VENTURA, Calif. -- Americans are going to church and reading their Bibles more often, but little else has changed during the last decade, according to the Barna Research Group.
Barna's annual study of 1001 adults showed little to no change in people's core theological beliefs, according to a news release. Among the study's findings:
- Forty-three percent of adults attend a church or religious service each week. That figure has not budged by more than 3 percentage points since 1992 except for the low mark of 37 percent in 1996, Barna reported.
- The 42 percent of adults who read the Bible each week outside church or a religious center is the highest figure since the early ‘90s.
- Adult Sunday school attendance climbed to 25 percent this year. That's the highest it's been since the late 1980s and a significant rise from 19 percent in 2000 and 2001, Barna reported.
- In 1996, fewer than half of all adults (44 percent) who described themselves as Christian said they were absolutely committed to Christianity. The 2002 survey indicates half of all individuals (50 percent) who say they are Christian claim to be absolutely committed.
