Ligonier State of Theology 2025

Abstract

The State of Theology 2025 is a biennial survey commissioned by Ligonier Ministries and conducted by Lifeway Research to gauge American adults' beliefs on core Christian doctrines, including the nature of God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, sin, salvation, and morality. Data was collected from a demographically balanced online panel of 3,001 U.S. adults surveyed January 6-15, 2025, with results weighted to reflect the general population and analyzed for statistically significant differences across region, age, gender, education, income, religious tradition, and evangelical beliefs. Respondents rated their agreement with a series of statements on a four-point forced-choice scale (strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree), with an option to indicate they were not sure.

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• 53% of Americans strongly agree and 13% somewhat agree that God is a perfect being who cannot make a mistake, while 17% strongly disagree.
• 55% strongly agree and 16% somewhat agree with the Trinitarian statement that there is one true God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
• 64% of Americans agree (44% strongly, 20% somewhat) that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
• 65% agree (45% strongly, 20% somewhat) that biblical accounts of the physical resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate and that the event actually occurred.
• 48% of Americans agree (27% strongly, 21% somewhat) that Jesus was a great teacher but was not God, while 41% disagree.
• 48% agree (26% strongly, 23% somewhat) that the Holy Spirit is merely a force and not a personal being.
• 66% of Americans agree (24% strongly, 42% somewhat) that everyone sins a little but most people are good by nature.
• 74% agree (56% strongly, 18% somewhat) that everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God, a view in tension with the traditional doctrine of original sin.
• 49% of Americans agree (31% strongly, 18% somewhat) that the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches, while 34% disagree.
• 37% agree that hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever (37% strongly, 21% somewhat), while 29% disagree.
• 62% agree (43% strongly, 19% somewhat) that there will be a time when Jesus Christ returns to judge all people who have lived.
• 63% agree (30% strongly, 33% somewhat) that worshiping alone or with one's family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.
• 56% agree (32% strongly, 20% somewhat) that sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin, while 44% disagree or are unsure/neutral.
• 56% agree (36% strongly, 20% somewhat) that the Bible is the highest authority for what they believe.
• 63% agree (41% strongly, 22% somewhat) that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin.
• Evangelicals and those with self-identified Evangelical Beliefs consistently hold more traditionally orthodox positions than Mainline Protestants and Catholics across nearly every doctrinal statement measured, with gaps often exceeding 30-40 percentage points (e.g., 97% vs. 59% agreement that God is a perfect being).
• Religious service attendance is strongly correlated with orthodox belief; those attending at least once or twice a month are far more likely to affirm traditional doctrines than those who attend less often (e.g., 92% vs. 47% agreement that God is a perfect being).

Limitations in methodology

The survey relied on a demographically balanced online opt-in panel rather than a fully randomized probability sample, and results were weighted (slightly) for gender, age, ethnicity, income, region, and religion, which can introduce residual bias. The reported margin of error (+/-1.9% at 95% confidence for the full sample) increases substantially for subgroup comparisons (e.g., by evangelical status, denomination, or region), and self-reported theological agreement on abstract doctrinal statements is subject to interpretation, question-wording effects, and social-desirability bias. The four-point forced-choice scale (no true neutral option beyond "not sure") may also push respondents toward agree/disagree positions they hold less firmly than the data suggests.

Related studies

• 2022TheologyTrinity

  The State of Theology 2022

  Ligonier Ministries, Lifeway Research

• 2016TheologyEvangelicalism

  The State of American Theology Study 2016

  Ligonier Ministries, LifeWay Research

• 2014

Cite this study

Ministries, L., Research, L. (2025). Ligonier State of Theology 2025. Ligonier Ministries State of Theology 2025 Report, commissioned research conducted by Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com). https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2025-Report.pdf

Ligonier Ministries, et al.. "Ligonier State of Theology 2025." Ligonier Ministries State of Theology 2025 Report, commissioned research conducted by Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com), 2025. https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2025-Report.pdf.

@article{ligonier_state_of_theology_2025,
  title = {Ligonier State of Theology 2025},
  author = {Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research},
  year = {2025},
  journal = {Ligonier Ministries State of Theology 2025 Report, commissioned research conducted by Lifeway Research (TheStateofTheology.com)},
  url = {https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ligonier-State-of-Theology-2025-Report.pdf},
}