More than 60 percent of born-again Christians in the United States between the ages of 18 and 39 believe that Buddha, Muhammad, and Jesus are all valid paths to salvation, a new study has found.
Over 30 percent say they either believe that Jesus sinned just like other people when He lived on Earth or aren’t sure, Christian Today reports citing a study by Probe Ministries.
“Our 2020 survey reveals a striking decline in evangelical religious beliefs and practices over the last 10 years,” Probe found.
“From a biblical worldview to doctrinal beliefs and pluralism to the application of biblical teaching to sexual mores, the number of Americans applying biblical teaching to their thinking has dropped significantly over this period. Unfortunately, the greatest level of decline is found among Born Again Protestants.”
Probe found a “real shocker” in its survey that over 60 percent of American Born Again Christians are” pluralists.”
“Apparently, a majority of Born Again Christians are ignorant about the basic teachings of their faith,” Probe found.
The survey found a “striking decline” in evangelical religious beliefs and practices over the last 10 years, while at the same time, the number of self-proclaimed believers to hold these beliefs has increased by nearly 25 percent.
Probe Ministries interviewed 3,100 Americans aged 18 to 55 in 2020 in its Religious Views & Practices Survey.
DROP IN BASIC BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
It found a drop in “basic biblical worldview” — God’s attributes, the accuracy of the Bible, salvation, and Jesus being sinless — from 47 percent 2010 to 25 percent in 2020 among born-again Christians.
Probe says, “A Born-Again person in our survey results is someone who has made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today. And when asked what will happen to you after you die, they answer, I will go to heaven because I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my savior.”
The drop in the “expanded biblical worldview” — beliefs about Satan and morals being objective — went from 32 percent in 2010 to 16 percent in 2020.
“So, the percentage of Born Again Christians with a biblical worldview (of either type) has been cut in half over the last decade,” says the study.
It compared the 18–29 age group from 2010 with the same age group 10 years later, now 30–39.
“This result is a startling degradation in worldview beliefs of Born Again Christians over just 10 years.”
Probe said that “Born Again Christians are the only group to have a significant number of adherents who profess to having a Basic Biblical Worldview.”
It observed that overall, only about one-third of Americans aged 55 and under believe in an active, creator God.
“So, the percentage of Born Again Christians with a biblical worldview (of either type) has been cut in half over the last decade,” says the study.
“This result is a startling degradation in worldview beliefs of Born Again Christians over just 10 years.”
“This means, even born-again Christians “can have a false view of Jesus Christ and embrace a pluralistic worldview,” Christian Today quoted Kerby Anderson, president of Probe Ministries, as saying.
“Pastors and church leaders just can’t assume any longer that the members of their church or Christian organization have a biblical worldview.”
There’s an even more significant drop-off among the general population, the study found. For the basic biblical worldview, there’s a drop off from 13 percent to 6 percent.
For the expanded biblical worldview, the decline is from 9 percent to just over 3 percent.
Anderson attributed the change to the continual and growing influence of media.
“These disturbing trends are, yes, due to pastors not consistently teaching biblical theory.
“But they can also be attributed to young Christians who are not paying attention, who are focused — nearly exclusively, it seems — on their phones, social media, and other content they deem more compelling,” Anderson said.
