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Excerpts from the
April 10, 2018 edition of
The FOSTER Letter—Religious
Market Update
Never Heard of the Great
Commission 51% of
U.S. churchgoers say they do not know the term “The Great
Commission,” finds a recent Barna Study with Seed Company. Only 17%
were actually familiar with the Matthew 28:18-20 passage known by
this name. But the term “does ring a bell” for 25%. 6% of
churchgoers are simply not sure whether they have heard the term
before. Practicing Christians recognize the Great Commission at 4
times the rate of non-practicing churchgoers (25% vs. 6%).
(Barna
3/27/18)
The
Bible Has Been Removed
from
online marketplaces in China, as Beijing clamps down on how its
citizens practice religion. China has always controlled sales of the
Bible, only allowing it to be distributed and printed by
state-sanctioned churches, but in recent years it had been available
to buy online. Two online merchants told CNN customers they may
still obtain copies from them through private messages, but public
listing of the Bible is now impossible on Taobao.
(CNN 4/5/18)
Broken Market
Just because you’re good at something
doesn’t mean the market cares any longer. It’s extremely difficult
to repair the market. It’s a lot easier to find a market that will
respect and pay for the work you can do. If Wal-Mart or some
cultural shift has turned what you do into a commodity, don’t argue.
Find a new place before the competition does. It’s not easy or fair,
but I can help. Call 419-238-4082, e-mail
Gary@garydfoster.com or
visit
www.garydfoster.com.
(Seth Godin’s Blog
1/6/09)
More Women Than Men Attend
Church A
study by Pew Research shows
that currently those who attend church at least once a week are
composed of 43% men and 57% women. Of this group who attend church
at least once a week, only 19% have never been married, 9% are
widowed, and 12% are divorced or separated. The rest (60%) are
married or cohabitating.
Additionally, the single people at church are disproportionately
represented by women. Single Adult Ministry
cites 23% of single women attend church regularly vs. only 15% of
single men.
(ChurchLeaders.com
3/9/18)
Masculinity Under Assault
Dr. Jordan Peterson,
author of the bestselling 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos,
claims there is a “directed policy” to emphasize that there is
some-thing wrong with masculinity and it should be limited in “all
sorts of arbitrary ways. The fact that male behavior is often
diagnosed as Attention Deficit Disorder is a manifestation of that,”
he said. 77% of U.S. suicide deaths are suffered by males and 7
million working-age American men are now unemployed. Sperm counts
across the west have plummeted almost 60% since the early ’70s and
scientists don’t know why. Men’s testosterone levels have also
fallen precipitously. One study found the average levels of male
testosterone dropped by 1% every year after ’87. Unrelated to age,
the average 40-year-old-man in ’17 had testosterone levels 30% lower
than the average 40-year-old man in ’87. Low testosterone in men is
associated with depression, lethargy, weight gain and decreased
cognitive ability.
(LifeSite News 3/8/18)
Low Literacy Rates
cost the U.S. at least $225 billion each year in non-productivity in
the workforce, crime, and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
(National Council for Adult
Learning)
Americans Open to Counseling
42% of U.S. adults
have seen a counselor at some point in their lives. 13% are
currently seeing a counselor or therapist, while 28% have done so in
the past. 36% are at least open to it, although 23% say they would
never see a counselor. By all measures, Millennials and Gen X have
more interest in counseling than Boomers and Elders. 21% of
Millennials and 16% of Gen X are currently engaged in therapy vs. 8%
of Boomers and 1% of Elders. Also, younger adults are more likely to
say someone in their immediate family goes to counseling,
particularly Gen X. 17% of adults say a family member is currently
seeing a counselor. Generationally this includes 21% of Millennials,
24% of Gen X, 11% of Boomers and 5% of Elders. Among those who have
seen a counselor, 39% were referred by a doctor, and 19% by a friend
or family member. When asked which two attributes are most important
to them in choosing a counselor, 46% said affordability and 42%
specialization or expertise.
