Barna Report Reveals the Exemplary Faith of African-American Christians
Teresa Neumann : Jul 29, 2009
Erin Roach - Baptist Press News
"Blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a Biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again."
(Nashville, Tennessee)—A new study by The Barna Group indicates African Americans are "more likely to exhibit evidence" of being Christian when compared to three other race categories and to the general population.
As reported in Baptist Press News, the study found "that faith continues to be important in the lives of African Americans, an ethnic group that comprises about 15 percent of the national population." (Photo Copyright 2005 Anissa Thompson)
For example, 66 percent of African Americans agreed with the statement that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches," compared to 46 percent of whites and 49 percent of the general population. They were also most likely in a typical week to attend church services, participate in a small group, attend a Sunday School class, pray or read the Bible.
"Blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a Biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again," Barna said. "They are also less likely to strongly affirm that satan is symbolic, not real; and to contend that a good person can earn his/her way into Heaven."
According to the report, compared to 15 years ago, Barna noted an increase in the proportion of African Americans who have made a personally important commitment to Christ, church attendance and Bible reading, and noted that "spirituality, generally, is a more central element in the lives of blacks than in the lives of people from other ethnic groups."
You can read the full Barna report by going to barna.org