THIS brief summary is prepared in response to the many requests for additional information about the recently completed study of the Adventist Church by the American Institute of Public Opinion (Gallup poll). This was a profile study to test U.S. public opinion regarding the church, the public's view of the church and attitudes toward its beliefs and activities.
A total of 1,577 interviews were con ducted across the nation March 13-15, 1970. The results are incorporated in a thirty-page report from Gallup International, giving the findings of the poll and a technical appendix describing the design of the sample and giving tables of recommended sampling tolerances to be borne in mind when reading the report.
It will not be possible within the compass of this summary to reproduce this technical material nor to discuss the arguments for and against the worth and value of studies of this kind. It may suffice to say that re search of this type generally serves at least three functions: (1) It may confirm or deny assumptions about the state of public opinion; (2) it may clarify questions on which limited information is available or on which contradictory data are to be found; and, (3) it may reorient thinking and conceptualization on a public relations problem, which may help to bring about significant changes in the public posture of an organization.
It should also be understood that the findings arising from a study such as this tend to perish quickly. Thus they need to be evaluated at once and if thought advisable, translated into workable programs. Here are the ten questions with a brief summary of the findings. Again, due to the limitations of space, it is not possible to present a complete evaluation and listing of recommendations.
1. Have you ever heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church?
Two out of three adults nationally (65 percent) say they have heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The proportion differs according to the respondent's level of education, 79 percent among persons with college training, 67 percent for persons whose formal training did not go beyond high school, and 49 percent in the case of persons with a grade school background.
The church is least known in the East (where 55 percent said they have heard or read about it) and best known in the West (where the recognition score is 27 percent age points higher, or 82 percent). The other regions are the South 63 percent, and the Midwest 69 percent.
Sharp differences emerge on the basis of religious affiliation, with just half of Roman Catholics indicating awareness of the Seventh-day Adventist Church compared to 71 percent of Protestants.
The need for increased efforts to become more generally known is indicated in this part of the report. The fact that more than one out of three people in the U.S. have never heard or read about Seventh-day Adventists should startle and challenge us to new activity in communicating the message of the church. This study also confirms that we must continue and, indeed, intensify our efforts to establish a separate and positive identity or image, and become known as a people with a message. All too frequently, as this report indicates, we are confused or identified with Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other religious groups.
NOTE: In the remaining questions generally only the 65 percent of adults who say they have heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church are included. Unless other wise stated, all percentages will refer only to this two thirds or "aware" group of the population.
3. How have you gotten MOST of your information about Seventh-day Adventists?
(The respondent is handed a card listing 12 alternatives: (a) relative, (b) friend, (c) radio, (d) television, (e) newspaper, (/) magazine, (g) literature through the mail, (h) literature handed out, (i) an institution such as a school or hospital, (j) annual solicitation for funds by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, (k) my church, (/) other. Respondent is asked to specify.)
Respondents indicated that information is received mostly from friends (41 percent); literature handed out (17 percent); newspaper (12 percent); relatives (11 percent); magazines (9 percent); radio and television (8 percent); an institution hospital or school (6 percent); annual solicitation (4 percent); literature mailed out (4 percent).
Perhaps the most important fact emerging from responses to this question is that nationally more than half the respondents (52 percent) say they received most of their information about the church from friends and relatives. "Friends" in this con text would include neighbors and acquaintances. This should point up the fact that personal and community-oriented activities of consecrated laymen and others are of paramount importance in getting in formation to the public.
The report also reveals a wide difference between the impact made by personal con tact as compared with the impersonal, such as receiving literature through the mail. Where, for example, 17 percent of the respondents say they received most of their information through literature handed out, only 4 percent heard about the church through literature received through the mail.
3. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name "Seventh-day Adventist"?
The response given most frequently is: "They observe the Sabbath on Saturday" (38 percent). Other responses frequently given are: "They are very strict in their religious teachings" (5 percent), and "They try to convert many people to their faith" (4 percent).
It may be well to note that about one per son in six of the "aware" group was unable to answer this question. In terms of the total sample this would mean that nationally less than half of the population (46 percent) are receiving clear-cut and lasting impressions, favorable or unfavorable, about the church. It would seem that what might be helpful would be a slogan or catch phrase about some aspect or belief of the church that will stick in the mind and make the church stand out sharply.
4. Everybody has certain things he likes and certain things he dislikes about various churches. First of all, I'd like to ask you what you like BEST about the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
5.And what do you like LEAST about this church?
Among those with opinions, persons with favorable comments outweigh those with unfavorable by about the ratio of 3 to 2.
The favorable response most frequently given is that Seventh-day Adventists are loyal to their church. Other categories that rate high are the missionary activities of the church, hospitals and medical work, and strict morals.
Negative responses fall into these roughly equal categories: (1) Dislike methods or idea of converting members; (2) they are old-fashioned, narrow-minded; (3) working on Sunday and worshiping on Saturday; (4) discrimination against other faiths; (5) dietary regulations.
Between one half and two thirds of respondents had no answer or opinion as to what they liked best or least about the church, indicating that there was no one thing standing out sharply in their minds. But it is important to note that disapproval or animosity is not centered in any one group within the population.
6. If a friend of yours expressed an interest in joining a church, would you ad vise him AGAINST joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church or not? 7. Why do you feel this way?
The large majority of persons among those who have heard or read about the church would not try to discourage a friend of theirs from joining this church. Key reasons are: The belief that the decision to join any church should be left to the individual (six in ten say this) and a reluctance to give advice about religion or churches in general. A small group (5 percent) say they would not try to discourage someone from joining this church because it is a "good church."
