In the recent book unChristian, the Barna Group has done some interesting research on how people perceive Christians. Much of the research focuses on the opinions of younger persons and people who are not Christian. The general conclusion of the Barna research is that young "outsiders" (non-Christians) and young Christians have a very negative view of the Christian brand. More specifically, they tend to see Christians as "unChristian" in their attitudes and behaviors.
One of the adjectives applied to Christians is that they are hypocritical. The data on this adjective is presented in Chapter 3 of unChristian. Here are some highlights from that research:
--84% of young "outsiders" (non-Christians) report personally knowing a Christian. However, only 15% of these individuals report seeing a qualitative lifestyle difference between the Christian they know and themselves.
--Engaging in the following lifestyle activities are statistically equivalent when comparing Christians with non-Christians:
gambling
visiting a pornographic website
stealing
consulting a medium or psychic
physically fighting
consuming alcohol to the point of intoxication
using an illegal, nonprescription drug
lying
getting back at someone (revenge)
saying mean things behind a person's back
--There are some differences between Christians and non-Christians. Christians are more likely to own a bible and go to church. Christians are less likely to use profanity, although not by much (26% Christian, 38% non-Christian). Christians are more likely to help a homeless person, but not by much (53% Christian, 45% non-Christian). Interestingly, Christians also differ from non-Christians in that Christian are less likely to recycle (68% to 79%).
Looking over all this data the authors of unChristian coin the term "lifestyle gap" as the root issue in perceptions of Christian hypocrisy. Specifically, there is a gap between the lifestyle Christians say they live versus the lives they actually live. Phrased negatively, non-Christians fail to see a lifestyle gap between themselves and their Christian friends. Being a Christian doesn't seem to have any impact upon how a person lives.
Hmmmm... my knee jerk reaction to reading this made me think how much we are a bunch of hypocrites and I suddenly became upset with how much Christians are dropping the ball; but then after thinking about it- it would make sense that the statistics would say what they say because we as Christians are the same as non-christians because we all came from the same place. Whether we grew up knowing Christian beliefs or not we are all human after all. Just because a person is a Christian does not mean they are suddenly the most moral and perfect human on the planet. God does not work moral miracles on people, (although sometimes I wish he would). If anything Christians fall short of the glory of God and are sinners just the same as those who are not Christians. I think what upsets me is that the reason people are digging for statistics like this is because of our conduct: we say all the right things, know all the right answers, push our so called moral standards on everyone else, and act as if we are holier than thou-- so we have to be reminded that we are not perfect after all, even if it is through a mean like this little article. If anything this little article humbled me and made me realize that I have a long journey ahead of me. It also made me realize that I need more compassion in my life for others, especially for my fellow Christians.... if you know what I mean by that.
Just something to think about.
2 comments:
It should be mentioned that just because someone says they are are a Christian doesn't mean that they are. I suspect that many of these "hypocritical" people are just pretending to be Christians. One hour of church per week doesn't make one a Christian. I feel it has more to do with what you take with you from (or how you live your life outside of) church.
Very true Brian! Good point.
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