(Barna
2/27/18)
Christian Asylum Seekers
In ’17, Open Doors surveyed
123 Christian asylum seekers in Sweden.
53% of respondents reported
they have been affected by violent assaults at least once, due to
their Christian faith. 5% reported they have been threatened by
death at least once and 6% have been a target of sexual assaults.
(Christianity
Today 3/14/18)
Divided Loyalties
When megachurch participants were asked if they considered this
church their “church home,” just 75% said this was their only home
church. 11% didn’t consider this their home church (yet only 7% said
they were visiting). 12% claimed the megachurch as “home” but said
they also attended other churches as well. Therefore, almost a
quarter of those in worship any weekend have divided loyalties to
the church they are in. If attenders have a church home other
than the one they attended for the survey or claim to have multiple
homes, they are far less likely to attend, give, volunteer or invite
others than do those who say this congregation is their only
church home. Also, 45% say they never volunteer and 32% give nothing
financially while 40% do not participate in any small group.
(Harford
Institute for Religion Research)
Puddle, Swamp, Ocean,
or Well? When you’re thinking about developing a new product or
ministry, it’s essential that you find out 2 things: 1) How
widespread is the public’s interest in it? 2) How deep is
that interest? If interest is not widespread and not very deep,
you’re looking at a puddle. Never invest time or money in a
puddle. If interest is widespread but not very deep, you’re looking
at a swamp. Be careful of swamps, they look like oceans at
first, because everyone is interested. Many have gone broke when
what looked like a swamp turned out to be an ocean. If interest is
wide and deep, you’re looking at an ocean. But you’re going
to need a platform on which to navigate your ocean. If you don’t
have a platform, you’ll drown and you’re going to need a plan or
you’ll drift. If public interest is narrow but deep, you’ve got a
well. Don’t underestimate it. You can draw a lot of water from a
well. Are you in a puddle, a swamp, an ocean, or a well? I can
objectively help you find out. Contact me at 419-238-4082,
Gary@garydfoster.com or
www.garydfoster.com
(Monday Morning Memo 7/9/07)
American Book Reading
About three-quarters (74%)
of Americans have read a book in the past 12 months in any format, a
figure that has remained largely unchanged since ’12, according to a
Pew Research Center. Print books remain the most popular format for
reading, with 67% having read a print book in the past year. 29%
read books in digital formats (same as in recent prior years) and
18% listened to an audio book (vs. 14% in ’16). Overall, Americans
read an average (mean) of 12 books per year, while the typical
(median) American has read 4 books in the past 12 months, largely
unchanged since ’11.
(Pew Research Center 3/8/18)
Clash of Worldviews
America is definitely in a time of agitation, desperately seeking
resolution. Recent studies by the American Culture and Faith
Institute have found 6 out of 10 Americans are angry about the state
of the nation. 2 out of 3 contend the government cannot be trusted
to do what is in the best interests of the country. 70% say
government has too much control over our lives. Huge majorities of
people argue that the United States is moving in the wrong direction
on at least 3 important fronts: politically, morally, and
culturally.
(American Culture & Faith Institute 3/14/18)
What Americans Think of Sin
According to LifeWay Research 67% of Americans confess to being a
sinner. The rest don’t see themselves as sinners (8%), don’t think
sin exists (10%), or preferred not to answer (15%). 5% don’t mind
being one, while 34% say they are working on being less of a sinner
and 28% are depending on Jesus to over-come their sin. More women
(33%) than men (22%) say they depend on Jesus to overcome sin, as do
more Protestants (49%) than Catholics (19%) and more evangelicals
(72%) than non-evangelicals (19%). 51% of those who attend religious
services at least monthly say they depend on Jesus, vs. 15% of those
who go less frequently. A ’16 LifeWay study found 65% of Americans
think everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.
