Survey Methodology
The data on which this report is based are from telephone interviews
with a nationwide random sample of 1010 adults conducted in late October
and early November 2001. The pre-attack research was also a national
random sample survey among 1001 adults, conducted in late July through
mid-August. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the
aggregate sample is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
All of the interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group
telephone interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. Adults in the 48
continental states were eligible to be interviewed and the distribution
coincided with the geographic dispersion of the U.S. adult population.
Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of including a
reliable distribution of adults.
"Born again Christians" were defined in these surveys as people who
said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still
important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that
when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their
sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents were not
asked to describe themselves as "born again" or if they considered
themselves to be "born again."
"Evangelicals" are a subset of born again Christians in Barna
surveys. In addition to meeting the born again criteria, evangelicals
also meet seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is
very important in their life today; believing they have a personal
responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with
non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal
salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that
Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and describing God as the
all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and
still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical has no
relationship to church attendance or the denominational affiliation of
the church they attend. Respondents were not asked to describe
themselves as "evangelical."
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research
company located in southern California. Since 1984 it has been studying
cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
This research was funded solely by Barna Research as part of its regular
tracking of the social, religious and political state of the nation.
If you would like to receive a bi-weekly update on the latest
research findings from the Barna Research Group, you may subscribe to
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located at the top of this page on the left-hand side.
A Comparison of Pre-Attack
and Post-Attack Religious Beliefs and Behavior
(Source: Barna Research Group,
November, 2001)
perspective |
survey |
all |
men |
women |
ages 18-36 |
ages 37-55 |
age 56+ |
moral truth is
absolute |
Fall 01 |
22% |
20% |
24% |
13% |
28% |
24% |
|
Jan 00 |
38 |
35 |
40 |
25 |
44 |
42 |
consider self
to be Christian |
Fall 01 |
84 |
80 |
88 |
77 |
87 |
92 |
|
Smr 01 |
86 |
83 |
88 |
79 |
91 |
88 |
absolutely
committed to Christianity |
Fall 01 |
44 |
35 |
52 |
26 |
48 |
64 |
|
Smr 01 |
42 |
36 |
48 |
26 |
49 |
56 |
read from
Bible, in past week other than at church |
Fall 01 |
39 |
30 |
46 |
29 |
42 |
48 |
|
Smr 01 |
39 |
32 |
46 |
29 |
42 |
49 |
attended a
church service, in past week, other than a special event (e.g.
wedding, funeral) |
Fall 01 |
48 |
41 |
54 |
38 |
51 |
58 |
|
Smr 01 |
42 |
37 |
46 |
32 |
46 |
48 |
prayed to God
in past week |
Fall 01 |
85 |
77 |
91 |
79 |
86 |
90 |
|
Smr 01 |
84 |
78 |
89 |
78 |
86 |
90 |
Bible is totally
accurate in all it teaches (strongly agree) |
Fall 01 |
40 |
35 |
45 |
33 |
41 |
50 |
|
Smr 01 |
43 |
36 |
49 |
35 |
44 |
52 |
your religious
faith is very important in your life today (strongly agree)
|
Fall 01 |
68 |
58 |
77 |
59 |
67 |
83 |
|
Smr 01 |
69 |
63 |
74 |
61 |
71 |
78 |
Satan/the devil
is not a living being but is just a symbol of evil (strongly
disagree) |
Fall 01 |
23 |
26 |
21 |
21 |
29 |
21 |
|
Smr 01 |
28 |
28 |
29 |
25 |
32 |
28 |
God is the
all-knowing, all powerful Creator, etc. |
Fall 01 |
68 |
63 |
73 |
65 |
66 |
76 |
|
Smr 01 |
72 |
69 |
74 |
64 |
75 |
78 |
made a personal
commitment to Christ, important in my life |
Fall 01 |
68 |
58 |
77 |
61 |
69 |
79 |
|
Smr 01 |
68 |
65 |
70 |
58 |
70 |
77 |
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Group, LTD. This survey and article first appeared in 2002. The Word of
God Ministries obtained permission for this website copy in 2012.