Ligonier Ministries, Lifeway Research · Ligonier Ministries, commissioned biennial survey conducted with Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com)
The State of Theology 2022 is a biennial survey commissioned by Ligonier Ministries and conducted by Lifeway Research to measure American adults' theological beliefs across topics including the nature of God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, sin, salvation, and morality. The survey used a demographically balanced online panel, with 3,011 U.S. adults completing surveys between January 5 and January 23, 2022, weighted to balance gender, age, ethnicity, income, region, and religion. Respondents rated agreement with a series of statements on a four-point forced-choice scale, and results are broken out by demographic and religious subgroups, including a distinct "Evangelical Beliefs" classification defined using the NAE-Lifeway Research Evangelical Beliefs Research Definition.
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The survey relied on a non-probability, demographically balanced online opt-in panel rather than a true random-sample methodology, which can introduce self-selection bias among those willing to join such panels. Margins of error, already at least ±1.9% for the full sample, increase substantially for demographic and religious subgroups (e.g., Black Protestants, Mainlines), making some subgroup comparisons less statistically reliable. Findings rely entirely on self-reported agreement with forced-choice statements, which can be sensitive to question wording and does not capture nuance, ambiguity, or the reasoning behind respondents' answers. The "Evangelical Beliefs" classification is a belief-based operational definition (the NAE-Lifeway Research definition) rather than a self-identified denominational category, so it may not align with how respondents would describe their own religious affiliation.
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Ministries, L., Research, L. (2022). The State of Theology 2022. Ligonier Ministries, commissioned biennial survey conducted with Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com). https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2022-Full-Report.pdf
Ligonier Ministries, et al.. "The State of Theology 2022." Ligonier Ministries, commissioned biennial survey conducted with Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com), 2022. https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2022-Full-Report.pdf.
@article{ligonier_state_of_theology_2022,
title = {The State of Theology 2022},
author = {Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research},
year = {2022},
journal = {Ligonier Ministries, commissioned biennial survey conducted with Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com)},
url = {https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2022-Full-Report.pdf},
}Report an error on this study.
The State of American Theology Study 2020
Ligonier Ministries, LifeWay Research