According to the Barna Group, Americans’ priorities have remained unusually consistent in light of the economy’s current predicament. However, many Biola students have reorganized what they consider to be most important.

Typically, during a recession, Americans’ top two priorities become family and faith –– putting aside other pursuits such as maintaining health or becoming wealthy. According to Barna, however, those priorities have remained low in Americans’ lists of top priorities.

Barna, a research and resource company centered in Ventura, Calif., focuses on faith and culture trends and statistics.

Barna’s most recent research shows that 45 percent of Americans hold family as their highest priority, 20 percent put health first, 17 percent value their professional life first. Only 12 percent listed faith as first importance in their life.

A graph shows how Americans’ priorities have changed in a recent survey by the Barna Research Group.

In response to the lower numbers, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, concluded that Americans are fixated with individualism and trying to solve their own problems.

Some Biola students, however, are fixated less on individualism and have made sacrifices to attend Biola. According to many students, even the slightest of luxuries have been given up in order to stay afloat.

“I can’t go out and eat at fast food restaurants anymore,” junior April Laurie said. “People would say that I’m helping the economy by spending money, but it’s not helping me.”

Though school matters to many, other students make sure to keep the things they love in their top priorities.

“Athletics and having a good time are my top priorities, so that’s why I get school out of the way. That way, I get good grades and I maximize my fun time,” senior Kevin Hernandez said.

Brad Christerson, a sociology professor at Biola, defined a priority as “something one organizes his life around.”

“[Priorities] define how you spend your time and your money,” said Christerson.
Tessa Sharr, a sophomore sociology major, defined ‘priority’ in her own words.

“A priority is something so important to you that you’d be willing to sacrifice other things for [it[,” Sharr said.