fbpx
37.6 F
Spokane
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsAmericans don’t cite ‘God, family, country’ quite like the cliche goes

Americans don’t cite ‘God, family, country’ quite like the cliche goes

Date:

Related stories

Exploring the Richness of Holy Week: 2024 Spokane Area Easter Services and Events

Here is a list of the variety of services happening this Holy Week. This list is only a sample. If you don’t see your church and would like to have it added, please send your service times to Cassy Benefield at [email protected]

Two Palouse Churches to Sponsor Upcoming Viewing of ‘God & Country’

A one-time viewing of “God & Country” will take place on Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m., at the Kenworthy Theater in Moscow, Idaho. the film looks at the implications of Christian nationalism and how it distorts the constitutional republic, but Christianity itself.

Utah Women’s Basketball Team Experiences Racism in Cd’A

Utah Women's Basketball Coach Lynne Roberts admitted at a press conference today her team experience "several instances of racial hate crimes" during their stay in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last week (March 21).

Spokane’s Church-Based Homeless Shelters Receive Funding to Operate through the Summer

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously last week to extend the contract with Jewels Helping Hands to continue funding church-based homeless shelters through the summer.

Faiths Unite for 25-Mile Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage in Spokane

On March 30, Christians, Jews, Muslims and people from multiple faiths in Spokane and the surrounding area will embark on a 25-mile pilgrimage in solidarity and prayer for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
Americans identify how much various factors make up their personal identity. Family comes in first, followed by “being an American,” and religious faith. Photo courtesy of Barna Group | design by Chaz Russo
Americans identify how much various factors make up their personal identity. Family comes in first, followed by “being an American,” and religious faith. Photo courtesy of Barna Group | design by Chaz Russo

WASHINGTON (RNS) “God, family and country” might make for a good country music tune, but that’s not really how most Americans see the strongest influences on their personal identity.

The real order is family first (62 percent), followed by “being an American” (52 percent). “Religious faith” lolls way down in third place (38 percent) — if it’s mentioned at all, according to a survey released Thursday (March 19) by The Barna Group.

The California-based Christian research company found another 18 percent of those surveyed said faith had a little to do with idea of who they are, and nearly 20 percent scored it at zero influence.

Christians were the largest self-identified group in the survey and Barna looked at them two ways. “Practicing” Christians — defined in the survey as self-identified Catholics, Protestants and Mormons who say they have attended church at least once in the last month and/or say religion is important to them — scored faith first, at a rate more than double the national average.

But they’re not most Christians — not by a long shot. The survey also found only 37 percent of self-identified Christians are “practicing,” while 64 percent are non-practicing, said Roxanne Stone, a Barna vice president and the designer and analyst of the study. That may account for the third place finish for “faith” in the overall standing.

The results were also skewed by age:

  • Family first: Millennials (53 percent); Gen X-ers (61 percent); Baby Boomers (64 percent); Elders (76 percent)
  • Being an American: Millennials (34 percent); Gen X-ers (37 percent); Baby Boomers (66 percent); Elders (80 percent)
  • Religious faith: Millennials (28 percent); Gen X-ers (34 percent); Baby Boomers (45 percent); Elders (46 percent)

Barna surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults online from Feb. 3-11. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

“Gen-Xers and Millennials have a reputation for wanting to be individualists—for wanting to break away from traditional cultural narratives and to resist being ‘boxed in’ by what they perceive as limiting expectations,” Stone said.

Cathy Lynn Grossman
Cathy Lynn Grossmanhttp://wwww.favs.news
Cathy Lynn Grossman is a senior national correspondent for Religion News Service, specializing in stories drawn from research and statistics on religion, spirituality and ethics, and manager for social media.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x