(Ventura, CA) Men are the senior pastors of more than nine out of ten Protestant churches (and, of course, 100% of Catholic churches). However, a new nationwide survey from the Barna Research Group suggests that women shoulder most of the responsibility for the health and vitality of the Christian faith in the country.

Without women, Christianity would have nearly 60% fewer adherents. The survey data show that nearly half of the nation's women have beliefs which classify them as born again (46%), compared to just about one-third of men (36%).¹ In other words, there are between 11 million and 13 million more born again women than there are born again men in the country.

Christianity is still the "faith-of-choice" among Americans, but particularly among women. When asked to identify their religious affiliation, 9 out of every 10 women nationwide (90%) said that they consider themselves to be Christian (compared to 83% of men).

Spiritual Heavy-Weights

One of the characteristics of women that emerges from the research is their high degree of spiritual depth. Nearly 8 out of every 10 women (79%) said that the term "spiritual" describes them accurately (contrasted with just 63% of men). Almost 7 out of every 10 female respondents (69%) resonated with the phrase "deeply spiritual" (among men, it was only 50%).

Perhaps even more indicative of women's sense of spiritual focus, 41% of women said that they have set specific spiritual goals that they hope to accomplish in the coming year or two; only 29% of men have identified such spiritual objectives.

Women are also more likely to acknowledge a significant faith commitment. Three-quarters of women (75%) said that their religious faith is very important in their life. That compares to just 3 out of every 5 men (60%) who indicated that their religious commitment is a critical aspect of their life.

Matters of Practice

Although women account for half of the U.S. adult population, they represent a majority of religiously active individuals in 12 out of the 13 religious activities examined. Women's participation levels outdistance that of men in the following areas:

• 100% more likely to be involved in discipleship - women are twice as likely to be taking part in a discipleship process at a church - although just 1 out of 7 women are involved in such a program (14% to 7%);

• 57% more likely to participate in adult Sunday school - 22% of women said that they have attended an adult Sunday school class in the past week (14% of men have attended such classes);

• 56% more likely to hold a leadership position at a church - about 1 out of 7 women (14%) in the country said that they have served in a leadership capacity at a church, not including the role of pastor (9% of men have held such positions);

• 54% more likely to participate in a small group - 1 out of every 5 women (20%) go to a small group that meets regularly for Bible study, prayer, or Christian fellowship (compared to 13% of men);

• 46% more likely to disciple others - 1 out of every 5 women (19%) are currently serving as the spiritual mentor to someone else (compared to 13% of men);

• 39% more likely to have a devotional time or quiet time - 61% of women said that, during the last seven days, they have intentionally spent time alone reading the Bible, reviewing devotional material, or praying (44% of men had done this);

• 33% more likely to volunteer for a church - one-quarter of women (24%) said that during the last week they have volunteered some of their time to help a church (18% of men had done so);

• 29% more likely to read the Bible - more than 2 out of every 5 women (45%) said that they have read the Bible during the past seven days (35% of men);
• 29% more likely to attend church - slightly fewer than 1 out of every 2 women (45%) said that they attended a Christian church service during the last week (35% among men);

• 29% more likely to share faith with others - more than one-quarter of women (27%) have shared their faith with someone else during the past 12 months, in the hope that the person would accept Christ as savior (21% among men);

• 23% more likely to donate to a church - while a majority of women have donated to a church in the past 30 days (59%), it is slightly less than half of men (48%) who have given money to a church;

• 16% more likely to pray - 89% of women have prayed to God in the past seven days (as did 77% of men).

The only religious activity in which men and women were equally likely to participate was meeting with a mentor or spiritual coach (19% of women and 19% of men were involved in such a relationship).

Family Spirituality

George Barna, president of the firm that conducted the research, commented about the role of men in the spiritual life of the family. "In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about men and women sharing household responsibilities more equally. Despite such an egalitarian vision, in most cases, roles are still often determined based upon gender - but that is especially true when it comes to the responsibility for the family's spiritual health and growth. Women, more often than not, take the lead role in the spiritual life of the family. Women typically emerge as the primary - or only - spiritual mentor and role model for family members. And that puts a tremendous burden on wives and mothers."

