Generational Gaps

A recent Barna survey shows that younger Americans are less likely to consider the Bible accurate.^* The results show that for Americans ages 18–25, only 30% believe the Bible is “totally accurate,” and for ages 26–44, the percentage is less than 40%. This compares to almost 60% for those ages 64 and older. Overall, says a Barna researcher, the “central theme of young people’s approach to the Bible is skepticism. They question the Bible’s history as well as its relevance to their lives.”

Similarly, among former evangelical churchgoers who are now in their twenties, an earlier Britt Beemer poll (reported in the book Already Gone) found that one of the key reasons for leaving the church is a belief that Scripture, including the history of Genesis, is false and/or irrelevant.

Apparently, the intensive effort by secular humanists to promote an evolutionary worldview and squash any hint of a biblical alternative in public schools has succeeded in spreading doubt about the Bible’s accuracy in the minds of the younger generation, even in conservative, evangelical churches.

^*“New Research Explores How Different Generations View and Use the Bible,” www.barna.org, October 19, 2009. This finding mirrors the research conducted by Britt Beemer of America’s Research Group and published in Already Gone coauthored by Ken Ham.