In Oklahoma, a person’s ideas about faith more likely come from media than from the Bible.
When missiologists study North America, they usually use research conducted on a national scale to reveal cultural trends that shape ministry strategy locally. But recently, research was conducted in the heartland state of Oklahoma that is revealing insights that might shed light on what the unchurched think in other places as well.
A survey of 1,000 Oklahomans was conducted online using a curated scientific sample of the state’s estimated 2.3 million unchurched. Respondents were asked a wide variety of questions, including queries about their religious participation, esoteric and spiritual beliefs, worldview paradigms, and demographics.
A clear picture of the state’s unchurched emerged and was developed into a book, Hidden Harvest: Discovering Oklahoma’s Unchurched. The book is free and available to anyone online as an e-book download. Here are a few key findings.
A Snapshot of Religious Participation in Oklahoma
When most people think of Oklahoma, they might be tempted to think that state has been reached, or is over-churched. With what seems like a church on every corner, surely almost everyone there is a believer. But research reveals a different reality.
Statewide totals from the survey clarifies the spiritual orientation of the state, revealing that only 40 percent of Oklahomans have regular involvement with church, 31 percent were formerly involved with church, 23 percent are unaffiliated with any religion, and approximately 6 percent of the state’s unchurched are inactive members of a religious group other than Christianity.
The survey segmented the responses and identified two main groups of unchurched: the Nones and the Dechurched. The two groups are defined by the research:
The Dechurched: People ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/33zejAI
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