Survey Report

Public Perceptions of theSeventh-day Adventist Church& Adventist Community Servicesin the Chartiers Valley

By Monte SahlinOctober 2006

A report on research commissioned by the Office of Creative Ministries of theColumbia Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Center for Creative MinistryBox 23200Lincoln, Nebraska 68542-3200800.272.4664www.creativeministry.org

Paul RichardsonExecutive Director

Carmen RusuResearch Coordinator

Ceri MyersWeb Manager

Norma SahlinCommunication Director

(C)2006, Center for Creative Ministry

The entire content of this report is copyrighted material. Nothing is to be copied from it withoutpermission of Adventist Community Services of Greater Pittsburgh or the Center for CreativeMinistry. Professionally bound copies and PowerPoint slides of the graphics may be purchasedfrom the Center for Creative Ministry. To order use the web site, phone number or addressabove.

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How well is the Seventh-day Adventist Church known to the general public in theChartiers Valley? How well known is Adventist Community Services (ACS), thecommunity action agency sponsored by the Church? What does the average personknow of the Adventist mission and message? What are their attitudes and opinionsabout the Adventist Church and ACS?

These questions are important to assessing the future of ACS activities in theChartiers Valley. The Center for Creative Ministry was retained to conduct a randomsurvey of telephone interviews in the community due to similar work it has done forthe denomination. Since 1970, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North Americahas commissioned polls of the general public each decade. The surveys in 1970 and1986 were conducted by Gallup International and those in 1994 and 2003 by theCenter, which has also conducted a number of local surveys using the same basicinstrument and research design.

Each of these studies are based on random samples of the general public andstandard scientific polling methods, using the approved techniques of the publicopinion survey profession.1 Comparable questions were asked in each survey in orderto establish trends.

In this survey, a random sample of 235 individuals was interviewed by telephone fromthe cluster of towns in the Chartiers Valley. All survey research is subject to samplingerror. The results may differ from those that would be obtained if the entire populationhad been interviewed. The error factor in this study is about five percentage points,plus or minus. This is the expected range within which the results of repeatedsampling in the same time period might vary 95% of the time, assuming the samesampling procedure and interview process were used.

Name RecognitionA little more than one in four residents (28%) said “Yes,” when asked, “Have you everheard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church?” (See graph at top of page 1.)Some of these respondents revealed in a follow-up question that they actuallyassociate that name with other religious groups.

This is a significantly lower name recognition factor than for the entire Pittsburghmetropolitan area or the nation. (See graph at bottom of page 1.) A similar surveyconducted in 2002 found that 37% of residents throughout the four counties of greaterPittsburgh remembered having heard or read about the Seventh-day AdventistChurch, and the latest national survey in 2003 found that a majority of Americans(56%) recognized the name of the Church.

Younger adults are significantly less likely to have heard of the Adventist Church thanare adults over 60 years of age. People born after 1964 are a third as likely to say theyhave heard of the Adventist Church as are those born before 1946. It appears that oneof the reasons for low name recognition is a failure on the part of the Adventist Church

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to engage the attention of Gen X and the Millennial generation, today’s “thirty-somethings” and young adults.

Name recognition for Adventist Community Services (ACS) is significantly less than forthe Church itself. Just 2% of the residents of the Chartiers Valley report that theyhave heard or read about ACS. (See graph at top of page 2.) Throughout thePittsburgh metro area, only 3% of the general public gives the same response andacross America only 4% do so. The difference in these survey results in notstatistically significant. (See graph at bottom of page 2.)

Why would the name recognition of ACS be so much less than that of the Church,especially in view of the fact that ACS has worked intensively in the Chartiers Valleyfor the last two years and had considerable media coverage as well as excellentsupport from key civic leaders? This is most likely due to the fact that the averageperson does not know enough about Adventists to differentiate in their memorybetween the Church and organizations it sponsors which have similar names. Themore significant fact here is that 28% of the residents remember the name “Adventist”despite the fact that until ACS arrived two years ago there has never been an Adventistchurch, outreach campaign or other activity in this community. Asked a follow-upquestion about a specific agency name containing the word Adventist, they becomeunsure of their memory beyond the general impression.

Ethnic minorities, although few in the Chartiers Valley, were much more likely to haveheard of ACS—10% responded affirmatively to this question, five times the overallsample. This could be due to either or both of two realities. First, ethnic minorities inAmerica are more likely to be among the low-income and at-risk families that ACSserves. Second, the Adventist Church has a higher national recognition factor amongethnic minorities than the White population.

