Religious Knowledge Survey -- Reflection 1

In Matthew 28:19-20, Christ gives the church its mission statement: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (NIV) The job of the church is to make disciples, i.e. believers who learn and obey the teachings of Christ.

The recent US Religious Knowledge Survey by the Pew Forum provides indications of how well the church is fulfilling its mission statement. All organizations should periodically compare their outcomes with their mission statements as a tool of self-evaluation. Using the survey results as a measure of “product,” how are we doing?

Turning first to the level of faith, the first impression seems good. The vast majority of Americans believe in God or a higher power (86%). However, as James reminds us, the demons believe.

I am not calling my fellow Americans demons; rather, I am pointing out that saying one believes in God and having a personal relationship with that God are not necessarily the same thing. It also does not equate to serving that God. It should also be noted that the findings show a belief in a God or higher power (e.g. Brahman in Hinduism).

The good news for the church is that the majority of our neighbors have, at least, an intellectual acceptance of the idea of “God or a higher power.” This provides a point of contact, a conversation starter. We should be prepared to carry on an intelligent, reasonable conversation about the different perspectives presenting what Peter termed a reasonable defense of what we believe.

On the other hand, we must not fall into the modern view that all beliefs are equally valid and all that matters is that we sincerely believe. It is my opinion that the right to believe whatever one wants is to be respected and that the holders of other beliefs are to be respected on a personal level. However, respecting the right to a belief and respecting the believer are not the same as holding all beliefs to be equally valid. Nicodemus (John 3) believed in God and was a leader of his religion yet Jesus said to him “you must be born again.”

My conclusion: while the majority of Americans (according to the survey) hold a belief in God or something on the level of a god, we should not misunderstand what this means. The reality is that the United States is a mission field. The existing belief in a higher power provides an opportunity to share our beliefs but it does not present us with evidence that we are a society of Christian believers. The church should realize as it looks at the culture around it that it is a field “white unto harvest” and begin the work of fulfilling its mission statement.