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The State of Theology study was conducted in 2018 and sponsored by Ligonier Ministries. This is the third time we have conducted the study with Ligonier. We ask Americans about biblical beliefs and heresies to see how many people agree with each.
Summary
There has been a small increase from 2016 to 2018 on what is sin.
- “Abortion is a sin.” 52% agree in 2018, 49% agree in 2016
- “Sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin.” 51% agree in 2018, 49% agree in 2016, and 48% agree in 2014
While this is a small increase, the survey had a sample size of 3000 so we are confident that it is actually real movement in a more biblical direction.
- “Bible has the authority to tell us what we must do.” 53% agree in 2018, 50% agree in 2016, and 49% agree in 2014
- “The Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teachers.” 50% agree in 2018, 47% agree in 2016, and 43% agree in 2014
Simultaneously, we also see some discouraging numbers.
- “The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.” 47% agree in 2018, 44% agree in 2016, and 41% agree in 2014
American views, unsurprisingly, are split down the middle with fewer people falling in the middle. Quite a few of the results reveal that Americans can hold conflicting theological beliefs.
- 6 out 10 Americans agree there will be a time when Jesus returns to judge all the people who have lived
- More people believe that Jesus is going to judge us than those who believe the Bible has authority
Be sure to Tweet your questions and comments to us: @LifewayResearch and individually: @smcconn, @statsguycasey, and @lizettebeard. Join us next time for another edition of Keep Asking.
