Half of younger churchgoers say culture change makes some biblical truths ‘obsolete’

September 24, 2026

A recent survey from Lifeway Research shows Protestant churchgoers in the United States appear increasingly willing to reject some biblical truths, with young adult attendees under 30 most likely to say some of those truths are becoming “obsolete.”

The Christian Post reports that Lifeway published its report on Tuesday highlighting a 2025 survey of 1,200 U.S. Protestants who attend church at least once a month.

Researchers compared the latest results with a survey of 1,002 U.S. Protestant churchgoers that used the same methodology conducted Sept. 20 to 27, 2019.

28% of respondents agreed with the statement “that as culture changes, some biblical truths become obsolete,” up from 24% in 2019.

Researchers also found 34% of churchgoers said they “accept some truths from the Bible, but others do not fit what they believe,” up from 30% in 2019. 

According to the Christian Post, the younger a churchgoer was, the more likely he or she was to agree that culture change makes some truths in the Bible “obsolete.”

Younger adult churchgoers were the most likely to agree that the truth of God’s Word can mean different things to different people and some biblical truths don’t fit what they believe.

Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in the report, “The concepts in any other book will show signs of age requiring new editions. But the Source of the Bible is not Someone whose truths change. The thought of unchanging truth is an unprecedented concept even for many churchgoers today.”

The survey was conducted Sept. 2 to 7, 2025, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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