Category: Beliefs

Editor’s Note

Confirmed by multiple studies, the trends in what young adults believe about the existence of God compared to what their parents believe are staggering. The trends give insight into the erosion of our cultural values and should inspire us to pray for revival and share our faith.

 

Stat #1: Two–thirds (61%) of Americans, ages 18 – 35, doubt the existence of God.

Stat #2: Americans’ Doubt in God Doubled in One Generation!!!

 

Certified Statistic #1 is based on the following research:

Percent of young adults (18-35) who have doubts or don’t believe that God exists:

57%    Pew Research Center, 2019

70%    American Enterprise Institute, 2019

61%    General Social Survey, 2018

66%    Voter Survey Group, 2018

61%    Average

 

Certified Statistic #2 is based on the following research:

Percent of Parents of Americans 18-35 years of age who doubt the existence of God:

33%    Pew Research Center, 2019

40%    American Enterprise Institute, 2019

38%    General Social Survey, 2018

45%    Voter Survey Group, 2018

31%    Average

 

Cultural Context:

These two bodies of research confirm how deep and how fast America’s most important age demographic has lost faith in God. In one generation, Americans doubting the existence of God has doubled from 31% to 61%. As staggering as this is, it’s certifiably confirmed with multiple, highly regarded research studies.

The decline of Christianity first began with a lapse in Christian behavior. Christians began to attend church less, pray less, read their Bibles less, and share their faith less. The less Christians practice their faith, the more likely they are to drop out of church. Millions of people have been doing that every year. The next natural step is the erosion of spiritual knowledge and sensitivity to all things sacred, including a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Up until 15 years ago, belief in God had been the most stable measure of all Christian beliefs, even while the U.S. experienced social upheaval and abandoned many of Christianity’s core beliefs. Americans believed in God! Now half of all Americans and two-thirds of Millennials question His existence.

America’s moral code, based on the Bible (don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t commit adultery), was embedded in the core beliefs of every American and we became the most blessed and generous nation in the history of the world. But now, with the departure of our faith and trust in God, our shared values have eroded, our moral compass has been lost, we make our own rules and there is no accountability.

This is why America is out of control! Political and racial strife are only the symptoms of a nation that has lost its faith in God.

Americans no longer believe in the God who birthed America and made it the most prosperous and generous country in the world, and for that, there are consequences.

---

Scriptural Context:

God’s Gift of Eternal Life is Only for Those Who Believe
For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in him should not perish, but have Eternal Life.
John 3:16

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9

Jesus said to him . . . all things are possible for those who believe.
Mark 9:23

The Slippery Slope
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:18

And without faith (believing God exists) it is impossible to please God, because anyone who come to Him must believe that He exists and that He Rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6

And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But those who have no root, they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Luke 8:13-14

Judgment is Coming For Those Who Don’t Believe
O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Mark 9:19

You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?
Luke 9:41

Whoever believes in the Son has Eternal Life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John 3:36

Because of your hard and impenitent hear, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:5

Only 65% of Americans believe Heaven exists.

 

This IgniteAmerica Certified Statistic is based on the following research:

Percentage of Americans believe that Heaven exists:

74%    American Trends Panel Poll, Pew Research Center, 2017

71%    Gallup Poll, 2016

72%    U. S. Religious Landscape, Pew Research Center, 2014

47%    The State of Theology Survey, LifeWay Research, 2014

74%    Religion & Public Life Survey, Pew Research Center, 2013

58%    Portraits of American Life Study, 2012

62%    Baylor Religion Surveys, 2011

 

Cultural Context:

This is A Game Changer
While failure to believe in the Devil is a delusion, failing to believe in Heaven is a game-changer. Think about it! Removing the incentive of Heaven in a person’s future removes the most basic incentive for well-doing. Taking this to its obvious conclusion, the default for human behavior becomes whatever is most self-gratifying for the individual . . . without thought of ultimate consequences.

The predatory actions of people in the news every day are more easily understood by knowing more than a third of us (more than 100 million Americans) believe that Heaven doesn’t exist. Granted, there are many other factors to be considered, but knowing this one statistic helps explain, in part, the minds of those willing to destroy another person, or a people, or country, for personal gain.

What’s the Problem?
They’re lost!!! How can they call on God when they don’t believe it? And how can they believe unless someone tells them? And how will someone tell them unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15 paraphrased). We’re the problem! The Church is the problem! How can it be that more than a third of all Americans don’t believe in Heaven? It’s because less than 1% of all Christians are telling them . . . sharing God’s love with them and His desire for them to spend Eternity with Him in Heaven.

