Churchgoing Has No Effect On 50% Of Americans, According To Survey

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

(RNS) Almost half of churchgoing Americans say their life has not changed a bit due to their time in the pews, a new survey shows.

Barna Group, an evangelical company based in California, found that 46 percent reported no change. About a quarter of Americans said their life was greatly affected by church attendance and another quarter said it was somewhat influential.

Two-thirds of respondents said they had felt "a real and personal connection" with God while attending church.

Among weekly church attenders, 44 percent said they felt God's presence every week and 18 percent said they had that experience once a month.

In a finding sure to disappoint pastors, three out of five church attenders said they could not recall an important new religious insight from their last church visit. Of those who attended in the previous week, 50 percent could not recall walking away with a significant new understanding.

David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, said the research shows that many churchgoers see the benefits of connecting with God and others in congregations.

"Yet, the research results are also a reminder that faith leaders cannot take these things for granted," he said. "Millions of active participants find their church experiences to be lacking."

The survey results are based on a random sample of 1,022 adults and have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Comments

[soma77]

09:19 PM on 01/25/2012

The church has become a corporation that uses people for position, wealth and power. They are a pac that promotes political candidates. I feel people are damaged by the institution undermining their spiritual progress.

[Razpooten]

09:51 PM on 01/22/2012

Walking away from churs with euphoria is called mass delusion.

[Razpooten]

09:37 PM on 01/22/2012

If you have doubts about prayer ask governor Perry; he prayed for rain and got fire.

[nerak kneeling]

03:15 AM on 01/21/2012

joe . Bowers , you certainly have the right to your opinion. as do I . I read scripture for 4 yrs . nothing has ever made more sense to me , as the bible does say , some have eyes to see and others are blind. for some reason treating people the way I would like to be treated sounded very good to me , and I must agree. love your neighbor as yourself . ? whats wrong with that . we all need to be accepting of one another and agree to disagree too ..without beating each other up . I want a world of peace , and Jesus showed me how to achieve that . I hope someday you'll see it too.

[AdamWest1313]

09:47 PM on 01/22/2012

People start getting iffy around Gensis or Leviticus...

[nerak kneeling]

10:09 PM on 01/22/2012

again , you look at old testament ,, a Christians covenant is with the new ,, . there is a difference between statutes and ordinances and law .. check it out .. you want to interject old testament discrimination against womaen , when Jesus denounces such a mentality . . please read scripture again , and ask the holy spirit for guidance .. you need no one else. .............. nerak.

[nerak kneeling]

10:43 PM on 01/22/2012

quite common ,, read on , it slowly culminates into and undeniable thought provoking truth .. ask C,S.LEWIS..............

[Joe Bowers]

01:23 AM on 01/21/2012

Ask yourself this simple question: Why, when you read the Bible, are you not left in awe? Why doesn't a book written by an omniscient being leave you with a sense of wonder and amazement? If you are reading a book written by the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving creator of the universe, wouldn't you expect to be stunned by the brilliance, the clarity and the wisdom of the author? Would you not expect each new page to intoxicate you with its incredible prose and its spectacular insight? Wouldn't you expect the author to tell us things that scientists have not been able to discover yet?

Yet, when we open the Bible and actually read it, we find it is nothing like that at all. Instead of leaving us in awe, it leaves us dumbfounded by all of the nonsense and backwardness that it contains. If you read what the Bible actually says, you find that the Bible is ridiculous. If we are honest with ourselves, it is obvious that an "all-knowing" God had absolutely nothing to do with this book.

The reason why the Bible contains so much nonsense is because God is imaginary. The Bible is a book written thousands of years ago by primitive men. A book that advocates senseless murder, slavery and the oppression of women has no place in our society today.

[Razpooten]

09:40 PM on 01/22/2012

You are correct for the most part. The bible does have scientific information and guidelines for peaceful living. However, it has been convoluted to the degree that it is mind-boggling not in its enormity but in the way the scriputures have been corruped for selfish means.

[Vlad Roudenko]

11:10 PM on 01/22/2012

"However, it has been convoluted to the degree that it is mind-boggl­ing not in its enormity but in the way the scriputure­s have been corruped for selfish means."

