Most lapsed and non-Christians say they would be open to talking about faith matters with someone who listens without judgement – but only 34 per cent say they see this trait in Christians they know personally, according to Barna Group research.
The research, contained in a recent report, Reviving Evangelism, which the US-based organisation produced in partnership with Alpha USA, also found that most lapsed or non-Christians failed to see a range of other characteristics desired of a conversation partner when speaking about faith – including allowing others to draw their own conclusions, demonstrating an interest in other peoples’ story or life, and being aware of inconsistencies in their own perspective – in Christians they knew.
“[T]he data paint a striking picture of disconnection between Christian ideals of what it means to share faith effectively and the experience of non-Christians – and between non-Christians’ expectations of Christians and Christians’ perceptions of themselves,” Barna said in comments published with the findings.
The data also shows that practicing Christians were also “hesitant” to say some the characteristics desired in a conversation partner when talking about faith were true of themselves, according to Barna.
For example, the organisation cited figures showing 76 per cent of practicing Christians believe that someone who listens without judgment is gifted at sharing their faith, but that only 44 per cent believe such a statement is completely true of themselves. The same trend can be seen among practicing Christians when it comes to being someone who doesn’t force a conclusion (54 per cent believe it a good trait for sharing faith but only 41 per cent believe such a statement is true of themselves), being someone who demonstrates interest in other people’s stories or lives (56 per cent versus 39 per cent) or being someone who asks good questions (44 per cent versus 26 per cent).
“However willing they may be, Christians’ ability to witness for Christ may be impeded by the simple fact that they don’t have meaningful relational connections with non-Christians, or the conversational skills necessary to talk meaningfully about faith,” Barna observed.
The research was based on the results of two nationally representative studies of US adults, the first drawing on an online panel involving 992 practicing Christians conducted in May last year, and the second with a nationally representative study of 1,001 US adults who did not meet the criteria for practicing Christians and who included lapsed and non-Christians.
Practicing Christians are defined as those who identify as Christian, agree strongly that their faith is very important in their lives and have attended church in the past month. Lapsed Christians, meanwhile, are defined as people who identify as Christians but have not attended church in the past month, and non-Christians are people who identify with a faith other than Christianity or identify as having no faith.
