Alternet reports on a new study by the Barna group:
A study released last week by the Barna Group, a reputable Evangelical research and polling firm, found that under-30s -- both Christian and non-Christian -- are strikingly more critical of Christianity than their peers were just a decade ago. According to the summary report, Barna pollster David Kinnaman found that the opinions of non-Christians, in particular, had slid like a rock in that time frame. Ten years ago, "the vast majority" of non-Christians had generally favorable views of Christianity. Now, that number stands at just 16%. When asked specifically about Evangelicals, the number are even worse: only 3% of non-Christian Millennials have positive associations with Evangelicals. Among the Boomers, it's eight times higher.What you reap is what you sow; we are finally beginning to see the deleterious effects of the Christian Right's misguided and self-defeating war on homosexuality. The anti-gay movement is not something that Jesus fought for, and it's probably something that Jesus would have fought against.
Addicted with power, conservatives like Dobson and Falwell knew they could use Christian's visceral homophobia as a way to galvanize a political movement. But what they failed to see, and what we're finally beginning to see now, is that such a movement was not sustainable in the face of progressive politics and culture, and that ultimately, a plan like this would lessen, not strengthen, the Christian political movement.
Young Evangelical Christians are the future face of the movement. I'm one of them. And we're all sick and fed up with what we see. It's time for a politics of peace, not a politics of hate. It's time for a change. Welcome to the turning of the tide.
1 comment:
Actually, what we're seeing - as it concerns the change in public opinion relating to Christians in general, and evangelicals specifically - is, to a large extent, the result of continued vilification of Christianity, particularly evangelicalism, as seen in news media, the political arena and entertainment.
This isn't to say that fair criticism is unwarranted. "Leading" evangelicals have frequently made foolish statements that are not in accordance with biblical Christianity. However, to lay the blame for the flip of public opinion solely at the feet of evangelicals themselves is inaccurate, at best.
Christianity, while ultimately about peace (with God) and reconciliation (of man to God) is not (or ought not to be) a faith that concerns itself with public opinion, however.
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