A shift in culture?

Would anyone agree that we are experience a shift in our culture in America?  One that, in my personal beliefs, is moving away from a “biblical worldview”.   A country which was once founded on “biblical principles” has started turning their back on these foundational principles.  If you share my beliefs than you’ll likely agree we are turning our back on more than foundational principles; our country is turning its back on God.

Yes, I know this could be a bit of a controversial post; so, please take note of my prior post of “Criticism” and know that I am offering only from my personal beliefs and experience.   Most importantly, I am attempting to understand how I am contributing to this cultural shift.

So, why do I believe we’re moving away from a “biblical worldview”?  Well, there are a multitude of reasons why, however, one specific reason is a worldview assessment, PEERS, I came across some time ago.  The PEERS assessment was developed by The Nehemiah Institute and assesses one’s “worldview” in relation to a “Christian-biblical worldview” in 5 areas:  Politics, Economics, Education, Religion, and Social issues.  My intent here is not to raise debate about what a “Christian-biblical worldview” looks like or the validity of the assessment.  For today, let’s keep it at I have done enough research to believe this is in alignment with my personal beliefs.

When taking the assessment firsthand, I knew I wasn’t a biblical scholar, however, I felt I likely would have an above average “Christian-biblical worldview”.  The scale on the assessment goes from +100 to -100 where +100 is a “biblical worldview”.  Most biblical scholars today would score in the high +80’s on this assessment according to The Nehemiah Institute.  When I saw my score of +51, I thought, “well, that sounds about right”.  Then, I read the assessment results interpretation scorecard.  To my surprise, I scored a C+ on having a “biblical worldview”.  Looking further, I was astonished at how close my score was toward having a “secular humanism” and “socialism” worldview.

Talking further with The Nehemiah Institute, what I have come to believe is that this movement away from a biblical worldview has been happening well over a hundred years.  As such, I was born into a time when we were well into a cultural shift.  While I may not be quoting it exactly, one of the comments that was made by The Nehemiah Institute was that, “Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, was not a Christian; however, had a much stronger biblical worldview than most Christians today.”   The reason being, these principles were simply engrained in the culture.

For some, I anticipate these terms to be newer and a bit over the top; so, hang with me just a bit longer.  Below, you will see a chart as to how high school students have been trending over the last decade when taking the PEERS assessment.

While students attending Christian “worldview” and home schools tend to be trending “flat”, traditional Christian school and Public school youth are trending aggressively toward a Humanism/Socialism worldview.  Again, this isn’t a home school/public school debate and I only offer this supporting my beliefs that we are experiencing a major shift in our culture.

So, yes, I believe we are seeing a major shift in our culture away from a “Christian-biblical worldview”.  Now that question I am sorting through is what’s my part and how should I be contributing.

As Rick Warren would say, a “Point to Ponder”!

One response to “A shift in culture?”

1. The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons « Chris D. Arnold says:

   02/12/2013 at 5:52 pm

   […] Restore the World by Gabe Lyons.  If you’re a follower of our blog, you may have read our post, A shift in culture?  In it, we reference a movement in America away from a “Christian-biblical worldview”.  If we […]

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