(Ventura, CA) Americans have a global reputation for being religious people, but a new study from The Barna Group indicates that people’s most important personal relationship is not with God. Family surpassed their Heavenly Father as the key personal connection. However, when asked to identify the most important group or network in their life, colleagues from their church topped the list, mentioned by three out of every ten adults.
Most Important Relationship
Adults are clearly most focused on their family in terms of important relationships. Overall, seven out of ten adults mentioned family or family members as their most significant connection. One-third said their entire nuclear family is tops, while one-quarter (22%) named their spouse and one-sixth (17%) identified their children. (An additional 3% mentioned their parents as their key relationship.)
The only other relationship mentioned by at least 3% was various iterations of people’s deity. God, Jesus Christ, Allah, and the Trinity were among the names listed by one out of every five adults (19%).
Surprisingly, just 2% of adults said a specific friend represented their most important personal relationship.
Among the related findings were:
The people most likely to list God were 40 or older.
Political conservatives were almost three times as likely as political liberals to identify God as their most important relationship (33% vs. 12%, respectively).
People in the Midwest were only half as likely as residents of the West and Northeast to say their children are their most important relationship.
The only subgroup for which at least one-third said God was their most significant relationship was evangelicals, among whom 70% listed God.
Thirty percent of Protestants listed God as their most important connection. In contrast, just 9% of Catholics did so.
Blacks were about twice as likely as all other Americans to describe their bond with God as their most important relationship.
Women were nearly twice as likely as men to list their children as their most important relationship.
Most Important Relationship
Adults are clearly most focused on their family in terms of important relationships. Overall, seven out of ten adults mentioned family or family members as their most significant connection. One-third said their entire nuclear family is tops, while one-quarter (22%) named their spouse and one-sixth (17%) identified their children. (An additional 3% mentioned their parents as their key relationship.)
The only other relationship mentioned by at least 3% was various iterations of people’s deity. God, Jesus Christ, Allah, and the Trinity were among the names listed by one out of every five adults (19%).
Surprisingly, just 2% of adults said a specific friend represented their most important personal relationship.
Among the related findings were:
The people most likely to list God were 40 or older.
Political conservatives were almost three times as likely as political liberals to identify God as their most important relationship (33% vs. 12%, respectively).
People in the Midwest were only half as likely as residents of the West and Northeast to say their children are their most important relationship.
The only subgroup for which at least one-third said God was their most significant relationship was evangelicals, among whom 70% listed God.
Thirty percent of Protestants listed God as their most important connection. In contrast, just 9% of Catholics did so.
Blacks were about twice as likely as all other Americans to describe their bond with God as their most important relationship.
Women were nearly twice as likely as men to list their children as their most important relationship.
To check out the rest of the study, click here
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