Americans with evangelical beliefs were less likely to agree than
those without evangelical beliefs (54% vs. 68%). 79% of those
surveyed said people have the ability to turn to God on their own
initiative while nearly the same number rejected the idea of a small
sin deserving eternal damnation (74% disagreed, 62% strongly). 57%
of Americans and 97% of evangelicals said it would be fair for God
to show his wrath against sin. About the same number said there will
be a time Jesus will return to judge all people (59% Americans vs.
96% evangelicals).
(ChristianityToday.com 3/28/18)
Americans Are Becoming Less
Empathetic. This is
troubling because empathy is a cornerstone characteristic of a
healthy society and the very marrow of Christian love. Alarmingly,
incoming college students after ’00 were found to be up to 40%
less empathetic than past generations.
(ChristianityToday.com
2/23/18)
Hard Working
Americans logged an average 1,783 hours of work in ’16. That's
at least 100 more hours a year than the average worker in other OECD
countries like the UK, France, Germany, or Sweden.
(Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development)
Why Church Visitors Don’t
Return
According to Thom
Rainer, “Churches perceive they are a friendly church because the
members are friendly to one another. LifeWay Research
asked visitors specifically why
they did not return to a particular church. Here were their top 10
responses: 1. The stand-and-greet time in the worship service was
unfriendly and awkward. 2. Unfriendly church members. 3.
Unsafe and unclean children’s areas. 4. No place to get information
on the church. 5. Bad church website.
6. Poor signage.
7. Insider church language.
8. Boring or bad church services.
9. Members telling guests they were in the wrong pew or
chair. 10. Dirty
facilities.
(Becoming A
Welcoming Church by Thom
Rainer, 2018, B&H Publishing Group)
Reality
Check
Former CBA
CEO Bill Anderson states, “It starts with the customer (or
constituent). It ends with the customer (or constituent).
The fact is our competitors don’t put us out of business; our
customers (or constituents) do. And they do it when we give them
permission by not being their best preferred option.” Let me help
make sure you are not inadvertently giving your customers or
constituent’s permission to put you out of business or ministry.
Contact 419-238-4082,
Gary@garydfoster.com or
www.garydfoster.com.
(CBA Resources+Retailers 1/08)
Religious People More Likely to
be Married In the
U.S., 48% of all American adults say they are married, according to
the 2014 Religious Landscape Study.
Much smaller shares of U.S. adults say they are living with a
partner (7%), are divorced or separated (13%), or are widowed (7%).
A quarter of Americans say they’ve never been married. In certain
U.S. religious groups, a higher-than-average share of adults say
they are married. For instance, 60% or more Mormons, members of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and members of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America are married. The same holds true for
Hindus, Southern Baptists and members of the Episcopal Church. By
contrast, 39% of atheists, agnostics and those who say their
religion is “nothing in particular” and Buddhists are married.
Catholics (52%) and Orthodox Christians (48%) have marriage rates
comparable to the general population.
(Pew Fact
Tank 3/19/18)
Americans View of The Ten
Commandments A new survey by YouGov and Deseret News
found 94% of Americans and 99% of evangelicals believe the command-ment
against murder remains significant. After murder, the commandments
against stealing (99% of evangelicals vs. 94% of Americans), lying
(99% of evangelicals vs. 91% of Americans), honoring parents (97% of
evangelicals vs. 85% of Americans) and adultery (94% of evangelicals
vs. 83% of Americans) were viewed as most important.
(Christianity
Today 3/28/18)
What’s Worrying
Americans 55% of Americans worry “a great deal” about the
availability and affordability of health-care, topping concerns
about 14 other issues Gallup tested. Slim majorities also worry
about crime and violence, federal spending and the budget deficit,
and the availability of guns. Unemployment and affordable energy
rank last. (Gallup
3/26/18)
For information on how to become a subscriber to the entire 3-4 page
Foster Letter---Religious Market Update, E-mail us at: subscribe@garydfoster.com
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