Last month the Pew Forum released part of their US Religious Landscape Survey. I found some parts of overview troubling, especially the amount of Eastern Mysticism within the Protestant Faiths. for example:
Compared with other religious traditions, white evangelical Protestants consistently express lower levels of acceptance of both Eastern beliefs (reincarnation, yoga) and New Age beliefs (spiritual energy in physical things and astrology). For example, roughly one-in-ten white evangelicals believes in reincarnation, compared with 24% among mainline Protestants, 25% among both white Catholics and those unaffiliated with any religion, and 29% among black Protestants. Similarly, 13% of white evangelicals believe in astrology, compared with roughly one-quarter or more among other religious traditions. There are few differences among religious traditions in belief in the “evil eye,” though black Protestants stand out for high levels of belief on this question (32%).
Translation to Midwest Baptist church application: 1 out of every 4 people who walk in the doors of your church and claim to be Christians have no stinking clue what they really believe. Looks like those in charge of discipleship in the church have a big project ahead of them. [Link to full report]
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