The Vanishing Biblical Worldview in America

The Barna Research Group was started in 1984 by George Barna to research and track data about faith, religion, and culture by compiling results from millions of interviews and surveys. In 1995, Barna Group defined seven cornerstone beliefs called a Biblical Worldview and began measuring the percentages of Americans who held a Biblical Worldview based on their answers to their multiple-choice survey.

This survey generally has between 50 and 54 questions and is designed to identify not only what Americans say they believe about the Bible, but also to measure what they really believe. 

For example, you might choose to answer a question describing the Bible as "the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God." Yet when asked the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" you might select the answer, "he is a prophet, teacher, and a good man," not selecting the choice, "Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead after three days." 

These two answers would be totally incompatible with each other because you can't say the Bible is the inerrant word of God and at the same time believe that Jesus was just a prophet, good man, and teacher.

The Barna Group defines eight worldviews: Biblical, Marxist, Secular Humanism, Eastern Mysticism, Nihilism, Postmodernism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and Syncretism. 

Your answers to their survey questions will place you in one of these eight worldviews. 

In a 2025 survey (George Barna's American Worldview Inventory 2025)… only 4 percent of Americans met Barna's standards to be classified as having a Biblical Worldview.

The overall majority of Americans, 92 percent, fall into the worldview called "Syncretism," which Barna defines as "blending multiple worldviews—such as Biblical Theism, Secular Humanism, and Postmodernism—into a personalized but often conflicting belief system… it reflects a tendency to adopt beliefs based on preference and culture rather than a consistent understanding of life."

Barna's seven cornerstones used to describe a Biblical Worldview are given below.

1. There is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, eternal triune God who created all things. 

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exists as three distinct, eternal, co-equals living in perfect unity and harmony with each other. God the Father, as the head, orchestrates all things, Jesus Christ the Son creates, sustains, gives life, grace, and truth, and the Holy Spirit is the Advocate, Counselor, and Spirit of Truth who guides and reveals.

2. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God, which is true, reliable, relevant through all ages, and is the best moral guide for all people and all situations. 

2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

You may not agree with or understand everything in the Bible, but your lack of understanding or agreement does not make the Bible false. This is where faith must play a vital role. In fact, it is an essential part of the Christian walk.

3. Absolute moral truth exists, and those truths are defined by God and described in the Bible.

Truth does not change over time or between different cultures. John 8:31–32 says, "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" Psalm 119:160 says, "All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal."

4. All human beings have a sinful nature inherited through Adam and Eve's original disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden. Man's dominion over the earth was forfeited to Satan when Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan instead of obeying God. 

Jesus confirmed Satan is the ruler of this world. In John 14:30 we read, "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me."

The good news is that when Jesus Christ returns, Satan will be cast out, and all his lies and deception will go with him. John 12:31 says, "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out." 

We must never forget that before Jesus' return, Satan is guiding our world's systems. That is why it is so dangerous to accept the ever-changing culture and worldly ideologies.

5. Salvation and eternal life come from Jesus Christ alone. 

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the exact image and imprint of God who created all things, became fully man, being born to a virgin by the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life, died on a cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. 

In John 14:6 we read, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Acts 4:12 says, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Romans 10:9–10 says, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

The ultimate purpose in life is to know, love, and serve God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Matthew 22:36–40 says, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

6. Success on earth is best described as obedience to God's word. 

The ultimate question about success is asked in Mark 8:36, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" 

In Psalm 90:10 we are told that the average human lifespan will be approximately 70 to 80 years. How we choose to live and what we choose to do and believe in those years will determine whether we spend an eternity described in Revelation 21, which says, "God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

Or we could spend an eternity with Satan and his followers, as described in Revelation 14:11: “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night…”

Matthew 6:19–21 tells us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Ultimately, success on earth should be measured by the final eternal destination each of us receives based on our thoughts, beliefs, and deeds while on earth. Jesus tells us in John 14:15–21, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments… Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

A Biblical Worldview is rooted in the belief of a triune God and the truth of Scripture, which shapes our view of God, humanity, truth, morality, and salvation. It calls believers to align their beliefs and behavior with Scripture, integrating their actions, faith, hope, and love into every part of their lives. First Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Prayer

1. Pray that Christians in America and around the world would start living out their lives based on the two great commandments: to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
2. Pray that America would recognize God's love, grace, mercy, and justice, and repent of its sins so that God would bring about the greatest revival in the history of our country.
3. Pray that God and the Holy Spirit would help us identify the cause of so few people having a Biblical Worldview and find solutions to bring about changes in our culture that encourage our youth to believe in Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

John Feder is a husband, father, grandfather and retired engineer. John is an active member of Grace Woodlands Church. He also serves on the Montgomery County Eagle Forum Board of Directors, particularly overseeing the group’s prayer ministry.