Parshall Partners

A Great Falling Away

         America is in trouble.  Trouble caused by more than ugly politics, violence in our streets, uncouth and rude behavior that would make our grandparents faint.  But there is a deeper trouble in the soul of our nation caused by the lack of biblical clarity. 

         Dr. George Barna and The Family Research Council teamed up to survey church-going Americans.  What they found was disconcerting.  There was a drop from 2023 to 2025 of those who said Biblical Theism was their worldview.  The numbers fell from 57% to 43%.

         According to the report, respondents were asked how clearly and decisively they believe the Bible speaks on five specific issues. The 2023 survey had asked about all five. All five issues experienced significant declines in the percentage of regular churchgoers who said the Bible is clear and decisive. The five areas were:

• The definition of legitimate marriage
• Whether homosexuality is morally acceptable
• Whether transgenderism is morally acceptable
• Religious liberty
• The morality of aborting an unborn child

         For all five issues, belief in the biblical certainty on each fell from two years ago.  For example, only 65% said that the Bible is clear and decisive about “the definition of a legitimate marriage,” down from 75% in 2023. 8% said that the Bible doesn’t speak to the issue at all.  Only 47% of participants indicated that the Bible is clear and decisive about “whether homosexuality is morally acceptable,” with 26% saying that the Bible does not speak to the issue. In 2023, 63% said the Bible was clear and decisive on the issue. 

         In 2025, 40% of those surveyed said that the Bible is clear and decisive about “whether transgenderism is morally acceptable,” down from 52% in 2023. 51% said that the Bible is clear about the “morality of aborting an unborn child,” down from 65% in 2023. In 2025, 59% said the Bible is clear and decisive about religious liberty, down from 69%. 

         Digging deeper in to the abortion issue the report examined a troubling shift.  In 2023, 63% of regular churchgoers described themselves as pro-life. In 2025, only 43% of churchgoers described themselves as pro-life.  Conversely, in 2023, 22% of churchgoers identified as “pro-choice” while in 2025, that number rose to 35%.

         The Bible reminds us in 1 Timothy 4:3 that a “time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”.

         The report concludes with an antidote to the erosion of a biblical worldview. “Pastors and ministry leaders should read these results not as cause for discouragement but as a strategic briefing. We need to preach and teach the whole counsel of God, re-ground people in biblical doctrine…and then patiently apply that doctrine to contested questions—life, sexuality, marriage, religious liberty, justice, and civic responsibility.”  Now is the time to hold fast to the Word of God.

         Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.