Finally some sense and reason on this thread:))) The whole of New Testament can be reduced to probably a few pages. What really counts are the words in red (words of Jesus) The rest is where most of the problems and contradictions begin.

The words which are attributed to the followers of Jesus create much confusion and contradiction. Some claim really absurd things, like people not being under law but under grace or that one can take on sins of another. Others seem to suggest that Jesus and God are one, or at the very least that Jesus is the son of God. The only new thing that Jesus proposes is exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (even more righteous living).One certainly can't argue against that.

[Joe Bowers]

01:21 AM on 01/21/2012

Christians, read your bibles! The world needs more atheists.

I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent.[1 Timothy, chapter 2]

God is sexist, is this a god worth worshipping?

[nerak kneeling]

03:19 AM on 01/21/2012

the new testament teaches men to love their wives as Christ loved the church , and he died for her,, and if a mans head is Christ and a womans head her husband , but the man follows Christ , well I would certainly follow my husband , because he is following God, a win win situation for me . maybe thats why we have a wonderful marriage now for 20 yrs. ??????????? we listen to God , not our own vain imaginings .

[Joe Bowers]

06:25 AM on 01/21/2012

God IS your own vain imagining. A dillusion you share with many others, but no less imaginary.

[Joe Bowers]

06:29 AM on 01/21/2012

Also, who is more foolish, the man who believes in fairy tales or the woman who believes in the man who believes in fairy tales?

[Darr Sandberg]

06:33 PM on 01/22/2012

"The world needs more atheists."

Yeah, that has worked so well. Just ask the Stasi.

Or their victims.

[Joe Bowers]

01:18 AM on 01/21/2012

Christians, read your bibles! The world needs more atheists.

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them. [Leviticus, chapter 20]

Homosexuals are born gay, it isn't a choice, but God wants them put to death. Is this a God worth worshipping?

[Darr Sandberg]

06:38 PM on 01/22/2012

One of the current crimes of atheism is that it promotes anti-gay theology, and endangers GLBTQ people, in order to have ammunition against people of faith.

Since gay men do not, by definition, have sex with men as if with a woman, promoting this false interpretation simply indicates that at least one atheist is willing discard reason to promote his prejudice.

[Zippy1169]

09:40 PM on 01/22/2012

I don't think Atheist need to promote anti gay theology. This is being done quite well by the hateful Religious Right.

[Razpooten]

09:43 PM on 01/22/2012

The "if a man lies with a woman..." is a major misinterpretations - it more aply says if a man lies in a woman's bed. Women at that time had beds made in a certain way that men were not to use.

[Joe Bowers]

01:16 AM on 01/21/2012

Christians, read your bibles! The world needs more atheists.

When a slave-owner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives for a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner's property. [Exodus, chapter 21]

God has no problem with slavery, beating slaves, or selling your own daughters into slavery! Is this a God worth worshipping?

[Godsvoice]

05:27 PM on 01/20/2012

When you have a real relationship with Christ you will always go to the sanctuary with expectation, when I attend church I can't wait for everyone else to get with me in order for me to fell fulfilled. The bible says "enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise, be thankful unto him and bless his name, for the Lord is good and his mercy endureth for and his truth endures to all generations" Ps. 100:4-5
God is not a quick fix, he requires relationship, which involves intimacy, which is something essential that is missing in this day and age. If we stop treating him as a one night stand and start treating him as the Savior of the world, we would always receive something in his presence; (EVERYDAY!! and not just on Sunday morning for an hour.)
"You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore" Ps.16:11

[Razpooten]

09:45 PM on 01/22/2012

Therein lies the problem; Christians can't follow the teachings of Christ; it's all a give me - save me - forgive me, thing.

[Vlad Roudenko]

11:16 PM on 01/22/2012

But those teachings are not that hard to follow! Laziness is a huge problem in the church.

[Godsvoice]

01:21 AM on 01/23/2012

The whole point of Jesus dying on the cross was for the sins of the world to be forgiven, and for us to be reconciled back to Christ, because sin has separated us. If we can not go to him and ask for forgiveness or salvation, what's the point?

