{"id":3102,"date":"2024-08-17T09:21:48","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T13:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=3102"},"modified":"2024-08-16T21:08:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T01:08:00","slug":"most-americans-see-value-in-being-a-good-neighbor-study-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/08\/17\/most-americans-see-value-in-being-a-good-neighbor-study-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Americans See Value in Being a Good Neighbor, Study Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_3153\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3153\" style=\"width: 724px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3153\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/08\/Neighbors1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"724\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3153\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some 74 percent of people who are scripturally engaged said neighborliness is important. \/ Image created in Dall*E for Beliefnet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A majority of Americans recognize the importance of being a good neighbor, according to new <em><a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of the Bible<\/a><\/em> research. Some 74 percent of people who are scripturally engaged said neighborliness is important. And a similar percentage of people with no religious affiliation shared that commitment.<\/p>\n<p><em>State of the Bible<\/em> is a series of annual reports about Americans\u2019 relationships with God, faith and Scripture. The American Bible Society introduced the series in 2011 and continues to publish new chapters describing current research between April and December of each year.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Being a Good Neighbor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Christ taught his followers that love means action. It\u2019s a verb rather than a noun. 1 John 3:18 says, for example, \u201cLet us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.\u201d And James 2:14-22 tells us that love without action is dead.<\/p>\n<p>See chapter 4 of the 2024 report &#8212; called <em>Love in Action &#8212;\u00a0 <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/sotb.research.bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here.<\/a>\u00a0The chapter \u201chighlights the impact of Scripture engagement on the value of neighborliness\u201d and asks this question: \u201cWhat do Americans think about how to treat others?\u201d the American Bible Society explained.<\/p>\n<p>The new research looks at loving your neighbor through these five actions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Welcoming immigrants into your community<\/li>\n<li>Befriending people of other races<\/li>\n<li>Befriending people of other religions<\/li>\n<li>Caring for people who are in prison<\/li>\n<li>Advocating for people who are oppressed by society<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>A Shared Belief?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cFrom our research, we see that those who engage with Scripture place high importance on loving their neighbors, just as Jesus did. From advocating for the oppressed to befriending those of other races, these believers promote what we call pro-social behaviors,\u201d explained John Farquhar Plake, PhD.<\/p>\n<p>Plake is the American Bible Society\u2019s chief innovation officer and editor-in-chief of the<em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of the Bible<\/a><\/em>\u00a0series.<\/p>\n<p>Do biblically engaged people and people who have no religious affiliation \u2013 aka, \u201cthe Nones\u201d &#8212; really share beliefs about being a good neighbor?<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, they do. \u201cAny community grows stronger as people help one another protect the rights of others and serve as volunteers for the greater good,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerhaps if these unchurched \u2018Nones\u2019 recognized how deeply some Christians care for their neighbors in these specific ways, they might find relationships with Christians to be more attractive and want to join in,\u201d Plake speculated.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key Findings<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The fourth chapter of the report \u2013\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Love in Action&#8221;<\/a><\/span> \u2013 reported these key findings:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seventy-four percent of people who are engaged with the Bible said they strongly or very strongly agree that neighborliness is important. \u201cNone of them indicate any level of disagreement,\u201d <\/strong>according to the report.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNearly 6 in 10 Americans agree \u2018strongly\u2019 or \u2018very strongly\u2019 that it is important to be a\u00a0good neighbor, with Boomers+ scoring the highest of the demographics and Millennials scoring the lowest.\u201d In addition, 61 percent of women believe that being a good neighbor is important, compared to 56 percent of men\u2026.\u201d<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>People who are biblically disengaged \u201care more likely than Scripture Engaged individuals to agree strongly on the importance of welcoming immigrants\u2026.\u201d They have similar views about forging friendships across religious lines.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Scripture Engaged group leads the way by far in the <em>lack of disagreement <\/em>with any of the pro-social matters,\u201d the report said. \u201cThough there is uncertainty around executing these pro-social behaviors, Scripture Engagement individuals still understand that the Bible encourages them to participate in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of the Bible<\/a> <\/em>2024 pointed out that the survey presents issues in very few words, without additional information or definitions. \u201cRespondents will, of course, add their own context \u2013 for instance, whether the immigration is legal or illegal. With that in mind, we find significant movement on these issues in recent years, especially among Practicing Christians\u2026.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll groups are less apt to consider it important to welcome immigrants than they\u2019ve been in previous years, but the decline is greatest among Practicing Christians. Non-Christians now place more importance on this than Practicing Christians do,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n<p>There also has been a slight decline in the value that Practicing Christians, Non-Practicing Christians and Non-Christians place on befriending people of other races. There also was a slight decline in the importance that people place on caring for the environment, with non-Christians considering it more important than Christians.<\/p>\n<p>When survey participants were asked, \u201cIs it important for me to be a good neighbor?\u201d only one in 40 said \u201cno.\u201d Participants didn\u2019t always agree on the definition of \u201cneighbor,\u201d but they did generally agree that being a good neighbor is important. Read the report <a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Researchers also asked people who said they had attended church in the last month about protecting the environment, befriending people of other races, and caring for people in prison, researchers obtained the following results:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fifty percent<\/strong> of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that caring for the environment was important.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Forty-four percent<\/strong> agreed or strongly agreed on the importance of befriending people of other races.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Twenty-seven<\/strong> <strong>percent<\/strong> agreed or strongly agreed that caring for people in prison was important.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Forty-two percent of people who are biblically engaged said it\u2019s important to submit to government leaders.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> \u201cThis indicates a significantly higher value placed on civic responsibility than the Movable Middle (15 percent) and biblically disengaged (8 percent).\u201d The Movable Middle consists of people who are not engaged in Bible reading or study but are open to Christ\u2019s message.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Nones value pro-social action much more than any other group They also are more likely to believe it\u2019s important to welcome immigrants, advocate for people who are oppressed and make friends with people of different religions or races.<\/p>\n<p>However, they draw the line on caring for people in prison. When asked about the prison population, the \u201cNones\u201d measured evenly with other groups in the survey, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.americanbible.org\/blog\/entry\/corporate-blog\/new-study-indicates-majority-of-americans-value-being-a-good-neighbor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the report<\/a> said.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The 2024<em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sotb.research.bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of the Bible<\/a><\/em>\u00a0report is based on a nationally representative online survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Researchers questioned 2,506 American adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetween August and December 2024, American Bible Society 2024 will release five new chapters in the <em>State of the Bible <\/em>story, including research on societal and cultural influences, coping with loneliness, and philanthropy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A majority of Americans recognize the importance of being a good neighbor, according to new State of the Bible research. Some 74 percent of people who are scripturally engaged said neighborliness is important. And a similar percentage of people with no religious affiliation shared that commitment. State of the Bible is a series of annual&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":689,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[954,948,248,876,951],"class_list":["post-3102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tv-news","tag-being-good-neighbors","tag-love-in-action","tag-state-of-the-bible","tag-state-of-the-bible-2024","tag-value-of-neighborliness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Most Americans See Value in Being a Good Neighbor, Study Says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A majority of Americans recognize the importance of being a good neighbor, according to new State of the Bible research.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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New stories updated daily from a Christian perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/577a2d1deda468588785cdff5af64cd7","name":"Ginny Baxter","description":"Ginny Baxter is a former journalist and public relations professional whose passion is writing. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, Ginny majored in English with a focus on journalism. She later studied public relations at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She comes from a Christian family and has been an active church member since childhood. You can read her Patheos column Woman to Woman here.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/author\/ginnybaxter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3102"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3156,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3102\/revisions\/3156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}