Evangelicals make up smaller share of US population than commonly thought: report

August 16, 2024

A new report released by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows that Evangelicals make up a far smaller share of the U.S. population than was expected.

The Christian Post reports that the fourth installment of the American Worldview Inventory 2024 finds that lack of a uniform biblical worldview among Evangelicals has caused a misunderstanding of what Evangelicals are.

The report, which focuses on “The Limitations of Christian Evangelicalism”, stems from a survey conducted by Arizona Christian University of 2,000 adults in January 2024. The report finds, “Evangelicals are far fewer in number than typically reported, often are far less biblical in their thinking than one might assume, and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected.”

According to the Christian Post, the Cultural Research Center estimates that Evangelicals make up 10% of adults in the U.S., between 25 and 30 million people.

The definition of “Evangelical” used by the report 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 report found that just 35% of Evangelicals subscribe to what the Cultural Research Center calls a biblical worldview. The report also attributed the failure of Evangelicals to embrace a biblical worldview as a major reason behind what it called “the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States.”

It also found that “most theologically-defined evangelicals do not even attend what are considered to be evangelical churches.”

Evangelical pollster George Barna expressed concern about “the influence of unbiblical — or, at a minimum, non-Evangelical — perspectives taught to Evangelicals in non-Evangelical churches that alter the theological beliefs and lifestyle choices of Evangelicals.”

Photo: top, Credit: Courtesy of Billy Graham Evangelical Association