Perception Vs. Reality

Paul commended the church at Colosse for being devoted to Christ and allowing the Spirit of God to bear fruit through them. In Colossians 1, we can see these words:
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth...

There was a tangible expression of faith in the lives of the residents of this area who belonged to Christ. They were grounded in faith, love, and hope - and fruit was being seen. We can be challenged to grow in our faith and to bear the fruit that Jesus wants to express through us.  We can be steadfast in the gospel and not distracted or deceived by cultural trends that would discourage us and demotivate us in our spiritual walk. 

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The Bible speaks to our steadfastness in this world, and we should continue to take refuge in the Lord against challenges, real or imagined. Psalm 112 says:
5 A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

There is some new survey data that is out that deals with perception vs. reality.  People were asked a basic question about a number of sociological groups, and were asked to complete this statement: "If you had to guess, what percentage of American adults..." The summary of this polling data by YouGov, states:

When it comes to estimating the size of demographic groups, Americans rarely get it right. In two recent YouGov polls, we asked respondents to guess the percentage (ranging from 0% to 100%) of American adults who are members of 43 different groups, including racial and religious groups, as well as other less frequently studied groups, such as pet owners and those who are left-handed.

An interesting trend emerges when you follow the data: in a number of cases in which you have small actual percentages - under 50% - people tend to perceive a higher number.  Conversely, in cases where you have over 50%, respondents tended to guess under the actual number. Why is that?  The summary projects:

One recent meta-study suggests that when people are asked to make an estimation they are uncertain about, such as the size of a population, they tend to rescale their perceptions in a rational manner. When a person’s lived experience suggests an extreme value — such as a small proportion of people who are Jewish or a large proportion of people who are Christian — they often assume, reasonably, that their experiences are biased. In response, they adjust their prior estimate of a group’s size accordingly by shifting it closer to what they perceive to be the mean group size (that is, 50%).

The higher estimates for certain groups can be informative regarding relevant cultural trends.  Here is an example: we are inundated by the presence of the so-called "transgender agenda;" it was a topic on The Meeting House program recently.  Well, get this: in the YouGov survey, respondents guessed that the percentage of the population who were transgender was 21%.  However, the actual number is 1%.  A note from the summary: "True proportions were drawn from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and polls by YouGov and other polling firms."

Percentage of Americans who are gay or lesbian?  Those surveyed said 30%, the actual percentage: 3%.

With regard to religion, the real percentage of professing Christians in the population is 70%; however, survey respondents perceived the number to be 58%.

Only one percent of the population has a household income of $500,000 a year, but the survey showed that those surveyed thought over a-quarter of the population reached that level.  

The summary states that, "When people’s average perceptions of group sizes are compared to actual population estimates, an intriguing pattern emerges: Americans tend to vastly overestimate the size of minority groups." That includes "religious minorities," as well as "racial and ethnic minorities."

These are interesting numbers, and it appears that the conductors of the survey are a bit baffled by the outcome - there has been conventional wisdom that the size of groups are overestimated because of fear, but that does not seem to be the case overall, according to the summary.  But, in the area of the LGBTQ concerns, I would submit that there has been such a emphasis in media outlets on that agenda that people attribute a greater level of importance to it.  It is concerning to think that people who practice sexual deviancy contrary to God's ways receive so much attention, even to the point of the Supreme Court legalizing and attempting to legitimize same-sex marriage. 

And, I don't think you can put the label "sexual minorities" on a group of individuals and treat them the same as religious or ethnic ones.  For the believer in Christ, I think we can conclude two things: the population is generally dismissive of the strength of the Church and the population elevates the strength of groups that do not represent a Christian perspective.  Good example: in the YouGov survey, respondents believe that 33% of the population is atheist - the real number is 3%.

We always have to be careful that we deal with objective facts rather the subjective feelings.  Ultimately, we are called to make decisions and make responses based on the Word of God, the source of absolute truth.  It is easy to jump to conclusions, and by so doing, we reduce our credibility.  Our position should be to not react to cultural trends in fear or anger, but to respond with clarity and compassion.