Parshall Partners

Americans and Evangelicalism

    The Pew Research Center has a long history of studying American trends. One of their surveys was designed to find out what we think about historic figures when it comes to various religious traditions. The results were illuminating.

    The Pew Research Center asked 3,645 Americans to “name the first person who comes to mind” when they think of the various religions. For example, if the question was, “Who is the first person who comes to mind when you think of Catholicism?”, more than half of those Americans surveyed said ‘the Pope’ (47%) or a specific Pope followed by Jesus at 12%.

    When the same question was asked about Buddhism, the most common answer was “Buddha” (55%), followed by the “Dalai Lama” at 7% and “Mahatma Gandhi” at 3%.

    For Islam, the number one answer at 26% was “Muhammad”.  5% responded by naming deceased al-Qaeda leader “Osama Bin Laden” and another 5 percent responded with the names of terrorists.

    Most surprising was the number one answer given to the question, “Who is the first person who comes to mind when you think of Judaism?” The majority said “Jesus” (21%). Moses came in second at 13% and Abraham at 8%.

    When the same question was asked about atheism, the results were a bit different. According to Pew Researchers, “Americans are much less likely to name a well-known figure. While 6% say Satan, 4% say Richard Dawkins and 4% say Madalyn Murray O’Hair, one-in-ten respondents just name themselves or another personal acquaintance such as a relative, friend or roommate. And roughly half (51%) say “no one” or “don’t know” or do not answer the question.”

    Most disturbing were the answers give to the question about evangelical Protestantism. According to Pew, nearly half of Americans (46%) say “no one” or “don’t know” or don’t answer the question. An additional 21% named Billy Graham, 5% each named Jesus and Martin Luther, and 9% name other religious leaders.

    So, what does this all mean and why should we care?

    While I can’t speak for the other religions or non-religions surveyed, I can speak as an ‘evangelical protestant’. So many of us have been blessed by the ministry of Billy Graham. His legacy of faith has and will continue to inspire generations. But his work, like the very definition of evangelicalism, was defined by the person of Jesus Christ. Because His name was not the first one that came to mind to those surveyed, I am convinced that we followers of Jesus still have much work to do in conveying the message of the Cross.

    Evangelicalism is about telling the Good News. It’s about how we live out our lives in and through and because of Jesus. If we are true, consistent and faithful ambassadors for Christ, then when people are asked “Who is the first person who comes to mind when you think about Christianity?”, the answer should instantly be “Jesus.”

    A.W. Tozer once said, “Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way.” May this Pew Research challenge us to live our lives with the eloquence of the Gospel.

    Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.