a conclusion ( 57 % vs . 44 % Christians ) or who demonstrate interest in other people ’ s stories ( 47 % each ). According to the study , practicing Christian teens track alongside their peers , noting a confident evangelist as someone who listens without judgment ( 66 %), is confident sharing their own perspective ( 62 %), is good at asking questions ( 54 %) and demonstrates interest in other people ’ s stories ( 51 %). They also show signs of a deeper faith experience here , favoring attributes like having a personal , vibrant faith ( 46 %), helping others have spiritual experiences ( 53 %) and being aware of one ’ s own inconsistencies ( 30 %). Christian teens who actually have faith conversations with non- Christians are aligned with Christian Gen Z , but are more likely to see proactivity as a sign of comfort in faith-sharing . Such traits include being good at asking questions ( 48 %) and focused on the details ( 36 %) and emotions ( 32 %) behind faith questions .
Non-Christian Teens Prefer to See Faith in Action , Not in Conversation According to non-Christian Gen Z , the most appealing evangelism occurs when Christians live out their faith , not when they explain it ( 23 % very appealing , 32 % somewhat appealing ). On the other hand , the study found that non-Christians very much dislike when Christians quote scripture or texts from the Bible as evidence for Christianity ( 24 % not very appealing , 34 % not at all appealing ), when the person wants to pray for the non-Christian as part of the conversation ( 19 % not very appealing , 30 % not at all appealing ) and when they are asked to give the reasoning behind their own lifestyle choices or beliefs ( 23 % not very appealing , 18 % not at all appealing ). Overall , Christian Gen Z teens do not seem to live in a “ Christian bubble .” They exhibit awareness of and even agreement with how their non-Christian peers think and feel about evangelization . They want to have low-stakes conversations for the benefit of their friendships .
About Three-in-Ten U . S . Adults are now Religiously Unaffiliated
What Makes an Engaging Witness , as Defined by Gen Z
In a recent study , Barna explores what it looks like to be comfortable in the act of talking about one ’ s Christian faith in an era where skepticism is high and evangelism unpopular . Focusing on various aspects of faith-sharing , including non-Christians ’ desired faith conversations , how people would like to explore curiosity about faith , and whether Christians believe it ’ s optional or a duty to share their faith with others , the study looked at the perspectives of young adults on these matters . This project paid special attention to how teens in Gen Z perceive comfort and confidence in the act of evangelism , and how non-Christians in this generation prefer to be approached when Christians are witnessing to them . The majority of teens ( especially non-Christians ) say someone who listens without judgment ( 66 % Christian , 72 % non-Christian ) seems like a person who ’ s comfortable sharing their faith . According to past Barna findings a number of Gen Z teens who had interacted with church or Christianity said church was not a safe space to express doubt . Gen Z teens desire conversation partners who are open to difficult topics . U . S . Christian teens also perceive comfort in someone who is confident in sharing their opinion ( 56 % vs . 49 % non-Christians ) or good at asking questions ( 45 %, 46 %), while non-Christians look to those who don ’ t force
The latest Pew Research Center survey of the religious composition of the United States finds the religiously unaffiliated share of the public is 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago . According to Pew , Christians continue to make up a majority of the U . S . populace , but their share of the adult population is 12 points lower in 2021 than it was in 2011 . In addition , the share of U . S . adults who say they pray on a daily basis has been trending downward , as has the share who say religion is “ very important ” in their lives . Currently , about three-in-ten U . S . adults ( 29 %) are religious “ nones ” – people who describe themselves as atheists , agnostics or “ nothing in particular ” when asked about their religious identity . Self-identified Christians of all varieties ( including Protestants , Catholics , members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and Orthodox Christians ) make up 63 % of the adult population . Christians now outnumber religious “ nones ” by a ratio of a little more than two-to-one . In 2007 , when the Center began asking its current question about religious identity , Christians outnumbered “ nones ” by almost five-to-one ( 78 % vs . 16 %). The recent declines within Christianity are concentrated among Protestants . Today , 40 % of U . S . adults are Protestants , a group that is broadly defined to include nondenominational Christians and people who describe themselves as “ just Christian ” along with Baptists , Methodists , Lutherans , Presbyterians and members of many other denominational families , according to the study . The Protestant share of the population is down 4 percentage points over the last five years and has dropped 10 points in 10 years .
CHURCH EXECUTIVE . COM | 21