UNHOLY
AMERICANS

Topics: Believers; Holiness; Purity; Redemption; Repentance; Sanctification; Self-condemnation; Self-image; Shame

References: Leviticus 11:45; Matthew 7:13–23; Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 6:14–18; 7:1; Colossians 3:12; Hebrews 3:12; 1 Peter 1:15–16; 1 John 3:3

Most Americans don’t consider themselves to be holy, said a survey published by the Barna Group in 2006.

Three out of four Americans (73 percent) believe it is possible for someone to become holy regardless of their past. Only half of the adult population (50 percent), however, said that they knew someone they considered to be holy. That is more than twice as many as those who considered themselves to be holy (21 percent).

The views of born-again Christians were not much different from the national averages. Among believers, three-quarters (76 percent) said it is possible for a person to become holy regardless of his or her past. Slightly more than half of the group (55 percent) said they knew someone they would describe as holy. And roughly three out of ten Christians (29 percent) said they themselves were holy, which is marginally more than the national norm.

—“The Concept of Holiness Baffles Most Americans,” barna.org (February 20, 2006)