[01.28.08] The Barna Group’s latest study of more than 1,000 adults, found three issues considered to be “major” problems in this country: poverty (78 percent), personal debt (78 percent) and HIV/AIDS (76 percent).
Four other issues emerged as moderate concerns, including illegal immigration (60 percent), global warming (57percent), abortion (50 percent) and TV content (45 percent) according to Barna.
The study also looked at two Christian groups: “born again” Christians and a small, more socially conservative subset pegged as “evangelical voters.”
The born-again group essentially mirrored the larger population on personal debt, poverty and HIV/AIDS. But they diverged on other issues: illegal immigration (68 percent), abortion (67 percent), TV content (60 percent), homosexuality (51 percent) and homosexual activists (49 percent).
The subset of evangelical voters saw abortion as the most important issue (94 percent), followed by personal debt (81 percent), TV content (79 percent), homosexual activists (75 percent), and gay and lesbian lifestyles (75 percent).
They were also less concerned about global warming and HIV/AIDS than the rest of the population the research group finds.