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What Then, Are we to Believe?
By J. Jeff Toler for Shenandoah Christian Alliance j.toler@sca4christ.org
- So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. —Romans 10:17
It may be time to confront the shrinking influence of the church in America is having, as she battles against extremism and radicalism today. Admittedly, I was surprised with how little is left of the right when it comes to presenting a once robust worldview. You know something has gone terribly wrong when people have to speak in whispers when it comes to speaking the truth. And, as we discussed before, when it comes to common sense.
The reason is now clear why this is, as new research reveals America’s dominant worldview is not biblical—or any other transcendent authority for that matter.
Groundbreaking research from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University released in 2021, found that only 6% of U.S. adults hold a biblical worldview. [https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CRC_AWVI2021_Release01_Digital_01_20210413.pdf]
A newer study from the CRC explores a key follow-up question: If the majority of American adults do not adhere to a biblical worldview, then what belief system dominates among the other 94%?
The surprising answer, perhaps, for most sincere Christians is this: there is no single dominant worldview.
Through in-depth, half-hour interviews with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults, the study found that the most common worldview in America is… wait for it… Syncretism.
Syncretism can best be described as an assortment of beliefs and behaviors drawn from various, often contradictory, sources. This means, instead of forming a consistent and cohesive life philosophy, Americans overwhelmingly adopt perspectives and practices based on what feels comfortable or convenient. While these views may lack internal consistency, almost no one seems concerned about the contradictions they produce.
In other words, most Americans don’t seem to care. Until it’s too late to care.
Without a universally held belief system—an over-arching belief of some kind—it should be no surprise that if most of us are willing to believe everything, then most of us will believe anything. This is not an accident, or some embarrassing oversight that no one thought to address.
We are talking about generations of people in this country, and throughout western civilization writ large—at least since the end of the Second World War, have gradually abandoned any genuine reliance on a Bible-based or even a “traditional” morality-based worldview.
Of course, at no time down through the ages, did everyone place their faith in the Bible. But if we were to think of the Bible as the most historically reliable, influential, trustworthy, and largely irrefutable source of instruction and guidance, why would so very many people no longer base their worldview on its revealed truth anymore?
Is it possible that many are actually thinking it’s no longer possible for cultural transformation? Well, not so fast. The possibility does exist to restore the biblical worldview and God’s truth to all areas of our culture.
Within the Christian faith, the Evangelical and Fundamentalist Protestant denominations tend to refer to the Bible the most, because they appreciate and rely on its authority, inerrancy, and literal interpretation. Among them, the following denominations stand out:
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant denomination in the US, and is known for its strong emphasis on biblical authority and preaching.
Independent Baptists, are often even more focused on literal interpretation and frequent biblical references in their teaching.
Pentecostal Denominations, such as Assemblies of God, and Church of God in Christ, are reliant on Scripture for doctrine and spiritual experiences. They place more emphasis on experience than their conservative brothers
Reformed/Calvinist Traditions (e.g., Presbyterian Church in America, and some Baptist churches) are deeply rooted in a systematic theology based on Scripture.
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, (LCMS) hold to a strong commitment to biblical inerrancy and frequently reference Scripture.
By and large, and generally speaking, evangelicals prioritize personal Bible reading, memorization, and expository preaching, making them among the most Bible-centered groups. So this begs the question, why are evangelicals shrinking in numbers as they are?
“Contrary to media reports that suggest 25% to 40% of American adults are evangelicals, more rigorous estimates from the latest American Worldview Inventory 2024 [https://www.arizonachristian.edu/culturalresearchcenter/research/] place the figure at only 10%, translating to 25 to 30 million adults.” [https://mbcpathway.com/2024/08/08/barna-crc-research-finds-americas-evangelicals-are-fewer-less-biblically-grounded-and-politically-disengaged/]
For the sake of argument, let’s say evangelicals are not hesitant, or even reluctant, to take the Gospel to the culture as the Bible teaches, to a culture that is so desperately in need of it. After all, they have plenty of opportunities to send missionaries into many countries all over the world. But what about the growing mission field in our own backyard? Evangelicals ought to be able to determine how to breach the immense barrier of syncretism found in America today.
If you spend as much time as I do watching the news and researching current events as I do on the internet and with podcasts, (perhaps too much time?) you would notice the trend toward a spiritual quickening among people who are even openly talking about God more than they have in the last few years.
Nicole Shanahan
In episode 1159 of the Relatable podcast, Allie Beth Stuckey interviewed Nicole Shanahan, who, you may recall, was the running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his abandoned presidential bid—first as a Democrat, then as an independent—in 2024.
Shanahan was once married to Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and former president of Alphabet, its parent company. Together they produced one daughter, who is severely autistic. Late last year, she miscarried another baby and nearly lost her life.
Both the campaign and her near-death experience figure greatly in her conversion from Judaism to Christianity. It was during the campaign that she met Zach Henry, who helped launch Vivek Ramaswamy’s brief presidential campaign. Henry is an evangelical Christian, and Shanahan credits him for his calming, thoughtful advice and counsel.
“His love of the Bible and Jesus,” she claims, “is one of the things that really changed me in my perspective of evangelicals. And again I’m from Oakland! I spent all my time in progressive circles, and [believed] white Christian evangelical nationalists were destroying America. Oftentimes I painted them as radicals who are not empathetic.” [https://youtu.be/GeVEaXoc0Ig?t=1401]
What Henry showed Shanahan was the real thing any Christian, evangelical or not, should embody as a true follower of Christ. Hearing from someone who was able to quote scripture, refer to the Bible, and demonstrate patience—all which we should know are the of the fruit of the Holy Spirit—can be the gift life.
As she began to believe, she became saved. That’s when she discovered the people she thought were friends and allies, were not, and they turned away from her.
As I have claimed many times before, these are the most exciting of times. These are times we should be willing to throw off our habits of focusing only on our personal sanctification, but also include evangelizing… using the spiritual gifts God gave each of us for such a time as this.
