Here are some “fast facts” about people in the U.S. and elsewhere, published in the August issue of Evangelism Connection from Mission America. The list illustrates the importance of researching the nature of the communities that we seek to reach with the gospel.
- Only 11% of those who abandon their childhood Christian faith had a very strong faith as a child and came from a home where a vibrant faith was taught and practiced.
- Only 18% of young adults raised with any religion are now unaffiliated with a particular faith.
- Only 1 in 4 Americans aged 18 to 29 who are Christians are white vs. 7 in 10 for older Americans.
- More than half of America’s young Christians are people of color.
- 1 out of 3 Americans would be happy if an immediate family member married a born-again Christian.
- 88% of U.S. households own at least one Bible, and the average number of Bibles per household is 4.7.
- Only 37% of Americans report reading the Bible once a week or more.
- Of those who read Scripture regularly, 57% give a lot of thought to how it might apply to their life.
- Approximately 150 million Americans are not engaged with any religious community.
- About 800 to 1,000 Southern Baptist congregations cease to exist annually.
- 75% of people who died from religious hostility in ’12 were Muslims killed by Muslims.
- Moms are the primary breadwinner in 40% of U.S. homes with kids under 18.
- The average cost of a nonfatal disabling auto accident in the U.S. is $78,700.
- 9% of Americans would be happy if a family member married someone of a different race.
- 10% of Americans would be happy about a marriage to someone born and raised outside the U.S.
- 6% of Americans would be happy about marriage to someone who didn’t go to college.
- 82% of Millennials in the U.S. want to get married vs. 62% of the overall unmarried population.
- 72% of U.S. Millennials believe career is essential to their personal identity.
- 42% of U.S. mothers say they reduced work hours in order to care for a child or family member.
- College grads in the class of 2014 average $33K in debt.
- 70% of women have mobile phone separation anxiety vs. 61% of men.
- In the next 24 hours, 12 young people will have died as a result of murder.
- Last year, 39% of U.S. adults donated to a nonprofit organization to help people in extreme poverty.
- Roughly 40 million Millennials are now parents.
- 47% of U.S. women ages 15 to 44 have no children.
- 70% of working moms envy the time stay-at-home moms get to spend with their kids, which can lead to guilt.
- 60% of working moms would quit their jobs if it weren’t for the money.
- 75% of stay-at-home moms agree they have the best job, but 50% miss adult interaction and wish they were at work.
- The majority of stay-at-home moms envy working moms’ incomes.
- 43% of working moms think they work harder than their counterparts vs. 40% of stay-at-home moms.
- 90% of stay-at-home moms believe others underestimate their work.
- 56% of working moms think stay-at-home moms have more free time.
- On average, people with serious mental illness die up to 23 years sooner than other Americans.
- Mental illness costs Americans under age 70 more years of healthy life than any other illness.
