THE BARNA UPDATE

A bi-weekly e-mail from George Barna

It has been said that the United States is the world's greatest melting pot of cultures, and that diversity is clearly evident in the theological beliefs of its people. This week we examine 13 different beliefs and find that people's views differ from those articulated in the Bible in most cases. Among the key findings:

· Most adults reject the notions of original sin, the existence of Satan, and salvation by God's grace alone;

· Americans tend to think that the core documents of the world's major faiths, such as the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon, are "different expressions of the same spiritual truths" and that praying to the dead can reap personal benefits;

· Americans are nearly as likely to say that Jesus Christ sinned as to believe that He lived a sinless life.

In this report I look at how various segments of our population react to the 13 statements about faith matters. To read more about America's theological perspectives check out the text of the full report on our website. Go to http://www.barna.org.

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- George Barna, The Barna Update 10/8/02.