[cris robin]

09:54 PM on 01/22/2012

shut your pie hole .. your preaching is stupic

[Godsvoice]

01:19 AM on 01/23/2012

Who exactly are you talking to? I'm confused.. If you are talking to me, I am simply stating my opinion on a topic that is up for discussion. If you have a problem with that and can not respect other peoples views and approaches to life. Maybe you should not be a member of a universal media paper or better yet, not read religious articles, if you are not moved by them. (food for thought)

[Kojak007]

12:49 PM on 01/20/2012

Regardless if they gained new insight or felt the presence of god or any of that, I bet the church still asked them for money.

www.currentlychicago.com

[Godsvoice]

05:34 PM on 01/20/2012

How else will the electric, gas, and other exspenses get paid? Giving to the church is not wrong, it's only wrong when people extort money from the people and live laviously at their expense.

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

[Zippy1169]

09:43 PM on 01/22/2012

Yup and those fundamentalist leaders need their multi million dollar houses.... Now I know that not all religious live that way. In fact most don't. However the ones who make it on TV do and they are setting a horrible standard for Living in Christ's image.

[Razpooten]

09:48 PM on 01/22/2012

One more time we come to what Jesus thought. He said take nothing for your journey, don't worry about where you will live, what to dress, or what to eat. Don't store yourself treasures on Earth, etc. All all the faithful say, yeahbut.... are you less than sparrow or a lilly of the field?

[chilamoo]

01:13 AM on 01/20/2012

In my experience, you get out of mass what you bring to it, If I need guidance I search the sermon for advice and I usually find it. Do I take the advice? Not always, and I have paid dearly for choosing to ignore it. But I know someone whose life continues because of their faith in their religious teachings so they r not part of the 50% with zero effect.

[Razpooten]

09:51 PM on 01/22/2012

I would challenge a christian to this - build an altar (pile of wood) you pray that it ignites and I use my trusty atheist bic...

[Raykelaz]

02:27 PM on 01/19/2012

I think it's ridiculous to expect to walk away from every single church service having experienced something significantly changing or even memorable. It's more of a cumulative effect. If I put a single sheet of paper on top of a stack, it's not going to be a noticeably taller stack. But if I do it every week, that stack sure is going to be significantly different a year from now than it is today. Even more so ten years from today.

[BrotherRog]

12:31 AM on 01/20/2012

So very well put RayKelaz! : )

[Ekimus]

08:47 AM on 01/19/2012

All these posts in support of religion, especially Christianity, and yet not one of them presents ANY proof that their beliefs are true. There's a lot of declaration that their faith is true, but not one shred of evidence to prove it.

The holy books of religions are the best evidence AGAINST them being true. Any objective review of the Torah, the Bible, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, etc. reveals them to be filled with errors and contradictions, to say nothing of the indefensible acts sanctioned and/or even perpetrated by the God in their pages.

Religion is a crutch, a plecebo. And granted that aid, as illusionary as it is, helps many people, it also has and still is used to harm others, sometimes intentionally and sometimes blindly, all justified in the name of God. Religion is based on fear. It offers protection from fear in exchange for obedience and shovels out fear against those that oppose it.

We have better ways now to help people in need. Time to put aside iron age superstitions that do more harm than good.

[Debra Martinez]

07:55 AM on 01/20/2012

Maybe you don't want to know the truth! Now, its time for me to becareful of the Wolf, and still the wolf goes out to slaughter!!

[Joe Bowers]

09:33 AM on 01/20/2012

Absolutely. The ignorance of the bible has caused untold harm, believed against all evidence by credulous fools. Don't be ashamed or afraid to admit to your friends and family that you don't believe any of it. You might find that they don't either.

[Debra Martinez]

08:23 AM on 01/19/2012

John
4:22"You worship what you do not know" Here it is tellling you what you know the amount of truth!!
Do you really know the God you worship?

[sinbad usn]

12:05 AM on 03/05/2012

Very well, thank you. I used to live with Him in our premortal existance. Was taught at His side. Was taught all I'd (we) need to get trough this some times insufferable world. All it would take would be faith, hope, charity, believing on Christ, living the commandments, and following the councels of the prophets - ancient and modern day.

[Debra Martinez]

08:08 AM on 01/19/2012

1 Pet 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through thev resurection of Jesus Christ from the dead...