Ariz. Christian U., George Barna to launch 'Cultural Research Center' to transform US culture
Together with Arizona Christian University, a veteran researcher is launching a first-of-its-kind center this week aimed at restoring a biblical worldview and God’s truth to every area of American culture.
The Glendale-based private university will announce the opening of the Cultural Research Center at ACU, proclaiming it to be "the country's premier worldview research organization," according to a press release sent to The Christian Post Thursday. George Barna will be the center's director of research.
The center will unveil on Tuesday the findings of its inaugural national research study, the American Worldview Inventory 2020. Barna maintains the study is "the most sophisticated survey of worldview ever conducted in the United States."
“We are thrilled to be able to launch the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University with Dr. Barna,” ACU President Len Munsil said in a statement.
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“America finds herself in a bit of a freefall – morally, politically and culturally. Our founding values and the biblical worldview are seemingly fading. But we firmly believe there’s hope and that cultural transformation is not only possible, but that the CRC will play a huge role as a vital source of critical and trustworthy, non-partisan research and information.”
Barna is known for his extensive documentation and measurement of Christian attitudes and thinking about a variety of theological and political issues. In 1984, he founded the Barna Research Group, now the Barna Group, which he sold in 2009.
A key objective of the new center is to gauge the state of the culture and the prevailing worldviews Americans hold. CRC will do this by conducting ongoing national surveys and distribute the results to media, faculty, donors and ministry partners. The results they obtain will then help identify and address cultural challenges while establishing ACU as a leader in the field.
"Until now, there has been no research center specifically focused on tracking the worldview of Americans. The Cultural Research Center will do exactly that," Barna said.
"As a non-partisan research group, we will never support a particular political party or candidate. The American public has maybe never been more distrustful of the motives of its civic, business and spiritual leaders. And particularly of its news media. So, the Cultural Research Center is going to help them focus on what the people say matters, while providing those same people with a yardstick for measuring how well they are being served by their leaders."
A formal launch event was planned but has been delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and has been rescheduled for this fall.
