{"id":32245,"date":"2022-09-10T16:02:02","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/americans-arent-sure-if-the-church-is-helping-national-unity\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:02:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:02","slug":"americans-arent-sure-if-the-church-is-helping-national-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/americans-arent-sure-if-the-church-is-helping-national-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans Aren\u2019t Sure if the Church Is Helping National Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Charles Postiaux photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Aaron Earls<\/em><\/p>\n

Is the church bringing people together in America or pushing them apart? Americans are\u2014ironically enough\u2014divided.<\/p>\n

In a study from Public Religion Research Institute, 40 percent say religious organizations are mostly bringing people together, 30 percent say they\u2019re mostly pushing people apart, and 27 percent say neither.<\/p>\n

The general public does seem sure that Americans are divided over religion (77 percent). But that\u2019s fewer than say the nation is divided over politics (91 percent) or race (83 percent).<\/p>\n

The number who say religious organizations are bringing people together is similar to the numbers of those who say colleges and universities (43 percent), public schools (41 percent), the military (41 percent), or workplaces (40 percent) are doing the same.<\/p>\n

Americans are most confident that community organizations and nonprofits are bringing people together (54 percent).<\/p>\n

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For political parties and the news media, the American public isn\u2019t as split.<\/p>\n

Only 5 percent believe political parties are uniting people, while 9 percent say the same about the media.<\/p>\n

More than 3 in 4 (78 percent) say political parties are pushing people apart, and 64 percent say the media is dividing the country.<\/p>\n

Despite seeing these institutions as divisive, Americans feel confident people can come together to solve the nation\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

Two-thirds (66 percent) say Americans who belong to different religious groups can work together to address national issues, including 71 percent of evangelical Protestants.<\/p>\n

Similar numbers of the public (66 percent) say the same about coming together across racial or ethnic lines.<\/p>\n

Americans are more pessimistic about people working together across the political divide. Almost 6 in 10 (59 percent) don\u2019t feel people who hold different political views can come together and solve the country\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

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Aaron Earls<\/h2>\n

@WardrobeDoor<\/p>\n

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See also  What Sparks Evangelical Generosity? Discipleship<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Aaron is a writer for LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n