The State of Theology 2022

Abstract

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.

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• 65% of American adults agree (51% strongly, 14% somewhat) that God is a perfect being who cannot make a mistake.
• 70% agree (54% strongly, 16% somewhat) that there is one true God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, affirming the Trinity.
• 67% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with Catholics most likely to agree (86%).
• 66% agree (47% strongly, 19% somewhat) that the biblical accounts of Jesus's bodily resurrection are completely accurate and that the event actually occurred.
• 64% agree that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God, a view classified as the Arian heresy, indicating widespread confusion about Christ's eternal divine nature.
• 58% agree that Jesus was a great teacher but not God, while only 30% disagree, showing substantial rejection of Christ's divinity even among self-identified Christians.
• 57% agree (33% strongly, 24% somewhat) that everyone sins a little but most people are good by nature, reflecting a minimized view of human sinfulness.
• Only 26% agree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation, while 58% strongly disagree.
• 56% agree that the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.
• 61% agree that the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches (33% strongly, 28% somewhat).
• 43% agree that modern science disproves the Bible, with younger adults (ages 18-49) far more likely to agree than those 50 and older.
• 59% agree that hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever.
• 58% agree that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion and not about objective truth, rising to 67% among adults aged 18-34.
• 43% agree that sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin, while 33% disagree.
• 37% agree the Bible's condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn't apply today, with strong generational splits (56% of ages 18-34 vs. 32% of ages 65+).
• Only 37% of Americans strongly agree that the Bible is the highest authority for what they believe, one of the four core markers used to define "Evangelical Beliefs."

Limitations in methodology

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.

Related studies

• 2016TheologyEvangelicalism

  The State of American Theology Study 2016

  Ligonier Ministries, LifeWay Research

• 2014TheologyEvangelicalism

  Theological Awareness Benchmark Study

  Ligonier Ministries

• 2020

Cite this study

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},
}