By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press:
Published September 16, 2025
GLENDALE, Ariz. (BP) – Only 66 percent of American Christians accept the biblical teaching that all have sinned, George Barna said in the latest release from the 2025 American Worldview Survey he overseas at Arizona Christian University (ACU).Most Christians, 72 percent, also believe people are “basically good at heart” and “should not be pejoratively characterized as sinners,” Barna said, revealing confusion among Christians regarding the biblical concept of sin.
“Only 14 percent of self-described Christians hold a biblically consistent theology of sin,” Barna, director of research at ACU’s Cultural Research Center (CRC), said of the findings released in two parts Sept. 4 and Sept. 16. “While most adults acknowledge that sin exists, many reject the truth that all have sinned and fall short before God. This misunderstanding strikes at the very heart of the Gospel message.”
Among the larger population, 52 percent believe everyone has sinned, Barna said, with more than 70 percent saying people should not be characterized as sinners because they are basically good at heart.
“And by believing people are ‘basically good at heart,’ the overwhelming majority of Americans (75 percent) blur the seriousness of sin,” Barna wrote of the findings. “In fact, the perspectives that most Americans have on sin are riddled with both logical and theological inconsistencies.”
The findings come from the second of those two waves of research in the 2025 American Worldview Survey conducted by the CRC among a national, demographically representative sample of 2,000 adults at least 18 years old. Researchers examined trends in beliefs about God, truth, sin and salvation in hopes of understanding key aspects of American faith and providing insights to strengthen Americans’ biblical worldview. The second wave of research was conducted in May.
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