Tamara's Blog

A Barna Report: Our Current Vision of the American Dream

Good physical health. Living with a high degree of integrity. Having one marriage partner for life. Having a clear purpose for living. Having a close relationship with God. Having close, personal friendships.

These are the top six conditions that 3/4ths of adults recently surveyed by the Barna Group deemed as most important in their lives. Barna is well-known for its research that focuses on the nerve of American life and our cultural attitudes. Specifically, the firm has been conducting these "American Dream"-type surveys since 1991. 

Of the six conditions listed above, which one do you think has increased the most in terms of importance since 1991?

Which do you think is least important to American adults - achieving fame or public recognition OR owning a large home? Note: Both have declined in importance.

Well, I'm not going to tell you the answers. He! Just click over to the 1-page report on the Barna website and see for yourself. Scroll down a bit and you will see the statistics in table format. For those of you who know me, it's all about those rows and columns...:)

Survey Results: Television and Eli Stone Survey

Back in March, I asked many of you to participate in an online survey for a class project (Henriet and Tamara's Final Project Survey). Henriët was hoping for at least 20 responses, but I had more faith than that and so I set the bar higher at 50.

Now if you know anything about survey response rates, you'd understand that Henriët's expectation was much more realistic. Well, forget the stats - because you blew them right out of the water with 117 responses! You guys are awesome! Thank you!

Who Took the Survey?

For those who took the survey, you may recall (I know, I know, it's been awhile) that we asked up front about your personal beliefs, and at the end, we asked if you were a boy or a girl, young or old - you know, the typical demographic questions.

Here's a quick, unscientific snapshot of who took the survey:

• Age: 46% were 31-45; 42% were 46 or older; 12% were 30 or younger.
• Gender: 55% female; 45% male.
• Location: 60% western US; 30% the rest of US; 10% outside US.
• Worldview*: 70% had a biblically-based worldview; 30% did not.
• Attend religious service in last 6 months?: 85% yes; 15% no.

* This was a somewhat subjective call on our part based on how you responded to the personal belief questions. Several people elaborated more in the comments, which was very beneficial.

The TV Shows We Love...and the Ones We Don't

We then asked you about the types of shows you liked to watch. Some clear patterns emerged here:

• Game shows: 67% of you are not interested at all. So who's watching Deal or No Deal?
• Spiritual/religious shows: 93% of the non-Christians Just Said No. Overall, 54% of you said no.
• Science fiction: Again, not a favorite with 62% voting "not interested."

So what types of shows do you guys like? Cable news, crime drama and network news. Go figure.

Guess what the #1 TV show was on our list? Home Improvement at 67%! Touched by an Angel was next on the list at 46%. I still miss that show. And the least favorite? Overall, it was The Simpsons at 31%; however, 50% of the non-Christians really like the show.

About Eli Stone

Some of you made it to the Eli Stone questions. If you didn't get to answer these questions, it's because you hadn't watched the show - primarily because it was new and you hadn't heard of it. However, the hilarious fill-in-the-blank response of why folks hadn't watched the show is because it was past their bedtime! Going back to that age demographic mentioned earlier...

The questions in this section of the survey were a bit more complicated. We were just trying to see if Eli Stone could stand up as a "theological aesthetic" in our culture. In other words, could the show be used to form aesthetic judgments about popular culture? Huh? Yup, I hear you.

Overall, the responses from those with a biblical worldview showed mixed, inconclusive results. However, the responses from Christians who didn't necessarily espouse a biblical worldview indicated that Eli Stone was a perfect model. The non-Christian responses were split down the middle.

The Paper and the Grade

The first paragraph in the conclusion of the paper sums up well what our project was all about:

This paper serves as a case study to demonstrate the value and necessity of developing an appreciation, approach and ability to interpret various forms of popular culture. It focuses on a television show that demonstrates postmodern thinking and a spiritual motif. These elements are particularly useful in interpreting popular culture.

With these survey results in hand, along with Gordon Lynch's methodology in Understanding Theology and Pop Culture, and a "discussion" with the notable theologian, Lesslie Newbigin, we cranked out a 41-page paper! 

And yes, we did get an "A." Thank you again for your help!

Got a Minute to Take a Survey?

If you have 5 minutes to spare (well, maybe 7) and you are in the mood to help out two desperate (okay, maybe desperate isn't the right word) seminary students working on a different kind of final project for their Theology and Pop Culture class, then we have a survey waiting for you:

Henriët and Tamara's Final Project Survey

Catchy survey title, huh?! It describes what it's for, but it certainly leaves you hanging if you want to know what it's about. In a nutshell, my friend Henriët and I are in the same Theology and Pop Culture class at Fuller. We are doing a joint final project that will help us with Semper Vita, the new non-profit ministry organization we recently formed.

