Barna Group
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Market research, polling |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | George Barna, Nancy Barna |
| Headquarters | Ventura, California , United States |
| Products | Research and marketing solutions for Christian ministries; publications (Barna Books); media resources (Barna Films); youth leadership training (The Josiah Corps); church support (Transformation Church Network) |
The Barna Group is a polling organization specializing in evangelical Christianity, headquartered in Ventura, California.
History
Established in 1984 by George and Nancy Barna as Barna Research Group, the company underwent a reorganization in 2004, adopting the name Barna Group. Ownership of the firm changed hands in September 2009.
Overview
The Barna Group operates through five distinct branches, each concentrating on specific areas:
- core research activities (The Barna Research Group)
- media and communication resources (Barna Films)
- publication of printed materials (Barna Books)
- youth leadership training (The Josiah Corps)
- support and development for churches (Transformation Church Network)
Founded by George Barna, who holds advanced degrees in urban planning and political science and has expertise in media research, the organization delivers research and marketing solutions tailored to Christian ministries. Its initial revenue streams came from conducting research for the Disney Channel, which paved the way for growth within the Evangelical Christian sector. Additional clients have included American Broadcasting Company, Visa, and military organizations. By 1991, Barna redirected its efforts exclusively toward initiatives aimed at church transformation.
The term notional Christians was introduced by the Barna Group to describe those who self-identify as Christians but do not accept that their salvation rests on a grace-centered relationship with Jesus Christ. This concept underpins their statistical analyses and market segmentation strategies.
Books
With a catalog exceeding 400 titles, the Barna Group has contributed significantly to Christian literature. Among recent notable publications are De-evolution (2006), which examines why some Christians depart from traditional churches in favor of alternative faith communities, and unChristian (2007), which investigates how outsiders perceive the church. The latter includes insights from authors such as Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Mike Foster, Sarah Cunningham, Margaret Feinberg, and Rick McKinley.
Criticism
Within the "born again" movement, Barna has been criticized for allegedly weakening the definition of "new birth." Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church contends in his book Finally Alive that Barna’s report conflates evangelicals with born again Christians, suggesting that evangelical churches often reflect secular culture without experiencing genuine transformation:
In the report titled “Born Again Christians Just as Likely to Divorce as Are Non-Christians,” Barna uses the word evangelicals interchangeably with born again [...] The evangelical church in America appears worldly, practicing religion as an add-on rather than a transforming power.
Piper further challenges the empirical methodology applied to spiritual rebirth studies, highlighting that the New Testament presents new birth as a profound change, whereas Barna’s findings indicate many self-identified Christians lack such radical transformation and therefore may not be truly born again:
The New Testament moves from the certainty that new birth radically changes people to observing many professing Christians are not radically changed, concluding they are not born again.
References