FWIW, I first and last heard of the Barna Group back in 1991 when an AP article about a poll they did about what Americans believe appeared in the newspaper. I reposted it at
No webpage found at provided URL: http://members.aol.com/dwise1/religion/survey.html.
The entire article here, since it's not too long:
quote:
SURVEY: Americans believe all people worship same God, poll shows
The Associated Press
As printed in The Orange County Register, Saturday, 07 September 1991:
NEW YORK - Most Americans think there is no such thing as absolute truth and believe that people of different religions all worship the same God, a new survey says.
George Barna, whose Barna Research Group of Glendale conducted the survey, has produced a book from it called "What Americans Believe." His findings show an interest in religion. However, "If there is a revival going on," it "must be viewed as a religious revival, not a Christian revival."
Barna, a marketing research professional who has done work for Billy Graham and Pat Robertson, says a "massive realignment of thinking is taking place in which people are transferring many elements formerly deemed `necessary' into the realm of the `optional,' " such as Bible reading, prayer and involvement in church.
While most say religion is important to them, they're increasingly likely "to feel that being part of a local church is not a necessity," the findings say. Traditional Christian beliefs are eroding, too."
For instance, the report says, 82 percent of adults think that "God helps those who help themselves," and 56 percent mistakenly think the idea is from the Bible.
Actually, the saying is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. The report says it runs counter to Christian teaching that people cannot attain wholeness by their own deeds, but only through God's forgiveness of their failings.
The self-sufficiency streak also shows up in a finding that 82 percent of adults think that "every person has the power to determine his or her own destiny in life."
In a similarly amalgamating way, 65 percent of Americans say Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists "pray to the same God," although by different names.
The survey involved telephone interviews with a representative 1,005 US adults on about 60 questions covering a broad range of topics. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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