Knowledge and OpinionsRespondents who responded affirmatively to either of the first two questions wereimmediately asked an open-ended follow-up question designed to provide evidence ofthe opinions that people have about the Adventist Church and its mission andmessage. The percentages reported here are the percentages of the entire sample, notjust those who were asked this question.

Asked, “What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Seventh-day Adventist?” the largest number of the respondents (13.6%) told interviewers that“nothing” came to mind or refused to answer the question. The largest share of thegeneral public simply have no knowledge of the Church, its ministries, mission andmessage. This segment far outweighs any negative or positive attitudes toward theChurch. (See graph at top of page 3.) Younger adults, ethnic minorities and BlueCollar workers are more likely to say that they do not know anything specific aboutAdventists. Higher percentages of Chartiers Valley residents gave this response thandid those in the Greater Pittsburgh survey or the national survey.

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The second largest group of responses (8.6%) are those who stated that they see theAdventist Church as a “cult” or mistakenly identified it with Jehovah’s Witnesses orthe Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (“Mormons”). Residents over 60 yearsof age and those with professional and White Collar occupations are more likely toexpress these negative concepts of the Adventist Church. Residents of the ChartiersValley are much more likely to have this opinion than were the respondents of theGreater Pittsburgh survey or the national survey.

In contrast, another 4.7% of the local residents responded to this question with thecomment, “They are Christians,” or “It is a Christian group,” or similar sentiments.Ethnic minorities were more likely to give this response than were Whites. It is difficultto tell if this is an affirmative statement about Adventists or simply a fragmentary factthat some people remember in spite of the fact that they know little or nothing aboutthe Adventist Church. Just 1% of the respondents in the national survey gave thesame response, and none in the Greater Pittsburgh survey.

Some 4.3% of the local residents know that Adventists keep the Sabbath and havetheir major church events on Saturdays. Ethnic minorities and Blue Collar workersare more likely to give this response. A smaller percentage in the Greater Pittsburghsurvey knew about the Sabbath, while a much larger percentage did so in the nationalsurvey. This item has usually surfaced as the most common specific fact that is knownto respondents in surveys of this type.

A total of 2.6% of those interviewed in the Chartiers Valley responded by identifyingtheir own religious affiliation and stating that they were happy to stay in their church.They evidently had the impression that the interview was designed to recruit newmembers for the Adventist Church despite a clear statement at the top of the interviewthat it was entirely for research purposes. These respondents were all over 60 years ofage and White. This is evidence of the unfortunate and unethical practice of somereligious groups to use a “survey” as an evangelism technique.

Only 1.7% of the local residents made references to not smoking, vegetarianism andother aspects of the Adventist commitment to health and healthy lifestyles. This is thesame level of response for this item as in the national survey. As more and moreorganizations have come to promote many of the same health practices historicallytaught by the Adventist Church, this aspect of the Church seems to have slipped frompublic view as a unique identifier for Seventh-day Adventists.

Just 1% of the respondents made various negative comments, some of them moreabout organized religion in general than specifically about the Adventist Church.Professional and White Collar workers were more likely to make negative remarks.

Less than one-half of one percent of the residents interviewed made general, positivecomments, such as “they are good people.” This is a lower proportion than in thenational or Greater Pittsburgh surveys, although the total number of responses in thiscategory are really too small to be statistically significant in all three surveys.

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Some of the responses to this open-ended question (1.7%) were not clearly positive ornegative, nor could they be clustered with any other comment. This is shown in thegraph as “Other.”

Awareness of Health and Service MinistriesRespondents were asked a series of questions about specific Adventist ministries andtheir awareness of these organizations. Adventist Community Services has greatername recognition than any of the other health or humanitarian programs included inthe survey. (See graph at bottom of page 3.)

Only 1.3% of the local residents have had some experience with an Adventist hospital.Either they personally or one of their relatives has been treated in an Adventisthospital at some time. Younger adults born since 1964 are more likely to give thisresponse. This is the same response as was found in the Greater Pittsburgh andnational surveys.

Less than one percent of the Chartiers Valley residents have heard or read about thecommunity health programs sponsored by the Adventist Church such as stop-smokingprograms, community health fairs, vegetarian cooking schools, etc. All of those whogave this response are younger adults born since 1964. This is less than one third thepercentage found in the Greater Pittsburgh survey and that difference is undoubtedlydue to the fact that when these programs have been conducted in the Pittsburgh area,it has never been in or near this community.

Just one respondent—less than one-half of one percent of the sample—reports havingheard of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). This is less than thesame response in the Greater Pittsburgh survey and far less than in the nationalsurvey. But, this is not surprising considering the lack of Adventist contact in thiscommunity over the years, as well as the relative lack of immigration from developingnations were ADRA works.

