
In partnership with Lifeway Research, Ligonier Ministries recently released its State of Theology survey, measuring how people understand what the organization calls “key doctrines of the Christian faith.” Founded by Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul, Ligonier shaped the survey around central Calvinist ideas such as total depravity and predestination. The data explorer page even includes a link to the “correct” answers.
While the survey’s methodology may not be entirely unbiased, it offers valuable insight into how the U.S. public and various Christian traditions approach core tenets of faith. The results have prompted hand-wringing in conservative theological circles over apparent contradictions in how evangelicals understand God and Christianity.
For example, 95% of self-identified evangelical respondents agreed with the statement, “There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Yet 34% of those same evangelicals agreed that “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God,” and 52% said that “The Holy Spirit is a force, but not a personal being.”
On sin, 55% of evangelicals agreed that “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature,” and 69% believe “Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God.” Both positions conflict with Reformed theology’s emphasis on “original sin” and “total depravity.”
Almost half (49%) of evangelicals reject the exclusivity of Christianity, agreeing that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.” And nearly a quarter (23%) agree that “The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.” That runs counter to Ligonier’s and the Southern Baptist Convention’s view of biblical inerrancy.
Doctrinal Disaster or Discipleship Failure?
The survey, conducted every few years, has alarmed many conservative evangelicals.
Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition blamed the ambiguity of the “evangelical” label, writing, “Perhaps it’s time we concede it is indeed a political label since, as the 2025 State of Theology survey reveals, it doesn’t seem to signify much that’s distinctively orthodox Christian.” He added that “self-proclaimed evangelicals in the United States hold beliefs that would have rightly been considered heretical by previous generations of Bible-believing Christians.”
Carter also noted that Lifeway defined evangelicals by specific markers of faith, not political stances.
In Christianity Today, Ronnie Kurtz of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary cautioned against a “how dare they” response to the data. “I would encourage those who are discouraged by the results to invite people into the deeper waters of theological thought,” he said, “but in a way where you truly love your neighbor and want them to ‘come and see’ the beauty that has so transformed you.”
Something Else Altogether?
For progressive and justice-minded Christians, the takeaway may not be about doctrine or discipleship, but community. It may not be that evangelicals misunderstand their pastors—but that they understand them perfectly and simply don’t believe them. If so, their Christian identity is rooted less in belief and more in belonging.
That isn’t to dismiss doctrine. Theological engagement with Scripture and the “great cloud of witnesses” gives us language for our faith and guides us deeper into the mystery of God.
But Jesus never said, “Believe all the correct tenets of faith and you will be saved.” He simply said, “Follow me.” That may not be good news for the gatekeepers of orthodoxy, but it’s excellent news for the rest of us.