With American adults increasingly rejecting biblical answers to key questions of life--from meaning and purpose, to understanding the intrinsic value of human life, to the existence of objective truth--it is little surprise that current views of sin and salvation are increasingly void of biblical understanding.

New research shows that unlike past generations, who readily recognized the reality of sin and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ, American adults today increasingly adopt a "salvation-can-be earned" perspective. A plurality of adults (48%) believes that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things during their life, he will "earn" a place in Heaven. Only one-third of adults (35%) disagree, according to findings from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

Most surprising in the latest findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2020, is that a majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a "works-oriented" means to God's acceptance. More shocking, huge proportions of people associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as Savior believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good. That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. A much larger share of Catholics (70%) embrace that point of view.

The research also shows that the relevance of sin is on the wane. According to the research conducted by Dr. George Barna, CRC Director of Research, only slightly more than half of U.S. adults (56%) say they consciously and consistently attempt to avoid sinning because they know it offends God.

This shift in worldview may be negatively affecting individual commitment to personal evangelism. 49% of Americans believe they have a personal responsibility, in appropriate situations, to share their religious beliefs with people who possess different religious beliefs. That statistic is down slightly since 1991, when 53% of adults surveyed felt they had such an obligation, according to the findings.

Other key findings from the latest AWVI 2020 release:
• Only half of Americans (54%) believe they will experience heaven after they die; 15% said they don't know what will happen after they die; 13% said there is no life after death; 8% expect to be reincarnated; another 8% believe they will go to a place of purification prior to entering Heaven. Just 2% believe they will go to Hell.

• Born-again Christians, defined as people who not only claim to be Christian, but also believe that when they die, they will go to Heaven only because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, were least likely to hold the "salvation-can-be-earned" view.

• Conservatives are much more likely (75%) to "consciously and consistently attempt to avoid sinning because they know it offends God," compared to liberals (41%) or moderates (49%).

Just Have Faith

The context for the changing views on faith in America is exemplified by the fact that almost two out of every three adults (63%) say that having some type of religious faith is more important than which faith a person aligns with.

Shockingly, a large majority of people who describe themselves as Christians (68%) embrace that idea, including those who attend evangelical (56%) and Pentecostal (62%) churches, even though such thinking conflicts with the teaching typical of such churches. Even higher percentages of people attending mainline Protestant (67%) and Catholic (77%) churches believe that having some type of religious faith matters more than one's choice of faith. Six out of ten people who are aligned with non-Christian faiths (61%) reflected that same sentiment.

The Irrelevance of Sin

Concern about personal sin is on the wane in the United States. Even though seven out of ten adults claim to be Christian, and another one out of ten adults belong to some other faith group that discourages sinful behavior, only slightly more than half of U.S. adults (56%) say they consciously and consistently attempt to avoid sinning because they know it offends God.

The lack of concern about breaking God's laws is further witnessed by the finding that a plurality of adults (48%) believes that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things during their life, they will "earn" a place in Heaven. Only one-third of adults (35%) disagree with that notion.

(It is profoundly ironic that Donald Trump has said on several occasions that he has not need to repent, and this has not bothered millions of evangelical followers who see him as a modern American savior.)

Amazingly, most people in the survey who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a works-oriented means to God's acceptance. Even more shocking, however, is that huge proportions of people associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior, and not from being or doing good, believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good.

That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. As expected, a much larger share of Catholics (70%), embrace that point of view.

This salvation-can-be-earned perspective fits well with other widely held views identified in the American Worldview Inventory 2020 that are at odds with biblical teaching. That includes the popular beliefs that:
• there is no absolute moral truth (58%);
• basis of truth are factors or sources other than God (58%);
• right and wrong is determined by factors other than the Bible (77%);
• the Bible is not the authoritative and true word of God (59%);
• people are basically good (69%);
• and the personal definition of success is not based on consistent obedience to God (79%).

Evangelistic Fervor is Missing

Surveys over the past three decades have consistently shown that the most effective form of evangelism is through conversations about God's forgiveness and offer of salvation through Jesus Christ that occur within the context of a trusting relationship.

Findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2020, however, indicate that the likelihood of such interpersonal sharing of the gospel is not increasing. Currently, only half of adults (49%) believe that they have a personal responsibility, in appropriate situations, to share their religious beliefs with people who possess different religious beliefs. That is down slightly since 1991, when 53% of adults felt they had such an obligation.

Three out of four people who usually attend an Evangelical church claimed a commitment to interpersonal gospel outreach. The reported commitment levels were much lower among those who attend Catholic (54%) or mainline Protestant (48%) churches.

Eternal Destination

The survey also revealed that only half of Americans (54%) believe they will experience Heaven after they die, and just one-third of adults (33%) believe they will go to Heaven solely because of confessing their sins and embracing Jesus Christ as their Savior. The other one in five who expect to experience heaven is counting on earning the way in or being granted a place in Heaven because God will let all people in.

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