George Barna
Professor at Arizona Christian University • Leads the Cultural Research Center based at the university
He was the founder The Barna Group (which he sold in 2009), the Barna Institute, the American Culture and Faith Institute, and Metaformation. Through those entities he has conducted groundbreaking research on worldview, cultural transformation, ministry applications, spiritual development, and elections. He has conducted more than 1,000 surveys which have involved interviews with more than one million Americans. He has directly provided research and strategy for several hundred parachurch ministries, thousands of Christian churches, the U.S. military, Fortune 500 companies, and has supplied polling and strategy to four presidential candidates and various federal and state candidates. He has also served on multiple Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards.
To date, Barna has authored or co-authored 60 books addressing social and religious trends, worldview, leadership, spiritual development, church dynamics, and cultural transformation. They include New York Times and amazon bestsellers and several award-winning books. His books have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages. His most recent bestseller is Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul (ACU Press, September 2023).
He previously taught at several universities and seminaries; served as the Teaching Pastor of a large, multi-ethnic church; pastor of a house church; an elder; and helped to start several churches.
After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University and received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.
George and his wife Nancy attended high school, college, and grad school together before marrying in 1978. They have three adopted daughters and three grandchildren, and currently live on the central California coast and in Phoenix. In his free time, George likes to watch the Yankees, read novels, play bass and listen to music, enjoy the ocean, spend time with his family and his blind dog (Ray Charles).
How the Pandemic Reshaped Christian Beliefs and Behaviors
We are learning more about the effects of COVID-19 on the religious faith of Americans, and a new research report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University identifies a series of significant shifts in people’s beliefs and behaviors during the pandemic. Noteworthy changes were found in church attendance,
U.S. Adult Generations Vary in Spiritual Responses to Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of every American—but it did not affect everyone in the same way, or to the same degree. Newly released data from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University based on the American Worldview Inventory 2023 shows that the four adult generations in the
How the Faith of Americans Has Shifted Since the Start of the Pandemic
The impact of the pandemic is still being felt in many ways. The deadly virus and the government actions it caused have affected many aspects of people’s lives, When it comes to faith, the shifts for Americans are both negative and positive. The first national post-pandemic study of Americans’ worldview
Research Identifies the Best Starting Point for Developing a Biblical Worldview
Dr. George Barna, Director of Research Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University Release Date: March 14, 2023 Bible-driven Christians have a responsibility to live in harmony with biblical principles and to help shape the worldview of their children in accordance with those same principles. Many adults, however, consider that
Incidence of Biblical Worldview Shows Significant Change Since the Start of the Pandemic
Dr. George Barna, Director of Research Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University Release Date: February 28, 2023 The COVID-19 lockdowns and lifestyle changes that began in early 2020 provided Americans with an opportunity to spend more time doing things their hectic, on-the-go lives precluded, such as reading the Bible.
The Interplay Between Beliefs and Values
Yet whether we recognize it or not, research shows there is a powerful relationship between what we believe and how we decide what is important in our lives. In other words, our worldview—how we experience, interpret, and respond to the world around us—deeply influences our values. This is one of