At church, churchgoers are surrounded by people who share their religious beliefs, but that doesn’t prevent them from having friends who believe differently.
Most U.S. Protestant churchgoers (71%) say they currently have friends with different religious beliefs, according to a Lifeway Research study. Around 2 in 5 say they have agnostic (44%), Jewish (41%) or atheist friends (39%). More than a quarter (28%) have Muslim friends. Around 1 in 10 report having Buddhist (11%) and Hindu (11%) friends.
Around 1 in 5 (18%) say they don’t have friends from any of these groups. Another 11% aren’t sure. On average, churchgoers have friends from at least two other religious groups.
“Most Christian churchgoers do not live in a religious bubble. They have friends who are not Christians and have talked about faith enough to know what type of religious beliefs they have,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Investigación de Lifeway.
Around 2 in 3 Americans identify as Christian, according to both Banco de investigación y Gallup. Close to 3 in 10 are religiously unaffiliated, and fewer than 1 in 10 identify as one of the other religions. Jews, Muslims, Buddhist and Hindus are each around 1%.
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Inter-religious friendships
Some demographics of churchgoers are more likely than others to have friends from other religious groups. In general, churchgoers who are younger, male and have additional formal education are more likely to have relationships beyond their faith background.
Protestant churchgoers who are 18-34 years old are among the most likely to say they have agnostic (56%), Muslim (40%) and Buddhist friends (15%). They are also among the least likely to say they don’t have friends from any of the other religions (13%). Those who are 65 and older are among the most likely to say they don’t have any inter-religious friendships (20%), but they are also among the most likely to say they have Jewish friends (44%).
Female churchgoers are more likely than male churchgoers to say they don’t have friends from other religious groups (23% v. 14%). Men are more likely than women to report having Jewish (46% v. 36%), Muslim (35% v. 22%) and Hindu friends (14% v. 8%).
Those with a high school education or less are among the most likely to say they aren’t friends with people with other religious beliefs (22%). They are also among the least likely to say they have Jewish (35%), atheist (31%) or Buddhist friends (8%).
Ethnically, African Americans are the most likely to have Muslim friends (54%), while white Americans are the least likely (20%). Protestant churchgoers who aren’t white, African American or Hispanic are the most likely to have Buddhist friends (34%) and among the most likely to have Jewish friends (55%).
Where churchgoers live also plays a role in their friendships. Those in the Northeast are among the most likely to have Jewish (50%), Muslim (38%) and Hindu friends (17%).
“How diverse the religious beliefs of your friends are can be related to how many people of other faiths work with or live near you,” said McConnell. “Proximity creates opportunities for friendships that cross religious lines, but Christians also have to be willing to meet and get to know people who have different beliefs.”
Religious differences
Among Protestant churchgoers, different denominations, church sizes and theological beliefs can play a role in the likelihood someone has a non-Christian friend.
Churchgoers at Restorationist movement congregations (26%), Methodists (25%), Lutherans (21%) and Baptists (20%) are among the most likely to say they aren’t friends with anyone from other religions. Non-denominational churchgoers (10%) are less likely to say so.
Different denominations, however, are more likely than others to have friends from specific religious groups. Those attending a non-denominational congregation are among most likely to have Jewish (47%), atheist (43%), Muslim (31%) and Hindu friends (15%). Presbyterian/Reformed churchgoers are among most likely to have Jewish (54%) and Muslim friends (35%).
Baptists are among the most likely to have atheist (38%) and Muslim friends (33%) but among the least likely to have Jewish friends (36%). Similarly, Methodists are among the most likely to have Muslim friends (36%) and among the least likely to have Jewish friends (15%). Lutherans are among the most likely to have atheist friends (39%) but among the least likely to have Muslim friends (16%).
Meanwhile, churchgoers at Restorationist movement congregations are among the least likely to have agnostic (26%), atheist (24%), and Buddhist friends (5%).
Those who attend a church of 500 or more are among the least likely to say they don’t have friends from any other religion (10%), while those at the smallest churches, with fewer than 50 in worship attendance, are among the most likely to say so (22%).
U.S. Protestant churchgoers without evangelical beliefs are more likely than those with such beliefs to have atheist friends (43% v. 35%), Muslim friends (34% v. 23%), Buddhist friends (14% v. 9%) and Hindu friends (14% v. 8%).
