The State of American Theology Study 2018

Abstract

The State of American Theology Study 2018 is a survey commissioned by Ligonier Ministries and conducted by LifeWay Research to measure the theological understanding and beliefs of American adults. A demographically balanced online panel of 3,002 U.S. adults completed the survey between April 24 and May 4, 2018, answering agreement-scale questions on topics including the nature of God, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin, the Bible, salvation, hell, and morality. Results were weighted to balance gender, age, ethnicity, income, region, and religion, and were further broken out by demographic and religious subgroups, including a standardized "Evangelical Beliefs" classification based on four core doctrinal statements.

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• 69% of Americans agree (55% strongly) that God is a perfect being who cannot make a mistake.
• 70% agree (56% strongly) with the Trinitarian statement that there is one true God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, though 25% disagree.
• 65% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, while only 53% of Evangelicals-by-belief agree.
• 66% agree that biblical accounts of Jesus's bodily resurrection are completely accurate and that the event actually occurred, while 20% disagree.
• 57% agree that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God, a statement theologically associated with Arianism/denial of the Trinity, rather than seeing Jesus as eternally divine.
• 57% agree that Jesus Christ is the only person who never sinned, but 29% disagree.
• 59% agree that the Holy Spirit is a force but not a personal being, indicating widespread confusion about the Holy Spirit's personhood.
• 66% agree that everyone sins a little but most people are good by nature, reflecting a broadly optimistic view of human nature that diverges from traditional doctrines of total depravity.
• 50% agree that the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true, while 38% disagree.
• 50% agree the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches, while 33% disagree.
• 52% agree that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion and not about objective truth, versus 27% who disagree.
• 58% agree hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever, while 35% disagree.
• 44% agree that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin, while 38% disagree.
• 57% agree that only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as Savior receive God's free gift of eternal salvation, while 43% disagree.
• Respondents with "Evangelical Beliefs" (per the NAE-LifeWay Research definition, requiring strong agreement with all four core Evangelical statements) consistently diverged sharply from the general population — e.g., 98% vs. 62% agreeing God is a perfect being, and 91% vs. 44% agreeing salvation is by faith in Christ rather than works.

Limitations in methodology

The survey relied on a demographically balanced online opt-in panel rather than a probability-based random sample, and results were adjusted with weighting for gender, age, ethnicity, income, region, and religion, which can introduce panel-selection and weighting biases. The overall margin of error was reported at about ±1.9% at 95% confidence, but margins of error are substantially higher for demographic and religious subgroups, making subgroup comparisons less statistically robust. All responses are self-reported agreement with forced-choice statements on a four- or five-point scale, which can oversimplify complex theological positions and is subject to social-desirability and question-framing effects. Denominational/tradition categories (Evangelical, Mainline, Catholic, Black Protestant) are based on respondent self-classification and a supplemental beliefs-based definition, not independent theological verification.

Related studies

• 2020TheologyEvangelicalism

  The State of American Theology Study 2020

  Ligonier Ministries, LifeWay Research

• 2022TheologyTrinity

  The State of Theology 2022

  Ligonier Ministries, Lifeway Research

• 2016

Cite this study

Ministries, L., Research, L. (2018). The State of American Theology Study 2018. Commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, conducted by LifeWay Research (TheStateofTheology.com). https://lwresearch21.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2018.pdf

Ligonier Ministries, et al.. "The State of American Theology Study 2018." Commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, conducted by LifeWay Research (TheStateofTheology.com), 2018. https://lwresearch21.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2018.pdf.

@article{ligonier_state_of_theology_2018,
  title = {The State of American Theology Study 2018},
  author = {Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research},
  year = {2018},
  journal = {Commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, conducted by LifeWay Research (TheStateofTheology.com)},
  url = {https://lwresearch21.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2018.pdf},
}