Survey Says…Theology Troubles
As we noted Sunday in our first message from the gospel of John, it matters what you believe about the identity of Jesus Christ. Every religion outside of Christianity teaches a different Jesus than the one God clearly reveals in Scripture, and that is eternally deadly.
Lifeway research and Ligonier Ministries shared their findings this week about Americans’ theological beliefs and practices (Lifeway Research):
68% believe God is unchanging, but they are not always consistent in their theological perspectives.
71% believe there is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Notes: 55% strongly agree, 16% somewhat agree, 5% somewhat disagree, 15% strongly disagree, and 10% are not sure)
49% believe Jesus was a great teacher, but He was not God (Notes: 27% strongly agree; 21% somewhat agree, 10% somewhat disagree, 30% strongly disagree, and 11% are not sure)
57% believe the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being (Notes: 30% strongly agree, 27% somewhat agree, 8% strongly disagree, 18% strongly disagree, and 16% are not sure)
U.S. adults may feel complicated or even contradictory beliefs about God are OK because many don’t see religion as an area of clear right and wrong. Around 2 in 3 (65%) say God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Almost half (46%) agree religious belief is not about objective truth, while a third (32%) disagree.
More than 4 in 5 Americans (83%) say God loves all people the same way, and 66% believe God is a perfect being and cannot make a mistake.
Theology in practice:
In 2022, following the pandemic, 66% of Americans said worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church. The two-thirds who agreed marked a significant increase from 58% in 2020. This year, the percentage has dropped but remains above pre-pandemic levels.
In 2025, 63% of U.S. adults say their personal or family worship is a good church attendance substitute, while 26% disagree. Self-identified Christians, mainline Protestants (7%) and Catholics (6%) are more likely than Black Protestants (5%) and evangelical Protestants (5%) to agree.
Americans who are regular churchgoers, attending at least once or twice a month, are far more likely to disagree than those who don’t attend church services as often (42% v. 15%). Evangelicals by belief are also more likely to disagree than U.S. adults without such beliefs (49% v. 21%).
While Americans don’t care if the beliefs of Christians lead them to attend church or not, they don’t want those beliefs to enter the political realm. Most (54%) say Christians should not allow their religious beliefs to influence their political decisions, while 39% disagree. Catholics are among those most likely to agree (62%), while evangelicals by belief are among those most likely to disagree (65%).
Sin & Society: Americans feel good about their own goodness and innocence.
Two in 3 (66%) believe everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. Also, 3 in 4 (74%) agree that everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.
Half of U.S. adults (52%) say sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin. Even more (65%) believe God created marriage to be between one man and one woman.
Almost 9 in 10 evangelical Protestants (89%) and Black Protestants (87%) agree that is the divine design of marriage, compared to 72% of mainline Protestants and 71% of Catholics. Almost all evangelicals by belief (98%) believe God created marriage to be that way.
On social issues, half of Americans (49%) believe abortion is a sin, down from 53% in 2022.
Fewer than 2 in 5 (38%) say people should be able to choose their gender identity regardless of their biological sex. Most (54%) disagree, including 42% who strongly disagree.
U.S. adults younger than 35 (54%), those living in the West (50%) and those in large cities (46%) are among those most likely to agree that gender identity can be chosen.
Catholics (38%) are the Christian group most likely to agree. Regular churchgoers (68%) and evangelicals by belief (82%) are among the most likely to disagree that people should be able to choose their gender identity.
Eternal perspectives: Most Americans have no issues with the existence of hell and the return of Jesus to judge
More than 3 in 5 Americans (62%) believe there will be a time when Jesus Christ returns to judge all the people who have lived.
Almost 3 in 5 U.S. adults (57%) say hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever. Black Protestants (85%) and evangelical Protestants (84%) are more likely than Catholics (64%) and mainline Protestants (59%) to agree.
However, less than a quarter (23%) agree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation, while 71% disagree, including 60% who disagree strongly. That belief is not broadly popular among Christians, as a minority of evangelical Protestants (38%), Black Protestants (34%), mainline Protestants (19%) and Catholics (19%) agree.
Biblical authority: Americans’ perspectives on the Bible are divided.
Around half (49%) believe the Bible is 100 percent accurate in all that it teaches. Similarly, however, 48% say the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true. That percentage declined from the 53%who agreed in 2022.
More than a third (36%) believe modern science disproves the Bible, down from 40% in the last State of Theology.
Half (50%) of Americans believe the Bible has the authority to tell us what we must do, while 44% disagree. Only 16% believe the Holy Spirit can tell them to do something forbidden in the Bible, down from 22% in 2022.
Two in 5 (41%) say the Bible’s condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn’t apply today, down from 46% in 2022. Today, 46% disagree.
Whatever else they may believe about God or the Bible, 2 in 3 Americans (65% ) agree the biblical accounts of the physical or bodily resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate. They say this event actually occurred. Around a quarter (24% ) disagree. Acceptance of Jesus’ resurrection has remained stable since 2016.
What a mishmash of diverse beliefs. It is a deadly recipe. As I shared on Sunday, Satan’s number one method is deception and his number one tool is religion. This deadly combination misrepresents Jesus Christ, the Only One who is able to deliver anyone from their sins and God’s everlasting wrath. Remember, Satan is the one who “blinds the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).
Don’t be deceived. Ask for God’s illuminating wisdom. Open your spiritual eyes. Read your Bible. Believe what it says. Walk in the truth!
Pastor Jeff