“Those with evangelical beliefs strongly agree it is very important that they personally encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior, but they have fewer relationships with people of other faiths that churchgoers who don’t feel this responsibility,” said McConnell. “Either they are sharing the gospel with strangers in these groups, or they are not being proactive in their convictions.”
Este artículo apareció originalmente en Investigación de Lifeway.
Aaron Earls is a senior writer at Lifeway Research.
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8 Respuestas
Fascinating statistics! Jesus told us to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. That entails leaving the church building and meeting people from all walks of life and all types of religion. Friendship usually precedes trust, and trust can open doors to discussions. God can then open hearts to the Gospel where we can plant seeds, but it is God that brings forth the harvest. It’s uplifting to know that so many believers are out there loving the lost.
Loving the lost and being friends with them are 2 separate positions.We love them with a biblical love. But we are warned of friendship wth unbelievers
2 cor 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
1 cor 15:33
Remember also Samson?
Following Jesus costs us but we get so much back. We have to deny ourselves.I love so many unbelievers but I’ve learned to watch myself vry closely in their company because of so many snares.
It is our responsibility under our service to God, to administer to what all of us are (sinners). Just because we are around non-christians does not mean we stop following the commandments, or change our faith based behaviors to willfully engage in sin. Just because Paul could not handle this issue, does not mean it applies to all, and those that are weak in this area should be careful, but those that are not have a responsibility to preach to them.
Mark 2:15-17
15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Matthew 9:10-17
10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
see Luke 15
I wonder why the bible says ..friendship with the world is hostility toward god ? I guess some of us are able..that is to ..have the authority to change the rules a little bit ? oh well so much for some of that stuff thats written ..right?
Just because you have friends who are not of the same flavor of Christianity, or not a believer at all doesn’t mean you become worldly. There are too many Christians who live in an echo chamber and don’t realize it. I suppose for some it makes them feel safe (or superior), but it’s a false sense of security.
Ever since I became a Christian nearly 30 years ago, I have never understood this seeming contradiction. On one hand we are supposed to share our faith with nonbelievers. And on the other hand, we are not supposed to willingly spend any significant amount of time with nonbelievers. How do you share your faith with someone without befriending them? I mean are we just supposed to be salesmen for God who quickly go on to the next prospect if we are not successful in our pitch?
I recall the church growth plan we embarked on sometime in the 1980’s. It centered on writing down the names of 5 friends (or persons) in your world who did not “know Christ.” We were admonished to keep that list to pray earnestly for these folks’ salvation. Very few people in our church at that time could even make a full list. Our pastor told us that the longer you had been ‘saved’ the less non-Christians you probably knew. Didn’t work at all to build the church. After all, not too many people seem to enjoy proselytizing–and most do not enjoy be proselytized. It gets weird very quicky, treating people as needy objects or tally marks on some targeted list.
Now that I have studied my way to a serene atheism, not only does this “non-Christian friend” moniker smack of self-absorption and narcissism, it is pretty darn offensive. Should I mention that I have one (1) ‘Christian’ friend from the church I attended for more than forty years? We simply like each other, and she’s one of those kind people not taking the Bible literally when it says we non-believers aren’t even worth being around–or according to James, worth being alive, for all the dangers we pose to belief. She didn’t write me a condemnation or un-friend me, or tell me how offended she was.
Turns out just being a decent human being will do when being a good friend.
And, can I just say, as categories here go, Agnostic and Atheist* are NOT religions and should not be characterized as such. No gods, no superstitions, no bumps in the night. And–no religion or dogma, thank goodness.
*simply means a (without) theist (beliefs-no belief in gods of anyone’s making).
I like to hear this.
Saying this as someone who has dear friends from college (over 25 years ago) who have personally told me that it was through our friendship that they came to see and know the Lord. Not through a sales pitch. Not through endless invitations to church services and events. Not through scripture quoting, sanctimonius “I’m not supposed to be friends with you because I cannot be unequally yoked” explanations.
But by merely living out my faith and standing firm through all life has thrown at me. That is what led my friends to ask me for guidance when life threw challenges at them. And there was the opening.
We cannot underestimate how some things are “caught” versus merely “taught” – especially by those who are close enough to know we aren’t being performative: our friends.