65% of Evangelicals Believe We’re Born Innocent

An identity crisis is ravaging the church in America. According to the 2022 results of Ligonier’s State of Theology survey, nearly two-thirds of professing evangelicals believe that people are born innocent.*

This survey result reflects a view of human identity that aligns more with American society than the Bible. God’s Word clearly teaches that all people are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). In other words, we are not sinners because we sin—rather, we sin because we are sinners.

We sat down with Ligonier Teaching Fellow Dr. Stephen Nichols to discuss the significance of these survey results. Listen as he explains the danger of not knowing the depth of our sin.

The fact that 65 percent of U.S. evangelicals believe that human beings are born in a state of innocence reveals that the biblical teaching of original sin is not embraced by most evangelicals. This truth is foundational for an accurate understanding of the gospel and of our absolute need for the grace of God in salvation. We hope the 2022 findings from Ligonier’s State of Theology survey will rouse Christians to serious and active discipleship, training God’s people to address the identity confusion of our day with the truth of Scripture.

* In this survey, “evangelicals” were defined by LifeWay Research as people who strongly agreed with the following four statements:

• The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
• It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
• Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
• Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.