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I have been in the polling business for 50 years. Most of my career was with the Gallup Poll where I wrote press releases, worked on questions, and interviewed people. I may have interviewed more people than anybody in the world. In the midst of a very fulfilling career, my passion has always been to see survey research as a form of ministry—to dig beneath the surface of life to find out to what extent people are responding or not responding to God.
We find that 8 in 10 Americans will say they are Christians, or that they are in the Christian tradition. But we must look closer at these figures. To quote Richard Reeves, author of The Empty Church, “Christianity in modern America is, in large part, innocuous. It tends to be easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. It does not require self-sacrifice, discipline, humility, an other worldly outlook, a zeal for souls, and a fear as well as a love of God. There is little guilt and no punishment and the payoff in heaven is virtually certain.”
Faith sometimes seems to be overwhelmed by the culture. But, before we throw up our hands, we have to look at the rest of the story. One of the projects I have been working on is a survey that measures the extent to which faith matters to people—how the love of God relates to the love of neighbor, how an intense love of God is played out in society. In a sense, this is an almost impossible task, but worthy of pursuing.
We asked people who say they are Christians or are in the Christian tradition—this obviously includes a lot of nominal and cultural believers—to respond to 15 items related to love of God and 15 items related to love of neighbor. The data really shows clearly that a deep love of God translates into a deep love of one’s neighbor.
There were huge differences in the data between those who called themselves Christians and those who showed a really deep love of God in the way they responded to statements such as:
• “When I am faced with a crisis, I find hope from my faith in Jesus Christ.”
• “I pray for non-Christians to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
• “I believe it is important to share my faith with my neighbor because Christ has commanded me to do so.”
• “God calls me to be involved in the lives of the poor and suffering.”
It became clear that although 80 percent of Americans call themselves Christian, that is a number worth clarification.
Having said that, let me also say that there are clear signs that there is much astir in America today. People are searching for meaning in their lives, seeking truth with a new intensity. They desire deeper relationships with other people. Those two are very closely related.
The Alpha difference
I believe that Alpha—the 10 week introductory course to Christianity that is now running in 138 countries—could be called the “tipping point” in promoting a transforming moment within our culture; a time of conversion.
Over the last several years, I have gotten to know the Alpha leadership—Nicky Gumbel, Sandy Millar, and Ali Hanna. I have also discovered that many people who participate in the program are transformed. The potential societal impact is immense. In many ways it is already happening, and I believe Alpha is part of a growing renewal process in this country.
Alpha reaches the unchurched and non-Christians in a welcoming and non-threatening way. The program is based on the premise that belonging comes before believing (for many years, we had it the other way around). Alpha provides a relational setting, and this is just what the American people need at this time.
Although it was overlooked by most social observers, one of the most profound movements of the last century that occurred in the last 15 years in our country was the sharply increasing percentage of people who believe in heaven, hell, and a personal God.
Of course, we have recorded this uptrend in our country constantly in polls, but it was rarely noticed, particularly by the media. This trend, however, is paralleled by an uptrend in those holding to nontraditional beliefs such as haunted houses and witches and that sort of thing. Someone rightly said that, “It’s not that Americans don’t believe in anything, they believe in everything.”
Renewal efforts
Societal transformation can occur when more of the 80 percent of
the American public that calls itself Christian moves into genuine outreach
activity. There is potential for spiritual renewal. There was a remarkable
article in the August issue of Christianity Today written by Michael
S. Hamilton and Jennifer McKinney. They wrote, “As American evangelicals
move into the 21st century, we may soon witness … a return to Orthodox
Christianity.” Additionally, they point out that most younger clergy
are more orthodox, so as older clergy die off, the age factor alone
will be significant.
There is also evidence of renewal on college campuses. My friend, Professor John DiIulio, the first Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George W. Bush, recently said this in a lecture at The James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, “Sit tight, because the religious revival that did not materialize a half-century ago is about to happen and it will be in full swing by the end of the decade. College students say religion is important in their lives. Every major campus-based survey said students are interested in talking about God. There is a groundswell of interest in integrating academe and religion, more than there has been in the last 50 years. And it won’t take a lot of people to make a difference on campus,” Dr. DiIulio concluded. It takes only a few people for the ripple effect to take place.
This is a rare opportunity for the churches of America. People are hungry for truth. They want to see truth-telling in their leaders, they are hungry for relationships, they are hungry to share their lives with other people on a deep transforming level. This is a time that is right for an explosion of faith. People are disheartened over the failures of society to provide a secular response to the deeply pervasive problems of today. The soil of the human heart is being prepared for the life changing and life saving message of Jesus Christ.
Alpha can, I believe, play a key role in bringing about a transforming moment in American Christianity. It can move the unchurched and nominal Christians to a deeper love of God through Jesus Christ by the graceful invitation, the transcendent power of growing together in small groups, and hearing the gospel presented in clear and compelling terms.
Dr. Bob Buford has written that “most Americans are stuck somewhere between disbelief and the quiet confidence of knowing God.” Alpha, I believe, can help Americans become unstuck.
Alpha leader Nicky Gumbel has said: “Once we have experienced a relationship with God, the purpose and meaning of life should become clear. We see things that we have never seen. Men and women would be foolish to want to return to the old life.” So many of us have discovered that, haven’t we? Our challenge as Christians is to help people make that astonishing discovery for themselves.
George Gallup Jr. is chairman of The George H. Gallup International Institute, sponsored by the Gallup International Research and Education Center (GIREC), and senior scientist and member of the Council of GIREC. This article is an adaptation of a presentation delivered at an Alpha event in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Steve Beard.
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