The first national study of Americans’ worldview since the COVID-19 lockdowns shows that the incidence of biblical worldview has fallen to a mere 4%.
In fact, the 6% benchmark measure recorded in January 2020 may prove to be the high-water mark of biblical understanding among American adults for the foreseeable future, according to a new report from the American Worldview Inventory 2023 from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.
The number of adults who don’t possess a biblical worldview, but still hold “a substantial number of beliefs and behaviors consistent with biblical principles”, has also fallen dramatically. Only one of every seven adults belong to the category of what pollster George Barna identifies as an “Emergent Follower”. That number was 25% just three years ago.
The bulk of American adults—82%—falls into the “World Citizen” category, described as people “who may embrace a few biblical principles but generally believe and behave in ways that are distinct from biblical teaching.” According to the report, this group has grown substantially from the 69% registered in 2020.
The research also found a decline in biblical worldview in almost every demographic subgroup in America.
Barna, who has measured the worldview of American adults for more than 30 years, said these new lows among American adults could effectively spell the “extinction” of biblical beliefs in our nation.