{"id":548,"date":"2023-08-06T20:52:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T20:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/06\/lifeway-reveals-that-a-significant-number-of-churchgoers-are-unaware-of-deconstruction-term\/"},"modified":"2023-08-06T20:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-06T20:52:34","slug":"lifeway-reveals-that-a-significant-number-of-churchgoers-are-unaware-of-deconstruction-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/06\/lifeway-reveals-that-a-significant-number-of-churchgoers-are-unaware-of-deconstruction-term\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifeway reveals that a significant number of churchgoers are unaware of ‘deconstruction’ term"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Most Protestant churchgoers in the United States are not very familiar with the term \u201cdeconstruction\u201d as it applies to struggles with religious belief, according to a recent report by Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

A Lifeway survey<\/a> found that only 36% of Protestant churchgoer respondents were either familiar or very familiar with \u201cthe concept of an individual deconstructing their faith in which they systematically dissect and often reject Christian beliefs they grew up with.\u201d<\/p>\n

By contrast, 32% of respondents were either \u201csomewhat familiar\u201d or \u201cnot that familiar\u201d with deconstruction, while 28% had \u201cnot heard the term deconstruction before\u201d and 3% were \u201cnot sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, among those who had heard of deconstruction, 37% reported that \u201cthey have seen attendees of their church who deconstructed their faith,\u201d while 47% said they had not and 15% were not sure.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a statement<\/a> released last week that he felt it was \u201cnot surprising the majority of churchgoers are not very familiar with the term \u2018deconstruction,\u2019 since it often describes a person\u2019s private journey or one that\u2019s shared within a limited social set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fluid nature of the term and its affinity among those on social media or podcasts distances it from many Christians,\u201d McConnell stated. \u201cThe term can be used both to represent a total abolishing of one\u2019s faith or to describe one\u2019s personal questioning and working out their salvation to greater faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The survey also found that pastors were more likely than their congregations to be at least somewhat familiar with the term “deconstruction,” while Hispanics and African Americans were less likely than whites to have not heard the term before. Respondents aged 18-34 were the most likely to be \u201cvery familiar\u201d with the term.<\/p>\n

In recent years, multiple Christian public figures in the United States have announced that they were undergoing a \u201cdeconstruction\u201d of their faith, sometimes leaving Christianity as a result.<\/p>\n

In December 2021, Christian rapper Lecrae talked about<\/a> going through a period of deconstruction but believed that the process actually strengthened his faith rather than destroy it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeconstruction is not a bad thing if it leads to reconstruction. Sometimes you have to demolish a building that has mold and then build something else on that foundation,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not getting rid of the foundation. The foundation is Christ. But we’re building on that foundation and tearing down some things that were unnecessary.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow Michael Gryboski on Twitter <\/a> or Facebook<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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