Here is a fascinating new Barna study.
How true is this to your experience? (Any suggestions about how to measure “orthodox biblical response”?)
“On all 9 of the belief statements tested, attenders of large churches
were more likely than those engaged in a small or mid-sized
congregation to give an orthodox biblical response – e.g., the Bible is
totally accurate in all the principles it teaches, Satan is not merely
symbolic but exists, Jesus led a sinless life, God is the all-knowing,
all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe, etc.”
Religious Beliefs of Protestants, by Congregational Size
(N=1,334)
| Belief description* | 1-100** | 101-200 | 201-499 | 500-999 | 1000+ |
| Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it teaches | 60% | 63% | 70% | 67% | 75% |
| Have personal responsibility to tell others your beliefs | 41 | 44 | 47 | 53 | 61 |
| Your religious faith is very important in your life | 82 | 83 | 90 | 88 | 90 |
| Satan/devil is a living being not just a symbol of evil | 30 | 29 | 36 | 38 | 51 |
| A good person cannot earn a place in Heaven | 33 | 39 | 47 | 48 | 55 |
| On earth Jesus Christ did not commit sins, like other people | 49 | 50 | 59 | 65 | 74 |
| God is the omnipotent, omniscient creator who rules all | 81 | 81 | 86 | 86 | 90 |
| Born again Christian (see definition below) | 63 | 64 | 69 | 81 | 75 |
| Evangelical Christian (see definition below) | 9 | 11 | 21 | 24 | 25 |
| Number of respondents in this subgroup | 547 | 306 | 247 | 120 | 114 |
* these are descriptions of the actual survey questions, not the wording of the questions actually used in the research.
** Adult attendance on an average weekend
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