Those who would try to discourage a friend from joining say first of all that they don't agree with the teachings of this church (45 percent). The next largest (28 percent) say they prefer the teachings of their own church, while another fairly large group (10 percent) don't agree with certain specific beliefs, particularly with the observance of the Sabbath on Saturday (8 percent).
It becomes apparent in reading verbatim quotes of respondents that many unfavorable attitudes stem from the belief that Seventh-day Adventists are narrow-minded and intolerant and too sure "that they are right about everything." The danger of a self-opinionated "know-it-all" attitude in contacts with non-Adventists, and the value of a humble "seeker-after-truth" approach should be distinctly borne in mind by Seventh-day Adventists.
8. Here is a list of activities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. With which, if any, of these activities are you acquainted?
Respondent is handed a card listing the alternatives: (a) Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast, (b) Faith for Today television broadcast, (c) It Is Written television broadcast, (d) Five-Day Plan to Stop Smoking, (e) health food products, (f) the practice of temperance (abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, et cetera), (g) Loma Linda Medical School, (h) welfare work, (i) world mission program.
Those who have heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church tend to be most acquainted with the practice of temperance among its members (14 percent of the aware group mention this). The Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast is next best known (mentioned by 12 percent), followed by the Faith for Today television broadcast (11 percent), the world mission program (10 percent), and the Five-Day Plan to Stop Smoking (10 percent).
Slightly less well-known than the other activities on the list are health food products (mentioned by 8 percent), It Is Writ ten television broadcast (5 percent), the Loma Linda Medical School (5 percent), and welfare work (5 percent).
Fewer than half (45 percent) of the aware group were able to make any of these observations. The other 55 percent did not have the information to give any opinion. In terms of the college-educated segment of the aware group, the practice of temperance among Seventh-day Adventists is cited most frequently from the list that includes nine activities of the church 27 percent name this. Next most often mentioned by this group is the world mission program, by 20 percent.
9. Here is a list of Seventh-day Adventist magazines. With which, if any, of these magazines are you acquainted?
Respondent is handed a card listing alternatives: (a) Life -and Health, (b) Listen, (c) These Times, (d) Signs of the Times, (e) Message Magazine, (/) Liberty: A Magazine of Religious Freedom, (g) Other (please specify).
The Signs of the Times was cited by one in six (13 percent) among persons who say they have heard or read about the church. Among the college-trained segment the percentage is higher (22 percent). All other journals list lower percentages. These are: Life and Health (6 percent), Listen (4 percent) (nearly double for college-educated), These Times (3 percent), Message Magazine (3 percent), Liberty (4 percent).
Nearly eight in ten (77 percent) among the aware group say they are not acquainted with any of the six Seventh-day Adventist magazines included on the list handed to them. In terms of the total sample this would mean that only about one in seven people across the nation would recognize any of these magazines. It would appear that since they do not appear on the newsstands or in public bookshops, only a small part of the population is touched by these magazines.
10. Just your impression compared to people in other Protestant denominations, would you say that Seventh-day Adventists tend to be older, tend to be younger, or tend to be about the same age?
Seventh-day Adventists are generally viewed as being of the same ages as persons in other Protestant denominations. About four in ten persons in the aware group (38 percent) do not express an opinion when asked to classify members of this church in terms of age. Another 46 percent say "about the same," while 9 percent say "older" and 7 percent say "younger." College-trained persons tend to regard members as "older" to a greater extent than do persons whose formal education does not go beyond high school.
Meaning in Terms of the Youth of the Church
There is meaning in these findings in terms of the needs of the youth of the church. Even a superficial examination of the subject of today's youth will show that the target group for organized religion during this new decade will most likely be young adults who in a real sense will determine whether or not organized religion will remain a vital force in our society.
Other surveys conducted by the American Institute of Public Opinion have proved what most people could easily have guessed, disenchantment with organized religion is centered today with college students and young adults. Typically, they re turn to the church when they settle down in communities and families, but these studies show that they are now doing so at a reduced rate.
In seeming contradiction these studies show that while students and young people appear to be turning away from organized religion, they are still interested in the mystical elements of religion. As one article put it, "God is not dead on the campus. But the chapels are empty!" The possibilities inherent in this seeming phenomenon may be worthy of consideration. There may be elements in the Adventist Church which if properly emphasized might have a distinct appeal in the light of today's trends.
Still other surveys have shown that welfare work has an appeal to youth. These indicated that half of the nation's youth have done volunteer work among the poor and underprivileged. The indicators are that social work is becoming the "new religion" among youth.
All of this would suggest that an increase on the level of public awareness and the giving to the church of a modern updated look for young persons who are presently "turned off" by organized religion, would result from an increased emphasis and up dating of the church's welfare program. But any consideration of this approach must be considered in the light of the supreme objective of God's great movement for these last days evangelism or the communication of the gospel to a sin-sick world. Many churches today appear to be going along with the trend toward replacing personal and doctrinal religion with social-action projects. Recognizing this danger, the church, along with a stronger "peculiar" evangelism, might stress or continue to stress such activities as:
a. A welfare program structured both to the personal involvement of members and youth of the church and the larger welfare needs of suffering humanity.
b. The student missionary program.
c. The Adventist Volunteer Service Corps.
Conclusion
It is possible this study will be upsetting to the cherished opinions of some, especially those who oppose change or who attach a degree of sanctity to timeworn and outmoded methods and techniques. But it is evident that these must be restudied and reshaped to meet today's needs. Among those requiring a new emphasis and a new look are methods of communicating with our publics and the world at large. These, including our public relations efforts, should be given high priority for continuing study by groups on the highest administrative and departmental levels.
