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During his public ministry,
Jesus taught many things that angered Jewish leaders. New
ideas, new doctrines, and a new way of thinking challenged the
Pharisees and others. They were required to consider their
beliefs in ways that were uncomfortable. Jesus knew such a
process and challenge would continue long after his ascension.
To make sure all of God’s children would now the truth he gave
some very simple counsel: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall
know them.” (Matthew 7:20).
Because it’s much harder to “walk the walk” than to “talk the
talk,” Jesus Christ offers this counsel to look at the fruits
of the individual to know them. The works and life examples of
a person are likened to grapes (fruit) that grows naturally
from the grape vine. Look to the fruit He warns, to know the
source of that fruit.
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What are the Fruits of Faith?
Christ’s counsel is useful in considering a Christian church,
including the doctrines and people that make up that church.
What are the fruits of that church and its people? If the
works and examples of the Christian people in a particular
church are positive, then, preliminarily at least, the
Christian church itself can be considered positive. The same
can be spoken of in the reverse.
One can compare the fruits of youth and adults in various
Christian sects in order to understand how each church is
doing in shepherding God’s children on earth. What kind of a
tree has each church built? If “by their fruits ye shall know
them,” then such a comparison can perhaps reveal, or at least
suggest, the effectiveness of doctrines, practices,
principles, culture, and leadership of each church.
Comparing the Fruits of Christian Churches
Identifying fruits for comparison is challenging. Any
comparison needs to be as much "apples-to-apples” as possible,
using meaningful spiritual metrics—if one can conceive of such
a thing for faith and religion. Complicating this search is
the fact that faith and religion are spiritually qualitative
in their essence.
Acknowledging these serious limitations, but lacking any
better tools, the Foundation will attempt to apply available
quantitative data in a way that might yield, or at least
suggest, some qualitative answers. Having confidence in the
Lord’s counsel, by observing its fruits, we can know something
of the tree.
Comparison of Youth Fruits
The youth, ages 13 to 17 years, make up the future generation
of adults who will be the forthcoming leaders of the Lord’s
Church. Understanding the attitudes and behaviors of a
particular church’s youth will provide a glimpse into what the
future may hold for that church.
The book, Soul Searching, by Christian Smith with Melinda
Lundquist Denton provides an illuminating glimpse into the
religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. In
reading the book one will become familiar with a remarkable
study called the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR),
the results of which constitute an excellent data set for the
comparison of youth among various Christian churches.
The table on the following page is a robust selection of
attributes that were tested in the NSYR study. The table
provides the results of the study (in percentages) for a
number of Christian religions, along with the result of the
study for the United States youth population in general:
LEGEND:
Total US Youth Universe (US), Conservative
Protestant (CP), Mainline Protestant (MP),
Black Protestant (BP), Roman Catholic (RC), Mormon/Latter-day
Saint (LDS); All numbers are in percentages.
