a sacred gift from God. Fewer than two in five (38%) feel the only thing they owe people at their job is hard work, while 55% disagree. Almost four in five (79%) say they have an obligation to care for the people they work with.
“While few evangelicals doubt God cares how they engage the world around them, more than 1 in 5 don’t think this applies to voting,” said McConnell. “This discrepancy could lead to different decisions among this minority of evangelicals.”
Desired engagement vs. actual engagement
U.S. evangelicals express a strong desire to engage with those around them and share their beliefs with others, but they admit that doesn’t always happen.
Three in four (75%) say they want to speak up when talking with someone who says something that doesn’t align with Scripture. Nine in 10 (89%) want to promote biblical truths among people they know. Even more (93%) say they want to demonstrate biblical compassion to those outside their church.
When engaged in a conversation with someone who says something that is not biblical, however, only 9% say they always share a biblically informed view in response. More say they often (23%) or sometimes (45%) do so. Fewer say they rarely (16%) or never (6%) reply with what they believe to be a biblical response.
Similarly, 10% say they always seek opportunities to promote the Bible’s perspective on topics knowing they are unpopular. Twice as many say they do so often (20%) and almost four times as many (38%) do so sometimes. Around a quarter (22%) say they rarely seek those opportunities, and 7% never do.
“Promoting biblical truth appears to be much easier for evangelicals when they are among people who agree with them. Far fewer say they regularly give a biblical response in settings where the Bible’s position is not popular,” said McConnell.
Some evangelicals may be more confident in their engagement efforts if they feel better trained and more equipped. Most (56%) say they are willing to discuss biblical truths with people who disagree, but only 27% say they are equipped and 17% say they are eager. Around one in five (21%) say they are reluctant, and 10% feel indifferent.
Fewer than one in five (18%) say they’re ready for any opportunity to share what the Bible says, while 35% say they’re ready for most opportunities. Around one in three (32%) say only feel ready to discuss a few truths they know well. One in 10 (9%) admit they’re not ready for most opportunities, and 5% aren’t ready to share at all.
Still, more than three in four (78%) say their church prepares them to have conversations with people whose views differ from the Bible. Even more (81%) say their church encourages them to have those conversations. Fewer (59%), however, agree their church intentionally creates environments to discuss differences between our culture’s values and the Bible’s.
“There are noticeable differences in the large number of evangelicals who feel responsible to share the Bible’s views than the number who are ready to do so,” said McConnell. “Churches seek to help evangelicals have conversations with people whose views differ from the Bible, but fewer churches discuss the Bible and the culture’s values side-by-side.”
For more information, view the complete report.
Aaron Earlsis the senior writer at Lifeway Research.