A recent report by Lifeway Research revealed that a significant portion of Protestant churchgoers in the United States are not well-acquainted with the term “deconstruction” in the context of struggles with religious belief. According to the Lifeway survey, only 36% of Protestant churchgoer respondents stated that they were either familiar or very familiar with the notion of “deconstruction.” This term refers to the process in which individuals systematically analyze the Christian beliefs they were raised with. In contrast, 32% of respondents expressed being “somewhat familiar” or “not that familiar” with deconstruction, indicating a limited understanding of the term. Additionally, 28% of participants reported that they had not heard of the term “deconstruction” before, and 3% were unsure about its meaning.
The Christian Post reports:
Most Protestant churchgoers in the United States are not very familiar with the term “deconstruction” as it applies to struggles with religious belief, according to a recent report by Lifeway Research.
A Lifeway survey found that only 36% of Protestant churchgoer respondents were either familiar or very familiar with “the concept of an individual deconstructing their faith in which they systematically dissect and often reject Christian beliefs they grew up with.”
By contrast, 32% of respondents were either “somewhat familiar” or “not that familiar” with deconstruction, while 28% had “not heard the term deconstruction before” and 3% were “not sure.”
Also, among those who had heard of deconstruction, 37% reported that “they have seen attendees of their church who deconstructed their faith,” while 47% said they had not and 15% were not sure.
For its report, Lifeway used an online survey of 1,002 U.S. Protestant churchgoers conducted Sept. 19-29, 2022, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3% at a 95% confidence level.
Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a statement released last week that he felt it was “not surprising the majority of churchgoers are not very familiar with the term ‘deconstruction,’ since it often describes a person’s private journey or one that’s shared within a limited social set.”
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