What Americans want (Barna)

From the latest Barna Update: (based upon telephone interviews conducted by The Barna Group with a random sample of 1003 adults selected from across the continental United States, age 18 and older, in May 2008.)

Three-quarters of all adults identified the following as being very important elements in their ideal life.

• good physical health (85%),

• living with a high degree of integrity (also 85%),

• having one marriage partner for life (80%),

• having a clear purpose for living (77%),

• having a close relationship with God (75%), and

• having close, personal friendships (74%).

Items listed by at least half of the adults interviewed:

• a comfortable lifestyle ( 70%),

• a satisfying sex life with their marriage partner (66%),

• children (66%),

• living close to family and relatives(63%),

• being deeply committed to the Christian faith (59%), and

• making a difference in the world (56%).

Seven conditions that only a minority of Americans deemed worthy of including in their vision of their desired future life:

• having a college degree (46%),

• being personally active in a church (45%),

• traveling throughout the world for pleasure (28%),

• working in a high-paying job (28%),

• owning a large home (18%),

• owning the latest household technology/electronics (11%) and

• achieving fame or public recognition (7%).

COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS YEARS:

What Adults Want Their Future to Include

Desired Outcome	2008	2000	1993	1991
having good physical health	85%	91%	92%	93%
living with a high degree of integrity	85%	81%	n/a	76%
having one marriage partner for life	80%	79%	n/a	n/a
having a clear purpose for living	77%	75%	71%	n/a
having a close relationship with God	75%	70%	74%	72%
having close, personal friendships	74%	75%	79%	73%
having a comfortable lifestyle	70%	61%	72%	59%
having a satisfying sex life with your marriage partner	66%	63%	n/a	n/a
having children	66%	55%	n/a	n/a
living close to your family and relatives	63%	60%	63%	67%
being deeply committed to the Christian faith	59%	53%	n/a	n/a
making a difference in the world	56%	47%	n/a	n/a
having a college degree	46%	51%	n/a	n/a
being personally active in a church	45%	42%	n/a	n/a
traveling throughout the world for pleasure	28%	26%	n/a	n/a
working in a high-paying job	28%	29%	43%	36%
owning a large home	18%	21%	30%	23%
owning the latest household technology/electronics	11%	9%	n/a	n/a
achieving fame or public recognition	7%	6%	10%	10%
survey sample size	1003	1002	1202	1003

(Source: The Barna Group, Ventura, CA)

COMMENT [Ben]: I’m actually a little bit surprised, and somewhat impressed. I kind of wonder how the survey was conducted – whether the way the questions were asked influenced the outcome in any way. My second question is: how much do lifestyle choices reflect these desires. In other words, are the choices people making reflecting these stated desires? Do our lifestyle choices and actions betray a different set of real desires?

Visit the Barna Update for more details and analysis.