The Barna Group has released the second and third parts of their recent survey of a sample of more than 600 Christian women, defined as women “ages 18 or older who describe themselves as Christians and have attended a Christian church service within the past six months (excluding holiday services or special events).”
Nearly 8 in 10 surveyed reported feeling at least “pretty close” to God, and more than 7 in 10 said they are filled with “a lot” of joy and “not much” doubt.
Of the 603 participants, more than half say they evaluate their relationship with God on a daily basis, with an even larger majority (75 percent) citing the Bible as having “a lot” of influence in their lives. A “striking” 70 percent claimed the media has “little” influence over their decision making.
However, Barna Group President David Kinnaman questioned whether or not the self-assessments were all believable.
He posited that women may be reluctant to respond honestly, even in an anonymous survey, “because they might experience shame and guilt by giving a more honest response.”
Perhaps that is why few women in the sample report struggling with “traditional sins,” such as arrogance (16 percent), envy (13 percent) or lust (8 percent). For those surveyed, the most widely reported sins were “negative behaviors related to productivity,” included disorganization and inefficiency.
CT previously reported on the first part of the series, which was released last week.
