A recent Pew poll was released, which found that 80% of US adults say the role of religion in American life is shrinking, compared to 74% in 2022. And while there was some good news, most of it was bad news, showing that we We live in a world of “religious emotional” culture that does not care about the things of God. The survey was conducted February 13-25, 2024, among a representative U.S. population sample of 12,693 U.S. adults.
Every person has a religion, and every person has a worldview based on (assumptions) that determines how they deal with life.
Now let me repeat what I say over and over again, which is that every person has a religion, and every person has a worldview built on foundations (assumptions) that determine how they approach life. So usually when people talk about the role of religion, they are referring to Christians who believe in God or Christ MachineOr a religious sect of some kind. But no one is actually without religion. Having said that, let's look at the results of this survey.
Now, in contrast to our usual method of presenting the bad news first (corruption, disaster, confusion) and then the good news (Christ, the cross, consummation), in this survey we will reverse that and start with the “good” news.
- Overall, 57% of US adults believe that the influence of religion in society is a good thing.
But even this may not be “good” when we consider that Satanism, Wicca, and other false religions similar to Christianity fall under this broad umbrella.
- Nearly 94% say it is “very” or “somewhat” important to have a president who personally lives an ethical and moral life.
Again, these are broad terms, and the Pharisees of Jesus' time were saying the same thing, relying only on outward appearances.
- Overall, 49% of US adults said that religion is losing influence and that this is a bad thing.
- About 48% of U.S. adults said there was “a great deal” or “some” conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream American culture.
In fact, this may be the “best” good news from the survey. Jesus said to his disciples: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). And the Apostle John said: “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” (1 John 3:13).
But there was a lot of bad news revealed in this survey. Although it may not seem that way on the surface.
- Only 28% of US adults say that the Bible should have influence over American laws and that it should take precedence over the will of the people when they conflict.
In other words, the word of man should prevail over the word of God.
- Unfortunately, 41% say it's best to avoid discussing religion at all if someone disagrees with you.
I can't help but think of Peter and John's response to the Sanhedrin when they were told not to talk about Jesus (Acts 4:18-20) or of the apostle Paul describing how he persevered in presenting the gospel in the face of adversity (2 Corinthians). 11: 24-26).
- Only 5% say that the best approach when discussing religion is to try to convince the other person to change their mind.
This means that 95% of the people would strongly reject Peter's Pentecost speech in Acts 2, Stephen's speech in Acts 7, and Paul's defense of Mars Hill in Acts 17.
- There is almost no desire to try to change someone's mind about religion among any of the religious groups analyzed in the survey, with the percentage peaking at just 14% among evangelical Protestants.
This is probably the worst bad news. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) has been ignored, Paul's passionate statement in Romans 1:16 about the gospel has been ignored, and today's theme is the same spiritual contentment that Solomon and Actions (Proverbs) wrote about. 16:2, 21:2, 30:12) and in the period of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what seemed right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6).
At first glance, these survey results seem “good” or “encouraging,” but in most cases they are not. They speak to a society that rejects God but is comfortable with their own self-made idols.
At first glance, these survey results seem “good” or “encouraging,” but in most cases they are not. They speak to a society that rejects Machine But they are comfortable with the idols they have created themselves. Those who state that “religion is losing its influence and that is a bad thing,” if they are talking about true Christianity, are right, and Paul described (in Romans 1:18-32) what the outcome would be for those who suppress knowledge. to Machine. I challenge you to read these verses and compare them to the culture we live in!
Get more answers on Answers News
This item was discussed on Monday Answers News With participants Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. Tim Chaffee, and Patricia Engler. Answers News is our weekly news show filmed live in front of a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on the Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and syndicated on Answers TV. We also discussed the following topics:
- Has development slowed down for some fish?
- Does marriage reinforce white supremacy?
- Are abortion numbers on the rise?
- And more!
Watch the full episode of Answers News for March 25, 2024.
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Thank you for stopping by and thank you for praying
Ken
This article was written with the help of the AiG research team.
