The central theme of this column, is that America is the most religious developed nation, and paradoxically, the least ethical.

New evidence surfaced this week in a report by Pollster George Barna revealing a "significant increase in religious activity related to five of the seven core religious behaviours".

Bible Reading: In 1995 only 31 percent of Americans said they read the Bible during the week outside of church. By 2006, a remarkable 47 percent of adults reported doing so.

Church Attendance: In 2006, 47 percent of Americans said they attended church in a recent week ? an impressive growth from 37 percent recorded in 1996.

Small Groups: Nearly one in four Americans (23 percent) attended a small group meeting other than Sunday School for Bible study, prayer or personal relationships, up from 17 percent a decade ago.

Church Volunteerism: In 2006, 24 percent of adults volunteered to serve their church in the past week, rising from 20 percent during the mid-1990's.

Adult Sunday School attendance has risen in recent years from 17 percent a decade ago to 24 percent this year.

There was no change in the other two religious practices: prayer and evangelism.

However, a very high 84 percent of Americans prayed in the past week and 60 percent of born-again Christians say they have shared their faith in Jesus with an unbeliever over the past year. On the other hand, Star Parker's new book, 'White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City', alleges that "the sexual chaos, values disorientation and social turmoil we see in our inner cities is just a magnified reflection of the moral collapse happening all over America: in our schools, our churches, our homes".

Asked to comment on the Barna results and the trends she sees in "the white ghetto," Ms Parker responded: "There is a disconnect between Christian faith and church attendance and personal behaviour. How do we explain the applause for 'Brokeback Mountain', rising pornography, the increase of gambling? People are attending church looking for answers, while at the same time, at the core of their world view is moral relativism.

"Religion is almost a country club. People get dressed up on Sunday, go to church ? yet there are more and more never-married Americans."

She's right. Out-of-wedlock births used to be confined to the inner city. When Pat Moyinhan published his controversial book, 'The Negro Family: The Case for National Action' in 1965, he expressed alarm that the number of black babies born out of wedlock was 28 percent, when white illegitimacy was about two percent.

By 2002, 68 percent of black babies were born out of wedlock and 28.5 percent of white children. White illegitimacy is now where it was among blacks 40 years ago.

The number of cohabiting couples has soared 12-fold from 430,000 couples in 1960 to 5.1 million couples living together in one month of 2004. Probably 8-9 million couples cohabited last year while less than 2.2 million couples married in the whole year. Hard-core pornography sales will hit $1 billion in 2005, up 175 percent from 2004.

Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest cell phone service provider, quietly has launched filtering devices and password-enabled blockers that help thwart underage consumers from buying adult content. With that service, porn will now be available on cell phones.

Marriage rates have plunged 48 percent since 1970, while the number of never-married Americans has grown from 21 million in that year to 53 million. That's a 150 percent increase while the population grew less than 50 percent.

Asked to comment on high religious participation and declining morality, George Barna said: "Certainly there is a big difference between religious behaviour which speaks about external changes in finding fulfilment - and committed internal change. Really, nothing has changed, only the outer wrapping of the package. Only nine percent of born-again adults hold a biblical world view which translates into deep change.

"We like things that are fast, easy and convenient, and treat religion the same way, telling people 'You can have a good outcome if you do a few simple things like say this little prayer and you have eternal salvation' ? without making an authentic commitment to be a different person."

It is time for clergy to address practical ethical issues from the pulpit. It is not enough to believe in Jesus. People must be taught the devastating impact of pornography, the harm of cohabitation, the value of chastity for singles and the benefits of a lifelong marriage.