"If the Church is to stem the tide of biblical illiteracy and waning commitment to the Christian faith, men will have to reestablish themselves as partners and leaders of the spiritual functions of families. The family unit is the key for spiritual growth and maturation in our decentralized, relationally isolated culture. The apparent lack of spiritual leadership exhibited by millions of Christian men has significantly hampered the spiritual growth of tens of thousands of well-meaning but spiritually inert families."

Pursuing "Happiness

Women's high levels of affiliation with, commitment to, and participation in Christianity should not come as a surprise. Researchers note that a person's actions are typically a reflection of his or her most important goals and priorities. While men typically emphasize such issues as career attainment, achieving financial independence, and decision-making competence, most women place a premium on matters of faith.

When asked to identify conditions that would create a desirable life, three-quarters of U.S. women (75%) said that having a close personal relationship with God was a "very" desirable life condition (among men, the figure was 65%). This priority was only ranked behind the objectives having one marriage partner for life and having good health. Other desirable life conditions that were equally highly-ranked by women included having a clear purpose for life, living with a high degree of integrity, and having close, personal friendships.

Overall, 3 out of every 5 U.S. women (59%) indicated that being deeply committed to the Christian faith is a very desirable life pursuit - but one that emerged as a top objective among a minority of men (47%). Further, half of all women (49%) strongly desire to be personally active in a church, compared to just one-third of men (35%).

Losing the Faith

While Barna was upbeat about women's emphasis on faith, he sounded a note of caution regarding the high price women may pay for carrying excessive levels of spiritual responsibility. "While women represent the lion's share of Christians and the majority of participants in religious activities, many women appear to be burning out from their intense levels of involvement. Maybe most telling has been a 22% slip in church attendance since 1991 (55% to 45%). There has also been a 21% decline in the percentage of women who volunteer to help a church (29% in 1991 and 24% in 2000). Women's monumental effort to support the work of the Christian Church may be running on fumes."

"Churches need to consider whether or not they are providing sufficient opportunities for women to receive ministry and not just provide ministry to others. We may continue to see tens of thousands of women leaving the church unless there is a widespread, aggressive, thoughtful approach to recognizing and appreciating women. At the same time we must impress upon men the importance that they model spiritual maturity and more actively participate in the life of the Church."

Barna also noted that another significant concern is the low levels of religious participation among women who are members of the Buster generation - those who are 34 and younger. For virtually every religious activity measured, Buster women - not unlike Buster men - were less likely than older generations to participate in such spiritual pursuits. The exception was meeting with a spiritual mentor or coach. Barna indicated that thus far it appears that the Church has not adequately addressed the needs of this generation.

There were several other patterns that were interesting to note:

• In terms of changes in women's religious practices, there were few differences in the 2000 data when compared to previous' years information. The exception was Bible reading among women, which jumped by 6-percentage points from 1999 (from 39% to 45%).

• While women dominate the ranks of lay leaders within the typical church, such gender diversification is not true among the people who pastor U.S. churches. Only 5% of today's churches are led by a female senior pastor.

• Women are significantly less likely than are men to be unchurched (28% to 38%). Moreover, while 14% of men said they had never visited a Christian church, only half as many women (7%) could say the same thing.

• Women are much more inclined than are men to say that they are "absolutely committed" to the Christian faith (46% to 32%).

• Women and men were not different in terms of the percent of each group who are classified as evangelical Christians.² Overall, 9% of women and 8% of men are considered evangelicals based upon the 9-question screening we use to identify such believers.

Survey Methodology

The research is based upon six telephone surveys among 4,755 adults over the age of 18 who reside in the 48 continental states - 2,439 of the interviews were with women and 2,316 were among men. The estimated sampling error for the survey is +2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The surveys were conducted in 1999 and in the first two months of 2000. All of the interviews were based on random sampling techniques and were conducted via telephone.

The survey interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone interviewing facility in Ventura, California. Households were selected randomly through a random-digit dialing procedure (RDD). Geographic quotas were used to ensure accurate regional distribution and minor statistical weighting was employed to ensure that the samples reflected national demographic norms. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of selecting a representative sample of adults.

The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research company located in Ventura, California. Since 1984 it has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This research was funded solely by Barna Research as part of its regular tracking of attitudes, values and behavior. Future data releases of this nature may be obtained at no cost by subscribing to The Barna Update, a free bi-weekly e-mailing of new data drawn from Barna Research Group studies. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address in the Barna Update subscription field on the upper left-hand portion of any page of this web site.