May 1, (RNS) --Three out of four adults surveyed say they are concerned about the moral condition of the nation, and those committed to the Christian faith were more likely to express that concern, the Barna Research Group has found.

The Ventura, Calif.-based marketing research company surveyed 1,005 adults. Seventy-four percent of them said they were concerned about the moral state of the country.

Researchers learned that 41 percent of atheists surveyed were worried about the moral condition of the nation. Fifty-six percent of adults associated with non-Christian faith groups said they had a similar worry. Sixty-eight percent of those associated with the Christian faith but not considered born-again said they were worried about the nation's moral situation.

Eighty-nine percent of the born-again Christians surveyed were concerned about the moral state of the nation, compared to 92 percent of evangelical Christians.

Barna Research Group defines born-again Christians as those who maintain a personal commitment to Jesus and who believe they will go to heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus as their savior. It defines evangelicals as a subset of born-again Christians who meet several other criteria, including a belief that Satan exists and that they need to share their Christian faith with non-Christians.

The survey found that 80 percent of Protestants were concerned about the nation's moral state, compared to 73 percent of Catholics. Eighty-three percent of those attending non-mainline Protestant congregations had a similar concern, compared to 76 percent of those affiliated with a mainline Protestant church.

Overall, the researchers found that the segments of the American population with the most concerns about moral ideals were Republicans (84 percent), women (80 percent), people 55 and older (80 percent), and residents of the South (80 percent).

The random telephone survey of 1,005 American adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.