Awareness of Media MinistriesAmong the international radio and television ministries conducted by the AdventistChurch in North America, the Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast and the It Is Writtentelecast are the two most widely known in the Chartiers Valley. Yet, only 2.6% of therespondents recognized the name of these media ministries. (See graph at top of page4.) Older adults, over 60 years of age, were more likely to express awareness of theVoice of Prophecy, while younger adults, born since 1964, and ethnic minorities weremore likely to recognize the name of It Is Written. These responses are about the sameas in the national and Greater Pittsburgh surveys.

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Lifestyle Magazine, the television program produced by Faith For Today for the secularmedia, was known to only 1.3% of local residents. Younger adults, born since 1964,and those with professional and White Collar occupations—and therefore, moreeducation—were more likely to recognize this media program, consistent with its targetaudience. Yet, this response is significantly less than the response in both the nationaland Greater Pittsburgh surveys. It is likely that this is due to the fact that over theintervening years, Faith For Today has not had funding to produce any new segmentsof Lifestyle Magazine and the cable channels that have carried it in the past beenreplaced by new channels with lower levels of distribution. The program has fadedfrom view in Pittsburgh and probably across the country.

Less than one percent of local residents indicate that they have seen or heard aboutthe Breath of Life television program. Younger adults, born since 1964, are much morelikely to have given this response. This is a significantly lower response than in theGreater Pittsburgh and national surveys, probably due to the very few AfricanAmericans who live in the Chartiers Valley and the fact that Breath of Life targets theAfrican American community.

Awareness of Adventist PublicationsIn general, Adventist magazines are less widely known than are the radio andtelevision ministries conducted by the Adventist Church. In part, this is an indicationof how American society has moved toward the electronic media and away from printpublications. (See graph at bottom of page 4.)

Less than two percent of local residents have seen the outreach magazine Signs of theTimes published by Pacific Press. This is less than half the percentage in the nationalsurvey and about the same as in the Greater Pittsburgh survey.

Less than one percent of the respondents say they have seen Message magazinepublished by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. Younger adults, bornsince 1964, are more likely to remember the publication. This is half the percentage inthe national survey and about the same as in the Greater Pittsburgh survey.

Less than one-half of one percent of the community recalls having seen Liberty, thejournal published by the Religious Liberty Association and sent to large numbers ofelected officials, judges, attorneys and civic leaders. Ethnic minorities and youngeradults, born since 1964, are more likely to give this response. This is far less than theresponse to the national survey, but the same as the Greater Pittsburgh survey.

No respondent remembered having ever seen Vibrant Life, the health journal publishedthe Review and Herald Publishing Association. Considering the very low circulation ofthis periodical and the fact that most of its copies are distributed at Adventisthospitals, this response is not surprising.

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Personal ContactLess than one percent of local residents have an acquaintance, work colleague,neighbor or friend who is an Adventist. (See graph at top of page 5.) Younger adults,born since 1964, are more likely to know an Adventist, but this is a community thathas lived largely outside of any contact with Seventh-day Adventists over the years.The response is less than one fifth that found in the national and Greater Pittsburghsurveys.

Less than one-half of one percent of community residents have a relative who is amember of the Adventist Church. (See graph at bottom of page 5.) This is one-sixth therate in the Greater Pittsburgh study. This community is made up of people who havebeen significantly less touched by Adventists over the years than even the Pittsburghmetropolitan area, which has the smallest Adventist presence of any major metro areain America.

Less than one-half of one percent of respondents report having attended an AdventistChurch. (See graph at top of page 6.) This very likely includes attendance at seminarspublic meetings as well as worship on Sabbath. Young adults, born since 1964, aremore likely to have done so, but this is significantly less than the rate in both theGreater Pittsburgh and national surveys.

At the same time, 8% of residents report that the Adventist Church is active in localcommunity causes. (See graph at bottom of page 6.) Younger adults, born since 1964,are nearly three times as likely to give this response, and ethnic minorities are morethan twice as likely to do so. This 8% compares to only 3% in the 1997 national surveyand in the 2002 Greater Pittsburgh survey. (This item was not included in the 2003national survey.) Clearly the work of ACS in this community over the past two yearshas boosted this indicator to nearly three times the national norm, although there ismuch work yet to be done to make Adventist ministry more visible in the ChartiersValley and throughout the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

Sample SkewMost survey samples, although randomly selected, have some skewing from the knowndemographics of the total population. The graphs on pages 7 and 8 show that thesample in this study comes very close to the ethnic profile of the recent Census for thiscommunity. It does have a definite skew in age and gender. Some 44% of therespondents are over 60 years of age as compared to 30% of the population, withcorrespondingly lower percentages in the other age groups. And 68% of therespondents are women as compared to 54% of the population. These skews arerelated to the fact that retired, older individuals and women are more likely to agree tobe interviewed in telephone surveys than are men or younger adults.

