In reality, evangelicals are far fewer in number than typically reported, often are far less biblical in their thinking than one might think, and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected. Although more conservative on moral issues, as a whole evangelicals reflect fewer lifestyle differences from the culture than often thought.

Surprisingly, most evangelicals do not possess a biblical worldview--only about one-third do. In fact, the data strongly suggests that evangelicals are more likely to be shaped by the culture around them than they are to influence or "evangelize" it.

The National Association of Evangelicals defines evangelicals as people who recognize their sinful life, rely upon Jesus Christ for their redemption, and receive practical life guidance and wisdom from the Bible in their quest to live under the lordship of Jesus.

The cultural awareness sparked by the COVID pandemic and the 2024 presidential campaign has led millions of Americans to realize just how depraved American society has become. Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets, broken social institutions, immoral religious leaders, unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more, have generated non-stop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States.

The depth of the depravity is shocking. But the deterioration of this once-great nation begs the fundamental question: How did we get here? What happened to so quickly introduce new philosophies of life and ways of living that radically depart from the historical Judeo-Christian moorings and consensus of America?

Most significantly, the research shows that much of this steep cultural decline flows from the dramatic transformation in the evangelical community of the United States in the past 30 years.

Media reports commonly cite that anywhere from 25% to as many as 40% of American adults are evangelicals. But those figures are suspect. Most statistics regarding the incidence of evangelicals are based on self-reporting. It is also common for journalists and cultural analysts to deem survey data of self-identified "born-again Christians" and self-identified "evangelical Christians" as the same group, even though theologically speaking, they are not.

The Number of Evangelical Christians in the United States

Compared to the inflated estimates of evangelical Christians consistently provided by the media, a more rigorous estimate based upon survey data from a representative sample of the national adult population provides a more reliable view. The American Worldview Inventory 2024 indicates that only 10% of adults qualify as evangelicals, using survey data consistent with the NAE description of evangelicals. That projects a national population of 25 to 30 million adults who are actually evangelicals, according to the NAE criteria.

The Faith and Worldview of Evangelicals

Evangelicals, for the most part, embrace many matters that are clearly spelled out in the Bible. To their credit, an overwhelming majority evangelicals have adopted some foundational biblical truths.
Specifically, the research shows that more than nine out of 10 evangelicals believe:
• God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, just, and perfect Creator of the universe who still rules the
world today;
• God is the basis of all truth, and those truths are conveyed to us through the Bible;
• the purpose of life is to fully know, love, and serve God with all your heart and soul, mind and
strength;
• the universe was created by God;
• Jesus Christ is an important guide for their life;
• that Satan exists--he is real and influential;
• all humans are born into sin and can only escape the consequences of sin through Jesus Christ.

A large share of the theologically-defined evangelical segment rejects a number of perspectives popular within other worldviews. One example is the view held by Secular Humanists, Wiccans, and Satanists, among others, that "as long as you do no harm to others, you can do whatever you want." While half of non-evangelicals have adopted such thinking, it is common to just one out of five evangelicals.

Beliefs about absolute moral truth are pivotal for any society. While evangelicals are far from monolithic on this point--and the disagreement on this matter within the evangelical camp is a matter of grave concern--about seven out of 10 evangelicals reject the idea that truth is subjective and individual.

However, almost half of the adults attending evangelical churches (44%) believe that there is no absolute moral truth that is pertinent to everyone in all situations. It is even more dire among the nonevangelical public: Just one out of every four people (24%) in that vast population reject the idea that moral truth is always subjective and conditional.

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