What, exactly, does it mean to be "evangelical" or "born again"? A lot of people, including Christian leaders, use the terms interchangeably. But some religious experts have distinct meanings for each term - though they don't necessarily agree on those definitions.

    Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, defines "evangelicals" broadly as "Christians who take the Bible seriously and believe in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord."

    Anderson's definition would account for about 1 in 4 registered voters and includes Southern Baptists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, charismatics and many others. That is also the definition used in reports claiming that the evangelical vote was decisive twice in electing President Bush.

    But that definition renders the word almost meaningless.

    The Barna Group, an evangelical organization that tracks Christian trends, defines "evangelical" narrowly for its study questionnaires. Its findings suggest that the number of Americans who believe in the literal truth of the Bible and the traditional theology of the church is much smaller than generally thought.

    It also suggests that the Christian right is a small minority in America. Only 8 percent, or 18 million, people in America qualify as evangelicals by the Barna Group's definition, group President David Kinnaman said. Eighty-one percent are white and 60 percent are affiliated with the Republican Party, he said.

    The Barna Group views evangelicals as a subset of born-again Christians.

    To be born-again, according to the group, people must have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and believe, because of that commitment, that they'll go to heaven after they die. That accounts for 48 percent of the voting public, the Barna Group found in a 2007 study.

    The Barna Group defines an evangelical as a bornagain Christian who also believes that Satan exists; that they have a responsibility to evangelize; that salvation is possible only through grace, not works; that Christ lived a sinless life; that the Bible is inerrant; and that God is omnipotent, omniscient, perfect and creator of all things.

    "Evangelicals, under this definition, represent a smaller part of the American population than generally realized, but they are also a very cohesive group," Kinnaman said.

    Though sometimes used more broadly, "Christian right" tends to refer to evangelical Republicans who are politically active. In other words, they are a subset of the Barna Group's definition of "evangelical." 

    CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0367 or mark.barna@gazette.com. Mark Barna is not associated with the Barna Group.