|
Attributes
Tested |
US |
CP |
MP |
BP |
RC |
LDS |
|
Attending religious service
once a week or more |
40 |
55 |
44 |
41 |
40 |
71 |
|
Would attend if totally up to the youth (once a week or
more) |
45 |
63 |
47 |
48 |
40 |
69 |
|
Importance of religious faith
shaping daily life (extremely important) |
20 |
29 |
20 |
31 |
10 |
43 |
|
Importance of faith shaping major life decisions
(extremely important) |
20 |
28 |
19 |
31 |
11 |
52 |
|
View of God as a personal
being involved in the lives of people today |
65 |
77 |
69 |
74 |
64 |
76 |
|
Believes there is life after death (definitely) |
49 |
62 |
51 |
50 |
45 |
76 |
|
Believes in the existence of
demons or evil spirits (definitely) |
41 |
58 |
37 |
48 |
28 |
69 |
|
Has ever had an experience of spiritual worship that was
very moving and powerful |
51 |
70 |
64 |
59 |
37 |
76 |
|
Has ever experienced a
definite answer to prayer or guidance from God |
50 |
65 |
53 |
61 |
42 |
67 |
|
Taught a Sunday School or religious education class |
20 |
28 |
26 |
22 |
15 |
42 |
|
Fasted or denied self
something as spiritual discipline |
24 |
22 |
25 |
20 |
29 |
68 |
|
Been a part of any other scripture study or prayer group |
27 |
42 |
31 |
35 |
17 |
50 |
|
Spoke publicly about own
faith in a religious service or meeting |
30 |
42 |
33 |
34 |
20 |
65 |
|
Tried to practice a weekly day or rest or Sabbath |
31 |
40 |
27 |
35 |
30 |
67 |
|
Shared own religious faith
with someone not of faith |
43 |
56 |
51 |
41 |
37 |
72 |
|
Frequency of teen praying alone (one or more times a day) |
38 |
49 |
32 |
55 |
33 |
57 |
|
Currently involved in a
religious youth group |
38 |
56 |
55 |
38 |
24 |
72 |
|
Youth group participation rate |
52 |
64 |
64 |
44 |
32 |
75 |
|
Congregation has a full-time,
part-time, or volunteer youth minister |
59 |
60 |
66 |
73 |
55 |
94 |
|
Frequency of youth group attendance (one or more times per
week) |
26 |
43 |
35 |
23 |
13 |
57 |
|
Teen is a leader in the youth
group |
13 |
19 |
19 |
15 |
5 |
36 |
|
Frequency of religious Sunday School attendance (one or
more times per week) |
25 |
36 |
25 |
27 |
19 |
62 |
|
Family talks about God, the
scriptures, prayer, or other religious or spiritual things
together (once a week or more) |
45 |
60 |
34 |
68 |
34 |
80 |
|
Teen prays out loud or silently with one or both parents,
other than at mealtimes or religious services |
41 |
53 |
35 |
56 |
36 |
79 |
|
Feel pressured or made fun of
because of their religious beliefs and practices (a lot or
some) |
9 |
12 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
24 |
|
Teens have adults in congregation, other than family
members, who they enjoy talking with and who give lots of
encouragement |
79 |
84 |
48 |
78 |
68 |
90 |
|
Most adults in congregation
for getting to know are very easy or somewhat easy to talk
with |
79 |
82 |
80 |
80 |
72 |
91 |
|
Religious environment usually makes teens think about
important things |
62 |
70 |
58 |
63 |
52 |
81 |
|
Religious environment is
usually a warm and welcoming place |
75 |
80 |
82 |
74 |
66 |
85 |
|
Good experience in talking with adult youth minister or
religious youth leader about a personal question or
problem |
19 |
30 |
32 |
16 |
9 |
48 |
|
Congregation is a very good
place for talking about serious issues, problems, and
troubles |
45 |
52 |
38 |
48 |
33 |
65 |
|
Congregation has done an excellent job of helping to
better understand own sexuality and sexual morality |
30 |
35 |
22 |
35 |
18 |
66 |
Source: The National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR),
2002-2003 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
While numbers from the NSYR reveal significantly more positive
results for some Christian churches over others, equally
revealing was the weakness of certain Christian churches
against the national average. You can read more about the NSYR
study by visiting the website:
http://www.youthandreligion.org/resources/surveys.html
If, as Jesus said, we can know Christian youth by their fruits
[modified wording from “them” to “Christian youth”], the data
from the NSYR study reveals differences in the amount of fruit
being generated from the various trees of Christian churches
in the form of solid religious attitudes and behaviors from
the youth.
Comparison of Adult Fruits
One can glean a great deal about the adults of a church by
reviewing the results from the NSYR. Where there is strong
youth, there are likely involved and faithful adults. Though
such results are revealing, they are not comprehensive as to
the attitudes and “fruits” of adults.
Fortunately, there is an excellent study by The Barna Research
Group, Ltd., an independent marketing research company located
in southern California. This outstanding study can be used to
examine the attitudes and spiritual fruit of adults. The study
was conducted from January 2000 to June 2001 and included
telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample of 6,038
adults.
