By Stephen R. Clark
The Baptist Paper
The only hope for restoring a sense of unity and community in the U.S. is to “to turn our hope from political outcomes to God,” asserts veteran researcher George Barna, according to new research from a new study.
Barna explains that only a “spiritual awakening” can restore “a widespread understanding and basis of truth” and heal the nation’s deep fragmentation. He states bluntly, “no politician elected in 2024 can reasonably be expected to restore common purpose and shared vision to the nation.”
Syncretism and biblical authority
Through his latest report — from the American Worldview Inventory 2024 — he noted that the “overwhelming majority of American adults — 92% — embrace a worldview known as Syncretism a — fusion of disparate ideologies, beliefs, behaviors and principles culled from a variety of competing worldviews into a customized blend.”
Coming in at a distant second was Biblical theism, a biblical worldview, embraced by only 4% of responders.
According to the study, “The most overt example of the disconnect between church and worldview is that two-thirds of all American adults (66%) claim to be Christian, but only 6% of them possess the biblical worldview. Of the 170 million adults who self-identified as Christian, 92% are Syncretists.”
It’s not only those claiming the label as Christian who are embracing a syncretistic worldview.
The numbers of “the Don’ts” — those who tend to be agnostic or atheists — has increased to 25% of the population. Of this group, 89% are syncretists.
Deceived by false political hope
According to Barna, this is a problem since he attributes “the greatness and longevity” of the U.S. to “a shared understanding and common pursuit of core characteristics — such as truth, purpose, responsibility and community.” The study shows that this is no longer the case.
Turning to politics and political outcomes, Barna said, is not the answer.
The research, Barna said, shows “a nation desperate for guidance and hope” but looking for solutions in the wrong places.
He compares the current state of affairs to the people of Jesus’ day looking for a “warrior king” instead of understanding who He was as the Messiah. “Americans are deceived enough to think that electing the ‘right’ president will bring stability, security, unity and sanity to America,” he noted.
Turning to God our only hope
“In an election year, we often hope that our next leader will restore unity,” Barna noted. Based on the results of a recent study revealing a deeply fragmented country, he sees this as unrealistic. Instead, he said, “What we need as a nation is a spiritual awakening, not a political majority, to restore national unity.”
You can view the full report, “American Worldview Inventory 2024: A National Survey of Biblical and Competing Worldviews,” here.
