Survey: Church affiliation on decline in Warren County
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Nearly half of the 588 fair-goers who participated in the poll declared they had no church preference. More than one-third indicated a preference for the Church of Christ, while 9 percent cited Baptist churches as their choice.
The share of respondents showing no particular church leaning has been growing steadily since Central Church of Christ began the survey in the mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, “no-preference” surged into first-place, displacing the Church of Christ in the top spot, and has continued to grow since then. The “no-preference” score jumped almost 5 percent from 2003 to this year, pollsters noted.
“You can draw a lot of different conclusions from the results of these surveys,” said Charles Bogle, one of Central’s elders. “But one thing is quite clear: the church needs to reclaim its traditional position of spiritual and moral authority in our increasingly troubled and fragmented society.
“Of our total survey number, 288 people, or 48.6 percent, said they did not identify with any particular church. Does this mean they are unconcerned about their spiritual well-being? I don’t think so.
“It could mean some of that number is searching for a church home. They are seekers,” continued Bogle. “While others are trying to fulfill their spiritual needs outside of a traditional church.”
The annual religious preference survey is admittedly unscientific, as respondents are not selected at random.
“But because of the large number of respondents, we think we’re able to offset some of the technical and statistical deficiencies of the survey and present a fairly reliable picture of religious attitudes, given the limitations of our methods,” said Ken Campbell, who directs the annual survey.
The poll is conducted at Central’s information booth and hospitality center in the Clifford McClain Grandstand. Fair-goers who stop at the booth are asked to state their church preference, if any.
Because the fair booth is advertised as a Central Church of Christ outreach project, it is expected to attract a disproportionately high number of members from the numerous Church of Christ congregations in Warren County, survey organizers acknowledge. And that circumstance would likely skew the preference numbers in favor of that religious body.
The local survey, though unscientific, reflects nationwide trends of stagnant or declining attendance at traditional churches which emphasize Bible teaching and moral discipline.
The survey sample represents about four-tenths of 1 percent of the estimated 150,000 visitors at the 2004 fair. The relative ranking of other church preferences was consistent with that reported in previous years, with Methodist and Church of God cited as fourth and fifth-place choices, respectively. One new respondent this year, not shown in earlier polls, was a professed atheist.