Our final project mixes a little bit of television...with a little bit of post-Christianity (huh, what's that?)...with a little bit of "Eli Stone"...with a little bit of theological discussion with Lesslie Newbigin (who's now dead). It's quite an interesting mix - and we're still curious ourselves about how it's all going to come together - so that's why we're asking for your help by participating in this survey. Your input will help contribute to some of our observations and conclusions.

What's the Survey Going to Ask?

The survey has three primary sections, with a handful of questions in each:

• Personal beliefs - about God and spirituality in general
• Television - your likes & dislikes
• "Eli Stone" - a new show on ABC

If you've never seen "Eli Stone," it's on Thursday nights at 10 PM PT. If you have time and are interested in seeing the show, please take time to watch it before responding to the survey. Otherwise, just take the survey. We're interested in (and need) your feedback either way. 

We also respect your privacy. All survey responses are anonymous, which means we'll have no clue who responded and how each person responded. We're just interested in the summary results - and lots of responses!

The Clock is Ticking

The survey will be open until midnight on Friday, March 14th. Our final project is due on Friday, March 21st. We will publish the summarized results on our blogs soon thereafter. So what are you waiting for? Please click away to...

Henriët and Tamara's Final Project Survey

 

THANK YOU!!

FOX News Opinion Poll: Hillary is Moving Up

For the first time last week, Hillary Clinton led the pack in FOX News' 2008 "who would you vote for" opinion poll (which is updated every 3 weeks). This recent poll was taken on July 17-18 and surveyed 900 registered voters. There's a +-3 point error margin.

This is the first time that Hillary has edged out Rudy Giuliani in this hypothetical race. Barack Obama continues to maintain a steady second place.

On the GOP side, Giuliani leads the pack, with John McCain and Fred Thompson battling for second place. Considering that McCain's team has pretty much deserted him and Thompson hasn't officially entered the race, these numbers are curious at best. Mitt Romney maintains a steady 4th position.

Which Candidate Would You Want to Have a Conversation With?

One question the poll asked was: If you could sit down and have a conversation with just one of the current or possible presidential candidates, who would you pick?

Here are the partial results listed in popularity order:

• Hillary Clinton - 26%
• Barack Obama - 18%
• Rudy Giuliani - 12%
• John McCain - 8%
• Fred Thompson - 7%
• John Edwards - 4%
• Al Gore - 4%
• Mitt Romney - 3%
• Don't Know - 6%

For More Information

Click here to view the article on the FOXNews site. The article includes a link to the full report.

Poll Results: Who Reads Blogs?

Last Saturday, I asked you to respond to two polls so that I could see how much blog reading and commenting is going on in my circle of family and friends. Twenty-eight people participated - which is phenomenal! Here's a quick, unscientific summary of the results.

Conclusion 1: We're not big blog readers

• 70% of you read 0-2 blogs in a typical week
• 15% read between 3 and 10 blogs
• The remaining 15% read 11 or more

Conclusion 2: When we do read, we participate

• Almost half of you (46%) said you are light commenters
• 25% send private emails to the blogger
• 7% comment regularly
• The remaining 21% either don't read blogs or they just "lurk"

For complete results, click here to return to the original post. If you already participated, you'll automatically see the current results. If you didn't vote yet, go ahead and cast your votes. The results will be automatically displayed.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Poll Time: Who Reads Blogs?

This week, we've focused a bit on blogging. Now I have a couple of quick questions for you:

• In a typical week, how many blogs do you read?
• If you do read blogs, do you add your own comments?

Please take a second to answer these questions in the two polls below. I will report on the results in a future post.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Poll Results: On the Front Porch Blog

And the winner is...rotate different authors!

Thank you to all who participated in the January 30th poll I introduced in my Blog Update: On the Front Porch with Beck and Dull post. At least 45% of you responded, which is a phenomenal rate!

Here are the final results:

• 29.2% said to "get another permanent author"
• 70.8% said to "rotate different authors."

Some of you hesitated losing the "spice" that the other permanent author was going to bring. We'll have to see how it plays out on the blog, but I'm thinking that the cast of guest authors will bring both Sugar & Spice to the conversation. I'm excited about the possibilities.

During the next couple of weeks, I'll be lining up topics and guests for the launch of...

Stay tuned!