A recent study found most Americans consider Easter to be a religious holiday, but fewer identify the Resurrection of Jesus as the underlying meaning. A recent study by the Barna Group looked at the types of Americans most likely to celebrate Easter. Those most likely to express some type of theistic religious connection with Easter were 93% of evangelicals, 86% of attenders of large churches, 81% of born-again Christians and 77% of weekly churchgoers.
Older Americans were very likely to attend Easter services to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, but the youngest adults were the least likely. The Barna researcher who directed the project, David Kinnaman, believes that reflects the increasingly secular mindset of young adults in America.
The Barna research also examined whether churchgoing adults perceive Easter weekend to be a good time to invite people to attend worship services with them. Kinnaman is concerned that those who celebrate Easter because of the Resurrection of Christ are not especially likely to invite non-churched friends to worship. He suggests that their personal beliefs about Jesus have not yet translated into a sense of urgency for having spiritual conversations with their acquaintances.
Kinnaman found this to be an opportunity for church leaders. He said, “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that so many people are at least open to the idea of offering such invitations to their friends and family. One of the challenges to pastors and other church leaders is to find out what’s actually preventing them from following through on that willingness.”
This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.
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