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(Ventura, CA) - Americans unanimously denounced the
September 11 terrorist attacks as a textbook example of evil,
suggesting that there is a foundational belief in an absolute
standard of right and wrong. Subsequent research, however, has
shown that in the aftermath of the attacks, a minority of
Americans believes in the existence of absolute moral truth.
Even more surprising, the data from a pair of nationwide studies
conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California
showed that less than one out of three born again Christians
adopt the notion of absolute moral truth. The surveys also found
that few Americans turn to their faith as the primary guide for
their moral and ethical decisions.
Truth Is Relative, Say
Americans
In two national surveys conducted by Barna Research, one
among adults and one among teenagers, people were asked if they
believe that there are moral absolutes that are unchanging or
that moral truth is relative to the circumstances. By a 3-to-1
margin (64% vs. 22%) adults said truth is always relative to the
person and their situation. The perspective was even more
lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends
on the circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is
absolute.
The gap between teen and adult views was not surprising,
however, when the adult views are considered by generation.
While six out of ten people 36 and older embraced moral
relativism, 75% of the adults 18 to 35 did so. Thus, it appears
that relativism is gaining ground, largely because relativism
appears to have taken root with the generation that preceded
today's teens.
The Barna study also showed that there is a racial component
to this issue, as well. Among whites, 60% endorse relativism,
compared to 26% who adopt absolutism. Among non-whites, however,
74% support relativism and just 15% believe in absolute
morality. (Fifteen percent of Hispanic adults and only 10% of
African-American adults contended that moral truth is absolute.)
Not surprisingly, born again Christians were more likely than
non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Among
adults, 32% of those who were born again said they believe in
moral absolutes, compared to just half as many (15%) among the
non-born again contingent. Among teenagers, there was still a
2-to-1 ratio evident, but the numbers were much less impressive:
only 9% of born again teens believe in moral absolutes versus 4%
of the non-born again teens.
Moral Decision-Making
The surveys also asked people to indicate the basis on which
they make their moral and ethical decisions. Six different
approaches were listed by at least 5% of the teenagers
interviewed, and eight approaches were listed by at least 5% of
adults. In spite of the variety communicated, there was a clear
pattern within both groups. By far the most common basis for
moral decision-making was doing whatever feels right or
comfortable in a situation. Nearly four out of ten teens (38%)
and three out of ten adults (31%) described that as their
primary consideration.
Among adults, other popular means of moral decision-making
were on the basis of the values they had learned from their
parents (15%), on the basis of principles taught in the Bible
(13%), and based on whatever outcome would produce the most
personally beneficial results (10%).
Teenagers were slightly different in their approach. One out
of six (16%) said they made their choices on the basis of
whatever would produce the most beneficial results for them.
Three alternative foundations were each identified by one out of
ten teens: whatever would make the most people happy, whatever
they thought their family and friends expected of them, and on
the basis of the values taught by their parents. Just 7% of
teenagers said their moral choices were based on biblical
principles.
Once again, the age pattern was evident. People 36 or older
were more than twice as likely as adults in the 18-to-35 age
group to identify the Bible as their basis of moral choices (18%
vs. 7%). The proportion of young adults who selected the Bible
as their primary moral filter was identical to that of
teenagers. In contrast, more than half of the young adults (52%)
and teenagers (54%) base their moral choices on feelings and
beneficial outcomes compared to just one-third of adults 36 and
older who do so (32%).
The racial pattern was evident on this matter, too. White
adults were nearly three times as likely as non-white adults to
base their moral choices on the Bible (17% vs. 6%). Blacks were
four times more likely than whites (23% vs. 6%), and Hispanics
were more than twice as likely as whites (16% vs. 6%) to base
their moral decisions on the potential benefits of their choice.
What It Means
These figures were cited by George Barna, whose firm
conducted the research, as a major reason underlying the data he
released in a controversial recent public presentation about the
moral views and behaviors of Christians. In that forum, which is
now available on videotape from Barna Research ("Morality and
the Church"), Barna noted that substantial numbers of Christians
believe that activities such as abortion, gay sex, sexual
fantasies, cohabitation, drunkenness and viewing pornography are
morally acceptable. "Without some firm and compelling basis for
suggesting that such acts are inappropriate, people are left
with philosophies such as 'if it feels good, do it,' 'everyone
else is doing it' or 'as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else,
it's permissible.' In fact, the alarmingly fast decline of moral
foundations among our young people has culminated in a one-word
worldview: 'whatever.' The result is a mentality that esteems
pluralism, relativism, tolerance, and diversity without critical
reflection of the implications of particular views and actions."
Barna emphasized the importance of the data related to the
views of teenagers and the born again population. "Just one out
of ten of our country's born again teenagers believe in absolute
moral truth - a statistic that is nearly identical to that of
non-born again teens. Christian families, educators and churches
must prioritize this matter if the Christian community hopes to
have any distinctiveness in our culture. The virtual
disappearance of this cornerstone of the Christian faith - that
is, God has communicated a series of moral principles in the
Bible that are meant to be the basis of our thoughts and
actions, regardless of our preferences, feelings or situations -
is probably the best indicator of the waning strength of the
Christian Church in America today."
The researcher stated that the difference in truth views
between born again and non-born again adults was statistically
significant, but not much to cheer about. "When a majority of
Christian adults, including three out of four born again Baby
Busters, as well as three out of four born again teens proudly
cast their vote for moral relativism, the Church is in trouble.
Continuing to preach more sermons, teach more Sunday school
classes and enroll more people in Bible study groups won't solve
the problem since most of these people don't accept the basis of
the principles being taught in those venues. The failure to
address this issue at its root, and to do so quickly and
persuasively, will undermine the strength of the church for at
least another generation, and probably longer."
Barna also reported that compared to a similar study his firm
conducted a decade ago, the basis of people's moral and ethical
decisions these days is more likely to be feelings and less
likely to be the Bible.
Survey Methodology
The data in this report are based on two nationwide telephone
surveys conducted by the Barna Research Group from its telephone
interviewing facility in Ventura, CA. The interviews among a
national random sample of 1010 adults were conducted in late
October and early November 2001. The maximum margin of sampling
error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3 percentage
points at the 95% confidence level. The interviews among a
national random sample of 604 teenagers (ages 13 to 18) were
conducted in November 2001. The maximum margin of sampling error
associated with the aggregate sample is ±4 percentage points at
the 95% confidence level. In both studies, people in the 48
continental states were eligible to be interviewed and the
distribution of those individuals coincided with the geographic
dispersion of the U.S. population. Multiple callbacks were used
to increase the probability of including a reliable distribution
of qualified individuals.
"Born again Christians" were defined in these surveys as
people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus
Christ that is still important in their life today and who also
indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven
because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus
Christ as their savior. Respondents were not asked
to describe themselves as "born again."
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing
research company located in southern California. Since 1984, it
has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs,
attitudes and behaviors. This research was funded solely by
Barna Research as part of its regular tracking of attitudes,
values and behavior.
If you would like to receive a bi-weekly update on the latest
research findings from the Barna Research Group, you may
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Survey Question: Some people believe that there are
moral truths that are absolute, meaning that those moral truths
or principles do not change according to the circumstances.
Other people believe that moral truth always depends upon the
situation, meaning that their moral and ethical decisions depend
upon the circumstances. How about you? Do you believe that there
are moral absolutes that are unchanging, or that moral truth is
relative to the circumstances, or is this something you have
never really thought about? |
