Near Year's Resolutions about God Are Popular, Lifeway Poll Shows
By: Michael Foust
Gary Varvel December 28, 2021
Hope and Change
2021 was the year no one wants to remember and with the 2022 mid-term elections in our sights, we have…
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Near Year's Resolutions about God Are Popular, Lifeway Poll Shows
Health, faith and finances are the three most common topics of New Year’s Resolutions, according to a new Lifeway Research survey that examined what Americans focus on when the calendar turns.
The poll found that 44 percent of U.S. adults say they’ve made a resolution about their health in the past, while 29 percent say they’ve made a resolution about their relationship with God, and another 29 percent have made a resolution about their finances. About one in four adults (26 percent) say they’ve made a resolution about relationships with a family member.
“New Year’s resolutions reflect the changes people aspire to make,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research . “The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced or encouraged more people to make changes outside of the annual reminder a new year brings. But a New Year’s resolution is still something most Americans have made at some point in their lives.”
About half (48 percent) of Christians who attend a worship service at least four times a month say they’ve made a resolution about their relationship with God, while 20 percent of those who attend less than once a month have done so. Such a resolution about God is more popular among those ages 18-34 (35 percent) and 35-49 (35 percent) than those 50-64 (25 percent) and over 65 (17 percent). Among the religiously unaffiliated, 14 percent say they’ve made a resolution about their relationship with God in the past.
Meanwhile, about half of Christians (48 percent) who attend a worship service at least four or more times a month say they’ve made a resolution about their health – a percentage that is higher than those who attend church less than once a month (38 percent).
Among all Americans, other popular resolution topics include the use of time (22 percent), work (18 percent) and relationships with a friend (15 percent).
“Making a New Year’s resolution doesn’t reveal who or what a person is relying on to make that change in their life, nor how successful such resolutions are,” McConnell said. “But higher numbers seen among younger adults, those who attended at least some college, and church-going Christians indicate they have higher motivation to make such changes at least in the form of New Year’s resolutions.”
The poll involved questions with 1,005 U.S. adults.
Photo courtesy: Lil Artsy/Unsplash
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today , The Christian Po st , the Leaf-Chronicle , the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel .
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My only New Year's resolution is that I will not make New Year's resolutions. That way, there is no worry about breaking them.
That is playing it safe I guess. I’ve done that in the past. On the other hand the challenge of living up to the goals set can be a positive thing.
A happy new year to all my friends listed as such here! 🤣🥳🎊🎉🍾🎈
Interesting hijacking of Varvel’s cartoon. Not sure though that there remains any connection between God and the Democrat party that you link there?
There’s no connection between God and rational thinking people.
It is the militant anti theist/ pro secularist typically of the political left that are all too often subjective, irrational, and intolerant people.
Militant? ROFL. Did I post an article about atheism, or did you post an article about anti-atheism? (and then thumb up your own comments)
Anti atheism was not the topic of the seeded article. New Years resolutions in general and particularly about ones relationship with God.
The year of our Lord 2022 A.D. is here!