With the coming of 2016, people are starting their lists of New Year's resolutions. A study conducted by the Lifeway Research Center shows that Americans have included growing their relationships with God as one of the top priorities.
According to the study posted in the Lifeway Newsroom, 52 percent of Americans have included improving their spirituality in their New Year's resolution goals. The only item to trump this was health concerns, of which 57 percent of Americans say they make improving health a goal.
"We don't hear a lot of talk about it, but a relationship with God is still something people want," vice LifeWay Research president Scott McConnell said in Lifeway's blog. "They have time at the holidays to think, and they realize what they didn't do last year — things they value but are not living out. So they start the year with an aspiration to change."
Lifeway Research is an organization that aims to assist and equip churches with relevant and current insights and recommendations through the use of scientifically sound research principles conducted throughout large focus groups.
Aside from growing in their relationship with God and shedding some weight, other things Americans aim to do at the start of the year are improve time management (43 percent), improve family relationships (42 percent), finances (37 percent), career (33 percent), and relationships with friends (31 percent).
The survey also shows that 72 percent of Evangelical Americans plan to make growing in their relationship with God a New Year's resolution, making the sub-sector one of the highest. Amongst the group, only 56 percent say that health is a priority for the New Year.
The research was conducted by Lifeway back in Sept. 14 to 28, 2015 through phone interviews, half of which were done via a landline phone and the other half done via mobile phone calls. The completed sample of the survey included 1,000 samples.
