George Barna
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George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research firm specialising in studying non-profit organizations and Christian groups. He leads seminars for church leaders, speaks at ministry conferences, has taught at seminaries, and has been a pastor. He has also written a number of books on contemporary Christian issues, with topics ranging from children to leadership. Barna coined the term Mosaic Generation, which he uses to describe those born between 1984 and 2002.
The Barna Group publishes a "State of the Church" report regarding U.S. Christianity annually.[1]
Polls produced by the Barna Group are the most quoted polls within Evangelical circles. They are generally interpreted from an evangelical perspective. His research has revealed "a radical gap between what we heard Christians professing they believed and the values and the lifestyle that grew out of the values."[2]
George grew up a Catholic in Princeton, New Jersey and is now an Evangelical Christian.[2] He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a degree in sociology, and a minor in religion. He holds two masters degrees from Rutgers University.
The most controversial poll that the Barna group released was one on divorce rates in the United States which was published in December 1999. Barna's research showed that conservative Christians had the highest divorce rate in the country while atheists had the lowest as sorted by religious adherence (or non-adherence). There was also a significant regional difference with those in the conservative South having the highest divorce rates while those in the liberal Northeast had the lowest as sorted by region. This caused a firestorm among conservative Christians as it directly contradiced the common wisdom regarding the faiths and regions that pride themselves on "family values" but Barna stood by his research, saying,
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."
Eventually, Barna pulled the data from his website because of the controversy, however, it had already been mirrored elsewhere, principally on the ReligiousTolerance.org website where the report is discussed in depth.[3] The Internet Archive also has the original Barna Group press release.[4]
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- ^ Chef Barna's State of the Church: 2005. Next-Wave Church & Culture. Retrieved on 2006-04-30.
- ^ a b George Barna, quoted in Tim Stafford (August 5, 2002). "The Third Coming of George Barna". Christianity Today Magazine.
- ^ U.S. divorce rates for various faith groups, age groups, & geographic areas. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
- ^ The Barna Group (courtesy of the Internet Archive) (December 21, 1999). Christians Are More Likely to Experience Divorce Than Are Non-Christians. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