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Endnote

1 Arlene Fink, The Survey Handbook (1995, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks); David K. Hildebrand andLyman Ott, Statistical Thinking for Managers, Third Edition (1991, Duxbury Press, Belmont)

1

Have you ever heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church?

Yes28%

No72%

Name recognition of the Adventist Church: local, metro and national

28%

37%

56%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Chartiers Valley Pittsburgh metroarea

USA

2

Have you ever heard or read about Adventist Community Services?

Yes2%

No98%

Name recognition of ACSlocal, metro and national

2%

3%

4%

0%

1%

1%

2%

2%

3%

3%

4%

4%

Chartiers Valley Pittsburgh metroarea

USA

3

What comes to mind?

1.7%

0.40%0.9%

1.7%

2.6%4.3%4.70%

8.6%13.6%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Other comments

"Good people"

Negative criticism

Health habits

I'm happy with my religion

Saturday Sabbath

They are Christians

A cult, Mormons, JWs

"Nothing" or no answer

Name recognition of Adventist health and social services

0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5%

ADRA International

Community health programs

An Adventist hospital

Adventist Community Services

4

Name recognition ofAdventist media ministries

0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0%

Breath of Life

Lifestyle Magazine

It Is Written

Voice of Prophecy

Name recognition ofAdventist publications

0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0%

Vibrant Life

Message

Liberty

Signs of the Times

5

Do you know an acquaintance who is an Adventist?

No99%

Yes1%

Do you have a relative whois an Adventist?

No99.6%

Yes0.4%

6

Have you ever visited an Adventist church?

No99.6%

Yes0.4%

Is the Adventist Church active in local community causes?

No92%

Yes8%

7

Year of Birth

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

Before 1946 1946 through1964

After 1964

Survey sampleCensus

Ethnic Self-identification

0%10%20%

30%40%50%60%70%

80%90%

100%

AfricanAmerican

Asian Caucasian Hispanic Other

Survey sampleCensus

8

Occupation

Student10%

Blue Collar7%

Retired29%

Unemployed7%

Homemaker14%

White Collar20%

Professional13%

Gender

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Men Women

Survey sampleCensus

viii

Bibliography

Gallup Associates, The Public Attitudes Toward the Seventh-day Adventist Church(1970, Gallup International, Princeton)

Gallup Associates, U.S. Public’s Awareness of and Attitudes Toward the Seventh-dayAdventist Church (1986, Gallup Organization, Inc., Princeton)

Carole Kilcher and Paul Richardson, Public Awareness: The perceptions and attitudes ofthe general public toward the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1994, Center for CreativeMinistry, Lincoln)

Frank Magid, Attitudes and Opinions Toward the Seventh-day Adventist Church and It’sMedia Ministry (1987, Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc., New York City)

Paul Richardson and Carmen Rusu, Public Perceptions of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch in North America (2003, Center for Creative Ministry, Lincoln)

Monte Sahlin, Mioara Diaconu, Beverly Grant and Tashoy Matheson, Prospects forMission in Metro Pittsburgh (2003, Center for Metropolitan Ministry, Takoma Park)

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Appendix A – Interview QuestionnaireHello, my name is ______________. I am working for BBMRC Research Services and we areconducting a public opinion survey. May I have a few minutes of your time?

1. Have you ever heard or read about the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Yes No

If the answer is “No,” continue with Question 2.If the answer is “Yes,” skip to Question 3.

2. Have you ever heard of read about Adventist Community Services? Yes No

If the answer is “No,” skip to Question 11.If the answer is “Yes,” continue with Question 3.

3. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name “Seventh-day Adventist”?

4. I am going to read a short list of activities provided to the general public sponsored by theAdventist Church. Please answer “Yes” if you are familiar with any of the activities and “No” ifyou don’t remember every hearing of the activity.

4-A. Are you acquainted with any of the Adventist community health Yes Noeducation programs, such as the “Breathe Free” stop smoking plan, orstress seminars, or cooking seminars?

4-B. Are you acquainted with Adventist Development and Relief Yes NoAgency (ADRA)?

4-C. Are you acquainted with the radio program Voice of Prophecy? Yes No

4-D. Are you acquainted with the television program It Is Written? Yes No

4-F. Are you acquainted with the television program Lifestyle Magazine? Yes No

4-G. Are you acquainted with the television program Breath of Life? Yes No

5. Have you or any of your relatives stayed in an Adventist hospital? Yes No

6. I will read a short list of magazines published by the Adventist Church. Please answer “Yes”to any of the magazines that you remember having seen or “No” if you have never seen thatmagazine.