The following are a few of the notable results from the study,
which are broken down by Christian Denomination, with row one
being a composite of all adults who participated in the study.
All numbers are in percentages:
| |
Attend Church |
Read Bible |
Pray to God |
Attend Sunday School |
Small Group |
Church Volunteer |
Donate Money |
Share Faith |
|
All Adults |
43 |
38 |
82 |
16 |
15 |
16 |
18 |
24 |
|
Adventist |
47 |
49 |
79 |
18 |
27 |
16 |
16 |
26 |
|
Assembly of God |
69 |
66 |
93 |
35 |
29 |
30 |
22 |
61 |
|
Baptist (any type) |
50 |
55 |
92 |
30 |
22 |
19 |
20 |
43 |
|
Catholics |
48 |
23 |
88 |
6 |
8 |
12 |
13 |
10 |
|
Church of Christ |
58 |
53 |
92 |
37 |
28 |
22 |
29 |
35 |
|
Episcopal |
30 |
30 |
85 |
11 |
13 |
19 |
17 |
14 |
|
Lutheran (any type) |
43 |
32 |
84 |
13 |
13 |
19 |
21 |
21 |
|
Methodist (any type) |
49 |
43 |
90 |
18 |
15 |
19 |
23 |
20 |
|
Mormon/Latter-day Saints |
71 |
67 |
95 |
62 |
27 |
40 |
24 |
26 |
|
Christian non-denominational |
61 |
66 |
94 |
21 |
32 |
22 |
26 |
57 |
|
Pentecostal/Foursquare |
66 |
75 |
97 |
36 |
37 |
25 |
27 |
61 |
|
Presbyterian (any) |
49 |
48 |
89 |
17 |
18 |
26 |
17 |
23 |
| |
Bible
is totally Accurate |
Must
tell faith to others |
Religion/ Faith is important |
Satan
is real |
Christ was sinless |
God –
all powerful Creator |
|
All Adults |
41 |
32 |
68 |
27 |
40 |
69 |
|
Adventist |
64 |
42 |
73 |
37 |
45 |
76 |
|
Assembly of God |
77 |
61 |
86 |
56 |
70 |
96 |
|
Baptist (any type) |
66 |
51 |
81 |
34 |
55 |
85 |
|
Catholics |
26 |
17 |
68 |
17 |
33 |
70 |
|
Church of Christ |
57 |
51 |
81 |
36 |
54 |
80 |
|
Episcopal |
22 |
12 |
60 |
20 |
28 |
59 |
|
Lutheran (any type) |
34 |
27 |
63 |
21 |
33 |
72 |
|
Methodist (any type) |
38 |
28 |
74 |
18 |
33 |
73 |
|
Mormon/Latter-day Saints |
29 |
55 |
90 |
59 |
70 |
84 |
|
Christian non-denominational |
70 |
59 |
86 |
48 |
63 |
89 |
|
Pentecostal/Foursquare |
81 |
73 |
94 |
47 |
73 |
90 |
|
Presbyterian (any) |
40 |
33 |
71 |
22 |
45 |
76 |
Source: Barna Group study in 2000/2001 probed theological
beliefs among adults in the U.S.
http://www.barna.org
NOTE: the low percentage attributed to the Mormon/Latter-day
Saints response to “Bible is totally Accurate” should be
qualified against the 8th Article of Faith of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which states: We believe the
Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated
correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word
of God. Had the question been structured as “do you believe
the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated
correctly?” the response would have likely been significantly
higher.
As with the youth statistics, the adult responses reveal
strong beliefs and practices among some Christian churches,
while others appear less committed or perhaps have a more
liberal belief system. These statistics are excellent leading
indicators of the “fruits of faith” among adults.
What’s With the Mormons (Latter-day Saints)?
