Views of young Christians about faith and politics

Over the past few years Teleios has shown the advantages of scripture on the wellbeing of individual Christians and society in general compared to non-believers and non-Christian societies. Please see www.teleiosresearch.com for more!

Despite the benefits of Christianity shown by Teleios and others, some individuals hate Christianity and Christ. Jesus predicted this would occur (John 15:18-25). Indeed, these people generally look for hope to another god, generally in a socialist, globalist and big government deity. Consequently, Christians need to be aware of the forceful enemies they face and importantly, their confidence is in God for His ultimate victory.

To evaluate evangelical millennials’ attitudes towards current events, in relationship to their faith, Teleios conducted a survey regarding faith and politics on two Instagram accounts frequented by Christian young Christians. Of the 336 responses the majority were: female (62%), <34 years old (79%), from the United States (80%) and evangelical (76%).

The majority of respondents (70%) indicated their faith was 'somewhat' to 'very outreach-oriented' with only 19% saying it was private. Almost 80% 'somewhat agreed' to 'strongly agreed' their country was founded on Christian morality and ethics. Further, over 92% noted it was important to maintain Christian morals and ethics in society.

Regarding the current American president, Donald Trump, 63% 'somewhat' to 'strongly agreed' he was supportive to Christianity and the church, while 22% disagreed.

Respondents indicated the best way to be engaged in world affairs was to spread the gospel and support foreign missions (65% each) as well as keep informed of Christian mission-related news (60%) and help the government keep order in society (53%).

Participants believed that Christianity was the most persecuted religion in the world (57%) followed by Islam (20%) with 21% being unsure. Several recent studies have shown that indeed Christianity by far is the most persecuted religion in the world (https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/).

Interestingly, while wellbeing scores were generally good (4.6 average on a scale of 0-6 with 6 being best) and consistent with our past research, when scores were compared to other individual questions, those who agreed to the questions below had better wellbeing (P ≤ 0.017):

·       The church is engaged in a battle with evil forces both in your country and abroad.

·       Believers should elect leaders and appoint judges who will protect the Christian faith and stand for traditional biblical values.

·       Believers should maintain Christian morals and ethics in society.

·       The current American president is supportive of Christianity and the church.

·       Christians should biblically engage in world affairs, especially by spreading the Gospel and participating in foreign mission trips most frequently chosen as the way to be involved.

Importantly, wellbeing was better in Christians who face the issue of the resistance against their religion and also hold to biblical values. Therefore, living by the truth appears to be important in life.

In summary, young Christians recognize the importance of engagement in world affairs associated with Christian issues and recognize US President Trump’s support of the church. Further, they believe in maintaining the moral and ethical basis of Christianity in society. Such beliefs appear to benefit their personal wellbeing.

All the findings of the survey can be found here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-NZGHBB238/) as well as other findings from Teleios Research are on our website (http://www.teleiosresearch.com/).

Are there benefits to a Christian society?

Christianity underpins the foundation of Western society. Recent Teleios research has shown that individuals in societies embracing biblical values have better wellbeing than those in non-Christian nations and are characterized by other positive measures within the economic, legal, security, health, and educational realms that might serve as markers of personal happiness. Nonetheless, some deny the historical and current benefits of Christianity.

Teleios conducted a survey regarding the benefits of Christian society on an Instagram account frequented by Christian adolescents and millennials. There were 565 responses. The majority of responders were: female (78%), < 35 years (67%), primarily from the United States (60%) or Europe (13%) and primarily evangelical (88%).

A slight plurality (46%) believed they were living in a Christian versus secular based society (45%). Respondents noted advantages to living in a Christian society, compared to any other type of society (41%) and compared specifically to a secular society (18%). Participants indicated the top 3 potential advantages of a Christian society were a stronger moral (82%) and ethical base (71%) as well as greater love among people (75%).

Within the advantages noted of a Christian society in relation to government, the top three responses were: recognizing the primary biblically mandated role of government to keep order in society (60%); maintain individual rights, especially freedom of religion and expression (56%); and reduce corruption (54%).

In contrast, the greatest potential disadvantage of a Christian society was seen as Christians becoming too complacent with power and forgetting the love of Christ (64%). Participants believed most often Christians could help maintain a balance between preserving freedom and avoiding religious despotism by assuring the church and individuals are teaching the word of God (60%).

This survey suggests that young Christians recognize generally the benefits of Christian society. However, they lack a more complete knowledge of the benefits of biblical principles within society. This provides an opportunity for Christian teachers and pastors to teach young people to understand our heritage and scripture’s formative role and impact upon it.

All the findings of the survey can be found here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-QLJP2FJB8/).

Young Christians Biblical Knowledge of End Times

Our view of the future is key to how we live our lives. If we have hope in a sure eternity, we anchor our souls to a solid belief which helps protect our minds now and when we one day face the prospect of dying.

Just as important as facing death, even young people benefit from firm hope as they confront potential disappointments in life with family, work, marriage and health. This includes not only personal tragedies but also failing to meet expectations you once possessed for your life.

Teleios recently conducted a survey regarding biblical knowledge of end times. There were 681 responses. The majority of responders were: female (67%), <35 years old (73%), from the United States (60%) and evangelical (74%).

A plurality of respondents (38%) believed that prophetic literature in the Bible should be interpreted in a normal literal way; otherwise, how the original author intended it, whether a letter, poetry or symbols related to an actual event.

Regarding specific questions about the end times, when a response was provided, participants mostly answered in a biblically consistent way. For example, for the Rapture, the majority identified that it will occur at a time only known by God (78%), when believers will be taken to meet Christ (58%). For the Tribulation, 51% noted that it was a 7-year time period and 42% knew it will happen just before Christ's return to the earth. Respondents indicated clearly 'eternity' is a believer's lasting presence with God (71%).

For the Kingdom of Christ, 36% thought it is a time of peace and prosperity on the earth. However, 57% believed Christ’s Kingdom is heaven, which may not be the case as these locations are described differently in scripture (Daniel 7:27).

Nonetheless, the total percent of correct biblical answers were relatively low (30-55%) even though the percent of wrong answers were generally even lower (<30%). Those marking unsure' typically were between 10-20%.

Wellbeing scores were generally good (4.5; scale of 0-6 with 6 being best) and consistent with our past research. However, those who demonstrated a greater knowledge of eternity as represented in the book of Revelation reported on average better wellbeing (P=0.03).  Interestingly, this finding is consistent with Revelation 1:3 itself in that it promises those who read it persistently will be blessed (happy).

These findings indicate that when young evangelicals answer questions about biblical end times they typically are correct. However, the overall percent of those answering correctly was low. This shows a need for better education about Christ’s second coming from pastors and lay leaders to help fortify young evangelicals and their hope in salvation.

Unfortunately, teaching about end times is often avoided because of controversy surrounding several different types of end times interpretations including Calvinist versus pre-millennial theologies. However, this problem may be resolved by simply teaching scripture in a literal, normal fashion.

Importantly these data also demonstrated better wellbeing for those aware of end times scripture.

Thank you for reading my blog. Return again soon as we continue to discuss the amazing facts of the Bible and analyze the encouraging findings from Teleios’ research.

All the findings of the survey can be found here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-LF9CJDG58/).