What is Faith Sharing?
While 96% of the unchurched say it’s at least ‘somewhat likely’ they would attend church if invited, inviting people to church is not “sharing your faith.” It’s inviting people to hear your pastor share his faith. Your ministry is to let people see God through you and want what you have before you invite them to church (Matthew 5:16 paraphrased).

When people see God through you, they’ll want to go to church with you and receive what you have for themselves . . . because you moved them closer to Jesus with every encounter. The truth is, everything you do and say, 24 hours a day, moves everyone watching you closer or further away from God and Heaven. Regardless of how poorly delivered, your words change lives when your words match your life.

You Are Christ’s Ambassador
Regardless of where you are in this stage of your life, you’re in the full-time ministry of being Christ’s Ambassador, pointing everyone to Heaven. Everyone around you is your mission-field and your God-given ministry is to love every one of them into Heaven, even the unlovable . . . especially the unlovable!

Jesus commanded all of us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” and He explained, “They will know you’re my disciple by your love” (John 13:35). But sadly, Christians are largely seen today as being hypocritical and judgmental. It’s up to us, every one of us, to end this perception by personally loving our neighbors as ourselves . . . by prompting those who don’t believe there’s a Heaven to see Heaven through us. While it is our responsibility to hate every sin, it’s also our responsibility to love every sinner into Heaven.

All of Us Are Sent!
All of us are ‘sent,’ but most of us don’t feel sent because our pastors aren’t sending us! Scripture tells us, “The role of the Pastor is to equip the saints for ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). By edifying the faithful with the Word of God, pastors are preparing us for the task! But sending us into the harvest is what Christianity is all about!.

God’s Purpose
But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (local) in all Judea and Samaria (national) and to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Christianity is God’s purpose working through us to seek and save the lost, that none should be lost from spending eternity in Heaven.

Rewards and Punishments
One of the most basic of all human instincts, placed in us by God, is the concept of rewards and punishments . . . in preparation for our ultimate life choice between Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, political correctness and the fear of losing congregants and donors have all but eliminated the most basic theme of the Bible from our pulpits . . . contrasting the horrors of Hell with the ecstasy of Heaven! The surprise is that 65% of Americans still believe in Heaven.

---

Scriptures:

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Hell)
Proverbs 14:12

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Heaven)
Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:1-3

To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.
1 Peter 3:4

According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
I Peter 3:13

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4

Only 55% of Americans believe in the Devil.

 

This IgniteAmerica Certified Statistic is based on the following research:

Percentage of Americans that believe in the Devil:

61%    Gallup Poll, 2016

58%    Harris Poll, 2013

46%    General Social Survey, 1972-2012

54%    Baylor Religion Survey

 

Cultural Context:

Defying Logic
Denying the existence of the Devil is the same as denying the word of God and defining Jesus Christ as a liar. There’s no middle ground on this one. The existence of the Devil and his determination to take all of us to Hell is explained in detail throughout the Bible and in the words of Christ.

The Bible’s Authenticity
Denying the authenticity of the Bible defies the most basic of human intelligence. The Bible is comprised of 66 books, written over a period of more than 1,500 years, by 40 different people from 13 countries, on three different continents. From these extreme diversities, cultures, and time warps, comes the consistent message of moral absolutes, grace, and Salvation from a Divine Creator who loves us and wants us to spend Eternity with Him.

Practical Evidence
Getting 40 people to agree on anything is not natural. Getting 40 people from different countries and cultures, over the span of 1500 years, to agree on everything is clearly supernatural. That explains why the Bible is the world’s most published book, with over 3.9 billion copies sold over the last 50 years.

The Bible is God’s Handbook for Mankind
The Bible is the divinely inspired word of God . . . All scripture is God-breathed (given by inspiration) and is profitable for instruction, for conviction (of sin), for correction (of error) and restoration of obedience, for training in righteousness . . . learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately, behaving honorably with personal integrity and courage. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Who Is the Devil?
Lucifer (Satan) was the greatest created being in the Heavens, which led to his pride and fall from grace . . . pride goeth before a fall . . . and marked the beginning of sin. Satan was banished from Heaven, along with a third of the angels (now demons), long before the creation of man.

