The largest number of people who don't go to church fail to worship with others because they're "too busy" for church, according to a report by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board.

Almost 40% of the persons surveyed said unchurched Americans "are 'too busy' to attend church," the board's research division reported in its newsletter, Research Review.

The survey revealed that four out of 10 people indicated they are not actively involved in a congregation, synagogue or other house of worship. That finding compares similarly to studies conducted nationwide. In addition, D.C. and other studies show that unchurched Americans "tend to be younger and disproportionately male," the newsletter reports.

People polled in the survey were asked to explain why they believe people don't go to church. "Too busy" was the number one answer, cited by 37.5 percent of respondents.

The next most common response was "don't know." Almost one in three respondents (32.5 percent) either weren't sure why people don't go to church or they were not willing to say.

The third reason, cited by almost one in six of the people polled (15.8 percent), indicated a specific problem with the church. Responses included such reasons as "they are just after the money" and "they are full of hypocrites."

Apathy ranked next, with 8.8 percent of the respondents saying unchurched people just don't care about church. Then came the lack of belief in God, cited by 4.8 percent of the people polled, and 2.4 percent claimed not being raised in a church is reason enough not to attend now.

Project Discovery also examined perceptions held by unchurched people as to their major societal concerns. Asked, "What are some of the greatest needs, issues and concerns of people living in your community?" the far-and-away dominant answer was "safety and crime."

Concerns about crime, violence, personal security and community safety were cited almost four times as often (43 percent) as schools (11.8 percent).

Other responses were jobs (10.1 percent), money (7.2), traffic (6.8), drugs (6.1), community relationships (4.8), youth (4.8), and children's issues (4.6).

(Marv Knox is the associate editor of The Baptist Standard.)