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Tag: survey

Research Project – Why Evangelicals are Becoming Orthodox

 

 

Dear Folks,

Brian J. Curnutt

Brian Curnutt of Trinity Theological Seminary in Evanston, Indiana, is doing his dissertation on why people are becoming Orthodox.  I took the survey and found the questions straightforward. The survey is not lengthy, but one should be prepared to give thoughtful responses to some of the questions that call for essay answers.  This looks like a worthwhile project.  I encourage readers who are Orthodox to take part in it. You can go to Brian Curnutt’s survey here.

Robert Arakaki

 

Below are some excerpts from Brian’s proposal:

Western Evangelicals are leaving Western Evangelical Protestantism and converting to Orthodoxy in unprecedented numbers. Especially prevalent among younger Protestants, the road to Constantinople is paved with those dissatisfied with Evangelicalism and those compelled to convert to an entirely different way of thinking and living.

This study will examine the phenomenon of Evangelical Protestants converting to Orthodoxy in unprecedented numbers and attempt to determine causation. Some of the questions to be addressed are:

o Why did you convert to Orthodoxy? 

o What theological or doctrinal reasons did you have for making a change? 

o What cultural reasons did you have for making a change? 

o How has your conversion impacted your spiritual life? 

o How has your conversion impacted your life in general? 

o Did it accomplish the goal you had at conversion? 

o What was that goal? 

The investigation will contribute new knowledge to the field of religious anthropology, missiology, and will inform the field of theology. This is a relatively new area for study that has not been looked at in depth. While there are some anecdotal accounts and some biographical accounts of conversions, there have not been any qualitative human studies done on statistically significant numbers. This study will stand alone as no study like it exists in the available literature.

If you have any questions about the study, please contact the investigator, Brian Curnutt, at brian.curnutt@trinitysem.edu or  Dr. James Chatham II, (advisor for this project at Trinity Theological Seminary) at jchatham@trinitysem.edu

Link to the Survey Site.

 

See also: “Why People Convert to Orthodoxy.”

 

 

What American Orthodox Believe: A Survey

 

A frequent visitor “Prometheus” posed a very good question with respect to my posting “An Orthodox Remedy to Evangelicalism’s Heresy Epidemic.”  He asked:

My question is what such a survey would look like in Orthodoxy. Protestants lack certain epistemological bases for their teaching, but the very act of teaching has the chance to provide a lot agreement on “orthodox” issues. The epistemology and the application ore two different issues, and I am interested to know what the orthodoxy of the Orthodox looks like on average.

The best answer I can find is Alexei Krindatch’s report The Orthodox Church Today.   It is based on survey research done with some 1000 people from 103 parishes in the Greek Orthodox of America (GOA) and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) (p. 5).  The survey is relatively recent having been done between September 2007 and May 2008.

The survey provides an insightful peek into the empirical reality of Orthodoxy in America — what real flesh and blood Orthodox Christians believe as opposed to the official teachings of the Orthodox Church.  It is important to keep in mind that the questions asked by Alexei Krindatch’s survey for the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute differ from that posed in Stephen Nichol’s survey done by LifeWay Research for Ligonier Ministries.  Below are screen shots of tables showing the various survey results and a few comments on how these bear on Prometheus’ question.

How Orthodox are American Orthodox?

Unlike the Lifeway survey of American Evangelicals which asked a number detailed doctrinal questions, the Orthodox survey combined questions of doctrine with orthopraxy (right practice).   It found that nearly all respondents affirmed Jesus’ bodily resurrection (98%) and the doctrine of the real presence in the Eucharist (97%).  What is striking about the survey research is that when it comes to doctrine, both cradle Orthodox and converts are on the same page; the difference being 1% or less.  With respect to orthopraxy converts tend to be more conservative than cradle Orthodox.

A search of Krindatch’s report for “Trinity” yields only 2 results.  We know that American Orthodox are exposed to the Church’s teaching on Trinity every time they attend church but we can only guess as to how well American Orthodox understand the Church’s teaching on baptism.  Further research is needed.  (Figure 78, p. 160)

Krindatch Fig 78

How Many Believe the Orthodox Church is the True Church?

The question was asked with respect to whether there were multiple interpretations of the Christian faith or the Orthodox Church being the closest to the “best and true interpretation”?  The survey found a strong majority (80%) supporting the position that the Orthodox Church is the closest to the best and true interpretation.  Members of the OCA tended to be slightly more conservative than the Greek Orthodox respondents on this issue.  (Figure 68, p. 146)

Screen shot 2015-01-12 at 10.17.00 AM

Liberal, Moderate, Traditional, or Conservative?

One interesting question in Krindatch’s survey was how Orthodox Christians identified themselves on a scale from liberal to conservative with respect to church life.  It may surprise some that the “liberal” Orthodox are a very small minority, 4%.  But while the “liberals” are those who favor change in the Orthodox church, the “moderates” who are open to change make up nearly a quarter of the respondents.  Probably, the most significant finding is that a strong majority (almost 70%) identify themselves as either “traditional” or “conservative.”  This point to a strong sense of stability in American Orthodoxy.  (Figure 5, p. 14)

Liberal, Moderate, Conservative

Self-Confidence in Explaining Orthodoxy to Others

There is a stereotype of the typical Orthodox Christian not being able to explain what he or she believes to others.  It is a pleasant surprise that nearly half of Orthodox Christians who have not had a college education and slightly more than two thirds of those who graduated with a college degree feel confident to explain Orthodoxy to others.  The flip side of this is that nearly a quarter of those with a college degree and slightly more than a third did not share this confidence.  While there is room for improvement in Christian education among American Orthodox, the stereotype of an inarticulate Orthodox is largely a myth.  (Figure 71, p. 151)

Krindatch Figure 71

Conclusion

Survey research questions about theology like that asked of American Evangelicals while helpful have in-built limitations from an Orthodox standpoint.  Orthodoxy does not give rote “propositional truth” statements the same kind of premium as does Protestantism. So it is not as critical for an Orthodox believer to be able to spit out the “right answer” to all theological questions.  That said, an Orthodox Christian is expected to have self-consciously embraced the Creed and Councils of the Church as providing a fence against heresies.  This fence prevents the theological free fall so often seen in Protestant circles. Neither of these are a substitute or excuse for weak understanding of the faith among Orthodox.

Robert Arakaki