With his fall, Lucifer became Satan the Devil, the father of lies. The account of his (the Morning Star) desire to be above God and his fall from Grace is described in Isaiah 14 . . . For you said to yourself “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High. Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

Luke 10:18 tells us, I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning, and the Apostle John gave us his God-inspired account in Revelation 12:4-9 . . . and his tail swept down a third of the stars of Heaven, and cast them to Earth . . . and the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth and his angels (now demons) were thrown with him.

The Devil Unmasked
The Devil is a real person, whose thoughts and actions are in cosmic opposition to God. And while he is not omnipresent, he and his demons seize every opportunity to attack us when we are the most vulnerable. The good news is that Satan is subservient to God and only operates as God allows. Satan could not attack Job (and cannot attack you) without first getting God’s permission (Job 2:2-6). And He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear (I Corinthians 10:13).

Believers Have Power Over the Devil
Believers need not fear the Devil. There is no fear in love. Perfect love (for God and others) drives out all fear. In fact, Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Jesus said, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . . behold I am with you always. Even to the end of the age.”

Why the Unbelief in the Devil?
The root cause for 45% of our population not believing in the existence of Satan is Biblical illiteracy. While 92% of all American households have Bibles, only half of our population actually reads the Bible, and only half of those read it regularly. On a wholesale basis, Biblical illiteracy is allowing America’s naïve to avoid all thoughts of Satan and his eternal torments while being hell-bent on going there.

Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel (II Corinthians 2:4). And when you don’t know something, you tend to fill in the missing blanks with what you want to believe . . . like there is no Devil or Hell and being good gets you into Heaven. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).

Only 45% of all Millennials are confident that God exists.

 

This IgniteAmerica Certified Statistic is based on the following research:

Percentage of Millennials that are confident God exists:

43%    When Americans say they believe in God, what do they mean? Pew Research Center, 2018

45%    General Social Survey, 2016

47%    General Social Survey, 2014

 

Cultural Context:

Spiritual revivals (awakenings) emerge during times of spiritual and moral decline, that lead the Church into intense prayer, take people to a spiritual depth they cannot achieve on their own, and make sinners inconsolable except in Christ.

In the absence of spiritual revival, societal morality and God-consciousness declines exponentially and unabated, as its focus narrows to this world rather than the world to come. Moral absolutes give way to situational ethics with personal self-righteousness leading to everyone being their own god and moral authority. This is where rebellion (man asserting his own authority) prevails over revival (man seeking God’s authority) and chaos consumes a nation.

Beginning with the 20th Century, spiritual revivals in America have been limited in scope without bringing America, as a society, back to God. Revival fires have grown cold, as have the hearts of most Christians for living lives according to scripture and for reaching the lost. Now the ills of society are as prevalent inside the Church as they are outside the Church, and the fervor of the Church has waxed cold.

While 70% of our population represents itself as being Christian, less than 20% attend church on a regular basis. Millennials are, in fact, the children of two generations, proclaiming themselves to be Christian without being Christian . . . inspiring Millennials to doubt everything their parents and society have taught them about God and everything else of value.

---

Scriptures:

I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected – even children in the 3rd and 4th generation.
Deuteronomy 5:9

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
Romans 8:5

For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who being saved, it is the power of God.
I Corinthians 1:18

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
Proverbs 9:1

30% of U.S. adults believe in a cosmic force rather than the Almighty God described in the Bible.

 

This IgniteAmerica Certified Statistic is based on the following research:

Percentage of US adults that believe in a cosmic force:

33%    When Americans say they believe in God, what do they mean? Pew Research Center, 2018

33%    State of the Church, The Barna Group, 2016

25%    American Values Survey, Public Religion Institute, 2013

 

Cultural Context:

Movies like Star Wars, that have been viewed by 90% of America and 45% of the world’s population, have enticed the scripturally illiterate into believing in an amoral, impersonal force that ultimately consumes all of us . . . as opposed to a loving, righteous God who created us in His own image, to be known as we are known and living with Him forever in Heaven.

There is no immortality, moral standard, or Eternal meaning to a human’s life with a cosmic force. It is the rejection of a pure and Holy God, who created us to spend Eternity with Him in Heaven.

---

Scriptures:

You do not have His Word abiding in you, for you do not believe in Him who sent me (Jesus).
John 5:38

Jesus said you unbelieving generation, how long shall I put up with you . . .
Luke 9:41

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.
John 3:18