6-A. Have you seen Signs of the Times? Yes No

6-B. Have you seen Message magazine? Yes No

6-C. Have you seen Liberty magazine? Yes No

6-D. Have you seen Vibrant Life? Yes No

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7. Are any of your relatives members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Yes No

8. Do you know a member of the Adventist Church where you work or in your neighborhood?

Yes No

9. Is the Adventist Church active in local community causes in your area? Yes No

10. Have you ever visited an Adventist church? Yes No

11. Were you born ... [Check one answer.]

__ before 1946?__ from 1946 through 1964?__ or, after 1964?

12. What is your occupation? _______________________________________

13. Which of the following categories best describes your ethnic background?[Check one answer.]

__ Asian or Pacific Islander__ African American__ Hispanic__ White or Caucasian__ Other

That completes the survey. Thank you for your time!

After hanging up, circle your impression: The person was ... Male Female

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Appendix B – Probability Sampling Statistics

In interpreting survey results, it should be borne in mind that all sample surveys aresubject to sampling error. That is the extent to which the results may differ from whatwould be obtained if the whole population had been interviewed or completed aquestionnaire. The size of such sampling errors depends on the actual number ofinterviews or questionnaires, not the number of responses as a percentage of thepopulation.

The following tables may be used in estimating the sampling error of any percentage inthis report. The computed allowances have taken into account the effect of the sampledesign upon sampling error. They may be interpreted as indicating the range (plus orminus the figure shown) within which the results of repeated samplings in the sametime period could be expected to vary, 95 percent of the time, assuming the samesampling procedures, the same interviewers and/or the same questionnaire.

Table A shows how much allowance should be made for the sampling error of anypercentage reported. This table would be used in the following manner: If a reportedpercentage is 33 for a group that includes 1,250 respondents ... then, go to the rowthat says "percentages near 30" in the table and go across to the column headed"1,250." The number at this point is 3, which means that the 33 percent obtained inthe sample is subject to a sampling error of plus or minus 3 points. This means thatvery probably (95 chances out of 100) the actual figure would be somewhere between30 percent and 36 percent, with the most likely figure the 33 percent obtained in thesurvey.

In comparing survey results in two sub-samples, for example, men and women, thequestion arises as to how large a difference between them must be before one can bereasonably sure that it reflects a real difference. Table B and Table C indicate thenumber of points which must be allowed for in such comparisons to make them"statistically significant." Table C is for percentages near 20 or 80. Table B is forpercentages near 50. For percentages in between, the factor to be allowed for isbetween those shown on the two tables.

Here is how these tables are used: If 50% of men respond a certain way and 40% ofwomen respond that way also, for a difference of 10 percentage points between them,can we say that the 10 point difference reflects a real difference between the twogroups on that question? Let's say the sample contains about 750 of each gender.

Since the percentages are near 50, consult Table B. Since the total sample is 1,500,look for the number in the column headed "1,500." Since the two sub-samples are 750persons each, look for the row designated "750." Where the row and column intersect,you will find the number 6. This means that the difference between the two groupsmust be greater than 6 percentage points to be "statistically significant." In otherwords, we can conclude with considerable confidence that a real difference exists inthe answers of men and women to this question.

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Table ARecommended Allowance for Sampling Error

Size of Sample .... 1,500 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 100

Percentages near 10 2 2 2 3 3 5 7 Percentages near 20 3 3 3 4 4 6 10 Percentages near 30 3 3 4 4 5 7 11 Percentages near 40 3 3 4 4 5 8 12 Percentages near 50 3 3 4 4 5 8 12 Percentages near 60 3 3 4 4 5 8 12 Percentages near 70 3 3 4 4 5 7 11 Percentages near 80 3 3 3 4 4 6 10 Percentages near 90 2 2 2 3 3 5 7

Table BRecommended Allowance for Sampling Error of the Difference

In Percentage Points for Percentages near 50

Size of Sample .... 1,500 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 100

1,500 41,250 5 51,000 5 5 5 750 6 6 6 6 500 6 6 7 7 8 250 8 8 9 9 9 11 100 13 13 13 13 13 14 17

Table CRecommended Allowance for Sampling Error of the Difference

In Percentage Points For Percentages near 20 or Percentages near 80

Size of Sample .... 1,500 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 100

1,500 41,250 4 41,000 4 4 4 750 4 4 5 5 500 5 5 5 6 6 250 7 7 7 7 8 9 100 10 10 10 10 11 12 14