Are People Good by Nature? 46% of “Evangelicals” Think So
Unless we understand the depth of our sin, we likely won’t recognize our need for God’s saving grace. Sadly, the results from our 2020 State of Theology survey uncovers widespread confusion among Christians in America about the reality and effects of sin. Conducted in partnership with Lifeway Research, the full results of this survey are now available.
According to our recent findings, 46 percent of professing U.S. evangelicals* agree with the following statement: “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.” This idea cannot be reconciled with the emphatic teaching of Scripture that all people are radically corrupted sinners in need of salvation (Rom. 3:23). Even the smallest sin is high treason against our Creator, leaving us hopeless of escaping His judgment apart from His mercy in Christ.
Ligonier Teaching Fellow Dr. Stephen Nichols recently spoke on the significance of this finding in the State of Theology survey.
When Christians take sin lightly, our gospel witness is jeopardized. In a rapidly changing culture, the church must remain steadfast in proclaiming the message of salvation in Jesus Christ for ruined sinners. We hopethese survey resultswill encourage American Christians to defend the gospel boldly to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
* Evangelicals were defined by this survey as people who strongly agreed with the following four statements: 1) The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe. 2) It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. 3)Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin. 4) Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.
Blaming so-called right-wing media for the strikingly different attitudes between the GOP and Democrats is in this case too simplistic. The Republican Party has long been home to conservatives and libertarians, who have a natural resistance to any governmental expansion of reach and authority over citizens. For many, if not most, Republicans, “give me liberty or give me death” is not outdated rhetoric.
Most Republicans are appalled at how casually governors — in their view — trampled the Constitution at the behest of state and federal health departments. As one small business owner in Tennessee said of the lockdowns, “If constitutional rights can be taken away whenever there is a crisis, then they are not rights at all — they are permissions.”
And yet, there is something more to the partisan divide than the age-old contrast between conservative and liberal politics. But our reluctance to discuss religion beyond its basic political impact often results in skirting honest evaluations. Let’s try anyway.
It’s noted so often that evangelical Christians are a cornerstone of modern GOP support that the point is in danger of losing its impact. But it’s helpful to be reminded what, exactly, makes an evangelical, because to understand it helps to understand so many Republican positions. The National Association of Evangelicals has identified four statements that it says define evangelicals, the last of which is most pertinent for this discussion:“Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.” This literal belief in eternal salvation — eternal life — helps explain the different reactions to life-threatening events like a coronavirus outbreak.
Every few years, the Pew Research Center conducts a comprehensive Religious Landscape Study, the last full one in 2014. According to the study, Christians, who comprise more than 70 percent of all Americans, are almost evenly divided by party — 43 percent Republicans or leaning Republican, 40 percent Democrats or leaning Democratic.
Americans describing themselves as evangelical Christians totaled 25.4 percent, the largest of all Christian subsections. Fifty-six percent of evangelicals self-identified as Republican, just 28 percent as Democrats. Unaffiliated — atheists, agnostics and “nothing in particular” — totaled 22.8 percent of all Americans. According to Pew, 69 percent of atheists and 64 percent of agnostics identify as Democrats, with just 15 percent of atheists and 21 percent of agnostics claiming the GOP.
What was somewhat surprising is how the beliefs of evangelicals compare to Catholics, another group that might be considered biblical literalists. According to Pew, 84 percent of evangelicals believe the Bible is the word of God, compared with 62 percent of Catholics. Fifty-five percent of evangelicals agree that the Bible should be interpreted literally — twice the percentage of Catholics.
Among those who hold literal biblical interpretations is the certainty that waiting at the end of this terrestrial journey is eternal life in Heaven.
Evangelicals take it to heart when James reminds them, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes,” or when Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us,” or when Jesus asks, rhetorically, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
The coronavirus? Christian fundamentalism is often fatalistic. As far as many evangelicals are concerned, life passes quickly, suffering is temporary and worrying solves nothing. That’s not a view that comports well with long stretches of earthly time spent waiting out business closures or stay-at-home orders. It should be no surprise that a person’s deepest beliefs about the world influence how they measure the risks they’re willing to take.
Former six-term Ohio Rep. Bob McEwen (R) is a longtime evangelical leader who serves as an advisory member of James Dobson’s Family Talk board of directors. McEwen told me this week that evangelicals aren’t rattled by covid-19, either the disease or the government’s response to the pandemic, because the Bible instructs them not to let earthly fears overwhelm them. “They steal your life, your liberty and your freedom by using fear,” said McEwen. “Man, on his own without God, will always be fearful,” he added. “But the Bible says, ‘Fear not.’”
Evangelicals aren’t just twiddling their thumbs until Heaven beckons, of course. Most of them aggressively pursue careers, enjoy television shows, cheer their favorite sports teams, and take pride in the achievements of family and friends. They do good things in their communities, and sometimes they do bad things, just like everyone else.
They’re in no hurry to exit this world. But when ruminating over why there are millions of people who don’t seem to panic over a global pandemic or other life-threatening event, critics should remember that, right or wrong, it often involves a belief in something even bigger than people named Trump, Hannity or Limbaugh.
Some disturbing but not surprising information here.
According to Barna’s categorization, evangelicals only make up about 6 percent of the U.S. population, but has assumed a unique place in national discourse.
The cohort of Christians known as evangelicals has courted controversy, no matter how you slice it—whether evangelicals only make up just 6 percent of the U.S. population (as Barna’s legacy tracking of the group suggests) or whether they comprise a larger share of the public (as other polls, which use different measures, indicate). As the U.S. enters another heated election year, a new Barna report shows Americans seem to increasingly view evangelicals through a political lens, which corresponds with mixed feelings toward this religious group.
Our research has developed a pronounced portrait of this Christian minority over the years (see the About the Research section at the end of this article for more on Barna’s definition of the group), but for this study our aim was different. We set out to understand how the general public perceives evangelicals. (You can read the full Barna Briefing The Brand of Evangelicals, including new commentary from David Kinnaman, via Barna Access.) Based on a nationwide study of U.S. adults, we found that, though many people still view evangelicals as a committed group of believers who put their faith first, their political connotation puts the future of American evangelicalism in a precarious spot.
As with all things, Christians are to take due diligence before deciding issues at face value. Is the earth getting warmer, maybe but does that mean the alarm bells and dire warnings like that of a freshman congresswoman,‘The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change…’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, need to be heeded immediately doubtful. As with the Bible it is helpful to get the whole counsel (view) of the matter. – Mike
Many evangelical Christians think global warming is a serious issue that demands drastic action.¹ At the Institute for Creation Research we tend to be skeptical of the claim that increasing amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) will cause Earth to overheat.² Climate change proponents say their case is built on scientific evidence. However, old-earth beliefs actually make a major contribution to climate change alarmism.
Climate Sensitivity
The real issue in the climate change debate is climate sensitivity.³
