Research Shows Biblical Perspective Makes Major Difference on Attitudes, Lifestyles

by Fred Jackson and Jenni Parker
December 2, 2003

(AgapePress) - A new survey indicates that a large share of the nation's moral and spiritual challenges can be directly attributed to the lack of a biblical worldview.

Christian researcher George Barna recently surveyed just over 2,000 American adults and found an overwhelming majority have a disconnect between the way they live and what they say they believe about God.

The research indicated that, while everyone has a worldview, relatively few individuals -- even among devoutly religious people -- have a truly biblical worldview. The survey revealed that only 9% of born-again Christians have a biblical perspective on life.

For the purposes of the research, a biblical worldview was defined as the belief that absolute truths exist, that such truth is defined by the Bible, and also a firm belief in six specific religious views. Those included the fact that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned, that Satan is real, and that a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people.

But what difference does one's worldview make? According to Barna Research, one of the most striking findings of the study has been the discovery of how a person's worldview relates to his or her behavior. Researchers found that adults with a biblical perspective and approach to life tend to hold radically different views on morality, have divergent religious beliefs, and make vastly different lifestyle choices.

For instance, those who have a biblical worldview are 31 times less likely to accept co-habitation, 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness, 15 times less likely to condone homosexual sex, 12 times less likely to accept profanity, and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable than those who do not have a biblical worldview. Less than one half of one percent of the biblical worldview group found voluntary exposure to pornography morally acceptable, and about the same miniscule percentage endorsed abortion.

Among the most interesting lifestyle differences found were the lesser tendency of people with a biblical worldview to gamble, get drunk, or view pornography. Members of this group were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters or to have fasted for religious reasons in the past month. And the Barna survey found that "while one out of every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every 100 individuals who have [a biblical] worldview had done so."

For those who might wonder how well their perspective lines up with biblical tenets, author and speaker Brannon Howse, president of the American Family Policy Institute, has developed a free online "worldview test" (www.worldviewweekend.com). The test is designed to gauge an individual's worldview in the areas of law, economics, civil government, religion, social and family issues, education and science and then yield a score in each of these areas as well as an overall worldview rating. Ratings correspond to gradations on a scale that includes Christian Theism, Moderate Christian, Secular Humanist and Socialist categories.

Pollster George Barna

Becoming Biblically-Oriented
George Barna has pointed out that one of the most effective means of helping people develop a biblical worldview is for religious teaching to address critical questions that consistently lead to biblical beliefs and behaviors. In his book Think Like Jesus (Integrity Publishers, 2003), he notes that many churches are already helping members implement this process.

According to the Christian author and researcher, the emphasis of these churches is not merely to teach biblical perspectives but also "to help people connect the dots of the core principles taught" through services programs events and relationships "geared to weaving a limited number of foundational biblical principles into a way of responding to every life situation."

Barna emphasizes that the goal of developing a Christian worldview is to help people make choices that are consistent with God's expectations. While he acknowledges that such biblically-minded people are by no means perfect, he says once they have assimilated certain critical principles found in the Bible and trained their minds to incorporate those principles into their lives, "their behavior varies noticeably from the norm."