In reviewing the youth and adult numbers from the two studies,
there appears to be a pattern of exceptionally high numbers
among Latter-day Saints for activity, participation, and
consistent belief systems when compared to other Christian
sects. This pattern is repeated in an array of other national
statistics including the following for the state of Utah,
which is primarily a Mormon demographic (although steadily
decreasing according to current statistics):
Lowest Nationwide Abortion and Teen Pregnancy Rate:
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau lists Utah as the state with
the lowest teen pregnancy and abortion rate in the United
States (Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997:
National Data Book. Washington, D.C.: Census Bureau, U.S.
Dept. of Commerce (1997)).
Fewer Children out of Wedlock: The latest federal health
figures from 1997 rank Utah as having the fewest births to
unwed mothers (U-S Department of Health and Human Services,
October 13, 2005,
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=118054)
Lowest Divorce Rate: National demographic studies
indicate that couples in which both partners are Latter-day
Saints (and who marry in the temple) have the lowest divorce
rate among all U.S. social and religious groups studied
(Daniel K. Judd. Religion, Mental Health and the Latter-day
Saint, Bookcraft, 1999)
Dramatically Fewer Suicides: The national suicide rate
among 20- to 34-year-old males was 2.5 to 3 times higher than
among active Latter-day Saints of the same age. Suicide risk
was also 3 to 6 times higher among non-Latter-day saints in
comparison to active Latter-day Saints. (American Journal of
Epidemiology 2002; 155:413-419. Write-up in: "High Religious
Commitment Linked to Less Suicide", by Charnicia E. Huggins
(Reuters Health), Daily News, 6 March 2002)
Child Friendly Environment: Utah was ranked as one of
the top ten states in which to raise children in the 1996
rankings by the Children's Right's Council (Testimony of
Cynthia L. Ewing, Senior Policy Analyst, Children’s Rights
Council before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on
Ways and Means, February 6, 1995;
http://www.peak.org/~jedwards/crc.htm)
Most Charitable: Citizens of Utah rank first among all
U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by
the wealthy (households with annual gross income of more than
$200,000) (Kent Allen. "Philanthropy: Give and Take:
Individual Potential in Relative Terms" in Washington Post (3
January 1999), A17).
Dedicated to Education: Utah has one of the highest
high school graduation rates in the nation (U.S. Bureau of
Census data released April 2000). Utah "spends a larger
percentage of state dollars on education" than any other state
(Graduation Rates in the United States, National Center for
Education Statistics).
Most Self-Reliant: Utah spends much less of its budget
on public welfare than the other states according to the US
Bureau of Census data released April 2000. "On average, other
states spend 22.4 percent of their budgets on public
welfare…Utah spends 14 percent."
Healthiest: James E. Enstrom of the UCLA medical
school, following a large study of Latter-day Saint adults,
reports that Latter-day Saints have a much lower rate of
mortality than other Americans for all cancers, all
cardiovascular diseases, and for all causes of death. The
National Institute of Mental Health ranked Utah as the
second-lowest U.S. state in new inpatient admissions to state
mental hospitals and ranked Utah as having the lowest
per-capita alcohol consumption. (Mayrav Saar, “Many
faith-based dietary restrictions can benefit body, spirit,”
Orange County Register, July 27, 2001) In 2000 Self Magazine
ranked Provo, Utah, as the healthiest city in the United
States for women.
Conclusion
Whether we’re considering youth or adults, even an entire
population who are predominantly Mormon, the aforementioned
data and statistics provide a consistent view for Latter-day
Saints as being dedicated Christians who are bearing good
fruit in a number of ways as compared to most other Christian
religions.
Life is not a contest, but rather a short time in our eternal
journey where we are tested and are able to gain experiences.
Jesus Christ meant his Church to be a guiding force in the
children of God’s lives to point the way down narrow path and
provide support in staying the course. Jesus Christ told his
disciples “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither
can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matt. 7:18). These
numbers truly speak for themselves when considering the fruits
of faith.
Doctrinal
Study: Faith and
Works: Fruits of Faith
Download the
Sword Series™ essay on Fruits of Faith |
