Casual Christians dominate the nation

I preached nearly every Sunday for 50 years. I seldom preached the same sermon twice. Curious people have often asked, “How do you come up with a fresh sermon every week?”  (I confess I have laid an egg or two.) The answer is simple. I read a lot. I continue to read a lot, and I am never in need of material for another column. I am an unabashed borrower of ideas and information.

One of my treasured information resources is The Barna Group. George Barna established his research group about 25 years ago. His special research interest is religion in America. He comes out of the Evangelical world of the last half of the 20th century. His organization is highly respected.

Researchers like Barna stand in a unique and powerful position. They place themselves in the position to formulate and choose the questions to be asked. When in graduate school I was required to study research and statistics. Above everything else, I learned one fact. The person asking the questions controls the discussion. George Barna’s latest book illustrates the point.

The title of Mr. Barna’s book is “The Seven Faith Tribes:  Who They Are, What They Believe, and Why They Matter.” The book reports the results of the polling of 30,000 Americans. That is a huge sampling with which to work. I am confident the 30,000 Americans were scientifically selected. George Barna knows the rules of good research. Mr. Barna had a grasp of the phenomenon at which he was looking. He formulated the questions that were to be asked. The book that reports the findings is uniquely his own and the conclusions are his own. His conclusions are worthy of a close look.

Barna divides the American population into seven “tribes.” The largest tribe is Casual Christians. Others are Captive Christians, Mormons, Jews, Pantheists, Muslims and Skeptics. Barna is especially interested in Casual Christians because they compose 66 percent of the American population. Because they are so huge in number, it is possible that this group can dominate American life.

The Casual Christian tribe cuts across many identification lines. The Casual Christian may be Mainline Protestant, Pentecostal, Evangelical or Roman Catholic. I believe this insight is the great value of Barna’s research. The functional differences among Christians are found within religious groups, not between religious groups.

Barna sees Casual Christianity as faith in moderation. It allows people to feel religious without giving priority to their faith. For them Christianity is low-risk and predictable. It guides, but does not demand. Casual Christians are good people by most anyone’s definition. They are nice people. They are good employees. They value family. They seldom feel a necessity to defend or represent their faith in public. They do not lose sleep over their personal choices. Daily they do their best. Casual Christianity is the best of all worlds. It encourages them to be better persons than if they were irreligious. Yet it is a faith into which they are not heavily invested.

People are attracted to this lifestyle because it is comfortable. Casual Christianity fulfills a person’s inner need to have a connection with some sort of deity and to live as a decent faith-friendly citizen.

In some respects, the Casual Christian is very good for America. They tend to be good, law abiding people. They are cooperators and compromisers. They tend to be pliable in moral discussions 

Barna sees this particular tribe as enormously important for America because they are very open to change. Large portions of the Casual Christian tribe can be motivated and moved by a strong leader.

The other six tribes are not so pliable. While they are complex in their make-up, some simple observations are valid. Captive Christians (16 percent) are focused on upholding the absolute moral and spiritual truths they glean from the Bible. Jews have an incredible sense of community with Jews around the world. Mormons have established an identity with strong, family centered life. Pantheists are identified with their embracing of oneness with the universe. Muslims have a profound commitment to faith-driven behavioral standards. Skeptics are highly independent and cherish free thinking.

All of these groups would probably reject these one-line descriptions, and rightly so. Each is complex and robust. However, the one-line descriptions do relate to their heartbeats. They all have a firmness that is unnatural to the Casual Christian.

We should never forget that minority groups have the power to bring about significant change. The level of commitment found in minority groups is truly phenomenal. The present conflict in California over marriage rights for gay people pits Captive Christians, a religious minority, against a secular minority, the gay population. Both are appealing to the Casual Christian for support. Which side will win is still an open question.

I believe George Barna has creatively defined the religious dynamics that face America in the 21st century.

From the George Barna perspective, is there any hope that these seven tribes can relate to one another in a creative manner? Barna says “possible, but I am not confident.”

According to Barna, the outcome is dependent upon the leadership we receive. Can the nation focus on what matters and rally around a shared vision of the common good that all seven tribes can embrace?

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.