A large proportion of Christians reject core teachings about sin, according to a recent survey, which one prominent Evangelical researcher characterizes as a “bodyblow” resulting from American churches’ failure to address the issue.
The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released the eighth part of its 2025 “American Worldview Inventory” on Thursday, presenting data collected from 2,000 adults in the United States in May 2025.
An overwhelming majority of participants (84%) agreed that “sin exists” and “it is real.”
Majorities across all major religious groups examined shared this belief, with the highest acknowledgment of sin’s existence among theologically-identified born-again Christians (99%), followed by those attending a Protestant church (97%), self-identified Christians (95%), and respondents attending a Catholic church (94%).
Even most self-identified non-Christians (61%) recognized the existence of sin. However, respondents were much less likely to agree with the statement that “I am a sinner.”
A significant portion of theologically-identified born-again Christians (74%) admitted that they were sinners, along with smaller majorities of Protestants (66%) and self-identified Christians (60%). About half of Catholics (50%) stated they were sinners, whereas less than half of self-identified non-Christians (36%) agreed.
When asked if they agreed that “everyone has sinned,” 85% of theologically-identified born-again Christians answered affirmatively, along with 73% of Protestants, 66% of self-identified Christians, and 57% of Catholics.
Fewer than a quarter of self-identified non-Christians (23%) maintained that everyone has sinned. Although at least half of each Christian subgroup accepted basic Christian teachings about sin, most also agreed with the idea that “Sin is real, but people are basically good at heart.”
Among those who believe in the reality of sin, 70% hold the view that humans are fundamentally good. This belief is most common among Catholics who accept the concept of sin (82%), followed by self-identified Christians (72%), theologically-identified born-again Christians (70%), Protestants (66%), and self-identified non-Christians (65%).
George Barna, who founded The Barna Group and now serves as director of research at the Cultural Research Center, attributed the inconsistent belief in Christian doctrines about sin to the lack of discussion about the topic within American churches.
“The job of the local church is to educate people about God's ways,” he said. “Yet, a 2019 Pew Research study that analyzed sermon content across the nation determined that just 3% of all sermons preached even mentioned sin. That's a devastating bodyblow to the Church world.”
“Students will remain ignorant when their teachers fail to inform them of critical information and consequences,” he added. “For an overwhelming majority of Christian churches to suppress the reality of sin, its consequences, and its solutions from the people those churches serve is a travesty.”
