A new study says prayer and belief in God reached an all-time low in America in 2014.
“Most previous studies concluded that fewer Americans were publicly affiliating with a religion, but that Americans were just as religious in private ways. That’s no longer the case, especially in the last few years,” says San Diego State University professor Jean M. Twenge, who led the research study.
Twenge and teammates Ryan Sherman of Florida Atlantic University and Julie J. Exline and Joshua B. Grubbs of Case Western Reserve University examined nearly 60,000 participants, including the much-discussed millennial generation.
The religion-related fall-off among Americans ages 18-29 was especially stark, which is “further evidence that millennials are the least religious generation in memory and possibly in American history,” Twenge said.
Her findings follow the same path as previously published studies, which declare “millennials are slowly taking America to hell.”
According to Meta Science News, the study indicated five times more Americans prayed in the early 1980s than in 2014 while nearly twice as many Americans believed in God in the 1980s than they do now.
“While 68 percent of Americans over 65 years old currently have no doubt that God exists, only 45 percent of young adults aged 18 to 30 agree. In terms of church attendance, 41 percent of people over 70 attend at least once a month compared to only 18 percent of people 60 years old and younger,” according to another study published by David Voas at the University College of London and Mark Chaves of Duke.
Despite the research evidence, though, revival cannot be ignored. Greg Laurie’s recent Harvest Crusade attracted more than 82,000 people at AT&T stadium earlier this month.
The recent airing of The Passion Live, which told the story of Jesus’ final hours netted 6.6 million viewers in a move host Tyler Perry hoped would launch revival around Hollywood.
In the United States, 60 percent want to read their Bibles, and 88 percent of American households own a Bible, according to the American Bible Society.
And to tap into the heart of millennials, Nick Hall of Reset 2016 is praying for generations to unite for Jesus with Together 2016.
“We’re building toward something unprecedented,” Hall says. “Imagine 1 million people from every background and ethnicity, standing and coming together to lay down what divides us and lifting up Jesus, who unites us. It would be a taste of heaven. It could define a generation.”
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