Home Pastors Articles for Pastors U.S. Mourns 9/11; NYC Residents Are More Spiritually Active Now Than in...

U.S. Mourns 9/11; NYC Residents Are More Spiritually Active Now Than in 2001

The nation mourned the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 with a live webcast from the 9/11 Memorial Plaza in New York City on Thursday morning. The assembly observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EST: the moment hijacked Flight 91 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Family members, including some children, read thousands of victims’ names and interjected touching remarks expressing their grief, love and hope for the future.

New study results from Barna Research show the residents of New York City are more spiritually active now than they were at the beginning of the century, even as the rest of the nation has declined in church attendance and spiritual activity and the number of unchurched has increased. For example, reported weekly attendance at church in New York City was at 31 percent in 2000 but hs risen to 46 percent now. Other faith behaviors, such as Bible reading, have increased 6 percent in the city. Even the number of unchurched in the New York City area has declined from 42 percent to 34 percent.

President of the Barna Group David Kinnaman says church attendance increased most significantly in 2004 and so may not be directly related to the 9/11 attacks.

“The research shows that spiritual change can and does happen, even in large population centers like the New York media market. What cannot be determined by survey research, however, is what exactly caused the change,” Kinnaman wrote in the report. “There are many front-and-center factors, such as the terrorist attacks, the Wall Street crisis, and the weakening economy. But there are also below-the-radar factors, like immigration and people moving into and out of the city, personal factors such as marriage or health issues, as well as the work and coordination of local faith communities in the metropolis. Whatever the combination of causes, the residents of the New York City region are more spiritually active, more likely to be ‘churched,’ and more committed to Christ than they were a decade ago.”