Most teens around the world have a positive perception of Jesus, study reveals

Oct 10, 2022 by Jill

from Premier:

A new study has revealed most teens think positively of Jesus.

Carried out by Barna Group in partnership with Alpha, Worldvision, Biblical and other groups, the research found 49 per cent of teens aged between 13-17 describe Jesus as “loving” and believed he offers hope (46 per cent).

“Caring”, “trustworthy” and “generous” were also among the qualities rating the highest.

‘How teens Around the World Relate to Jesus’ is the first volume of ‘The Open Generation’, a first of its kind international research to better understand how teenagers engage with three crucial elements of the Christian faith: Jesus, the Bible and justice.

The study also showed nearly half of teens overall (47 per cent) believe Jesus was crucified, while one-third of all teens (33 per cent) says Jesus rose again.

However, this fell to 15 per cent among teens of another faith and only 13 per cent among those with no faith.

Despite these positive perspectives, not all teens who describe themselves as Christians have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus.

Around one in five of those surveyed (22 per cent) said they have made a personal commitment while nearly one in three (33 per cent) admit they haven’t done so.

For those who have decided to follow Jesus, there is a strong correlation between their decision and experiencing satisfaction, support, and stability.

When it comes to how they see Christians, their answers are not as positive as those referring to Jesus. Only 18 per cent of teens felt Christians were “wise”, while some others saw them as more “judgmental” or “hypocritical” than Jesus.

Despite these positive perceptions of Jesus, only a quarter of teens (24 per cent) think that he makes a real difference in the world today, and less than a quarter (23 per cent) believe they can have a personal relationship with him.

Read here

see also:
How can we revitalise our Christian youth? by Matthew Skirton, Christian Today:
A recent study by the British Social Attitudes Survey showed that the share of the UK population identifying as having no religion continues to grow, with 65% of 18–24-year-olds saying they belong to no religion and only 18% saying they are Christians.

Quarter of young people are LGBT, Stonewall survey suggests, by Gabriella Swerling, Telegraph