A new survey has found that more than half of Americans do not believe God exists or that He “affects lives,” prompting one prominent researcher to highlight the need for “sweeping national repentance and spiritual renewal.”
The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released the second installment of its American Worldview Inventory 2025 on Wednesday.
The research found that overall, 60% of Americans do not believe God exists or that He “affects lives.” Nearly half of self-identified Christians (47%) and a slightly smaller share of theologically identified born-again Christians (40%) said the same.
George Barna, director of research at Arizona Christian University, said of the findings, “The more time you spend thinking about what this research tells us, the more you are likely to conclude that nothing short of sweeping national repentance and spiritual renewal can save America from itself.”
He added, “It seems obvious that political, economic, legal, or institutional improvements are not what America needs most desperately today. Those cultural arenas merely provide prescriptions that address the symptoms, but not the disease.”
The report, he said, is evidence that God has been “reconfigured into our own image in order to fit within our personal comfort zone.”
Among Americans who believe that God exists and “affects lives,” a plurality (38%) defined God as the “most important element” in their lives, while 23% described God as “extremely important” in their lives, and 18% characterized God as having a “very important” influence on their lives.
Fourteen percent of respondents who believe in God agreed that He was “somewhat important” in their lives, while 5% considered God either “not too” important or “not at all” important. The remaining 3% placed their views on God’s influence in their lives into the category of “it varies.”
Just 20% of “those who believe the God of the Bible exists and affects lives” told pollsters they had “an intimate and interactive spiritual relationship with Him, with constant two-way communication.” Another 45% classified their relationship with God as “close,” defined by frequent prayer and trust in Him to “do what is best and right.”
Eleven percent of those surveyed identified their relationship with God as “arms-length,” while 18% said, “He exists and is capable of all things, but do not have a personal, interactive ‘relationship’ with Him.”
The remaining 7% of respondents remained uncertain whether or not He interacts with people and did not “know how to describe their relationship with Him.” One-third (33%) of “those who believe the God of the Bible exists and affects lives” defined God as having a “total” influence over their lives and choices, while another third (33%) reported that He had “a lot” of influence on their lives, which “often” reflected His guidance.
Nineteen percent of respondents who believe in God contended that He had “some” influence over their lives, which “sometimes” reflected His guidance. Six percent pointed to God as having “not much influence” on their lives and indicated that any influence He did have was “hard to identify.” Four percent credited God with having “no identifiable or conscious influence” on their lives, while the remaining 3% maintained that His influence on their lives was “consistent or unknown.”
When asked what they believed God provided to them, a majority of those who believe in God cited Him as a source of hope (72%), comfort (71%), peace (65%), guidance (64%), compassion (60%), joy (60%), mercy (58%) and purpose (54%). Smaller shares of respondents listed God as a source of miracles (47%), opportunities (41%), security (38%), responsibilities (33%) and power (31%). Less than one-quarter of those who believe in God think He provides identity (24%) and boundaries (19%).
“The fact that more than three out of four people who believe God exists and is influential in their lives nevertheless do not get their identity from their relationship with Him explains a lot,” Barna declared. “The fact that two out of three people who believe in God’s existence and influence do not believe their connection to Him comes with responsibilities, delivers additional insight,” he added.
“Discovering that fewer than one out of five of the people who acknowledge God’s existence and influence are aware of any life boundaries that God provides to them explains even more,” he concluded, reflecting on the connection between the research and “the trials and tribulations, as well as the multifaceted demise of the nation.”
According to Barna, “Finding that two-thirds of those who believe He exists and is influential nevertheless say that God has not given them power to serve Him and pursue His agenda reveals even more about the deceptions and weakness of American Christianity. And the list of startling insights into a Christian faith that bears little resemblance to biblical teaching and to God’s intent could continue.”
The data in the report is based on responses collected from 2,100 U.S. adults in January. The survey has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
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I have run into so many who say "I believe in God" and they think their belief somehow saves them. It doesn't go beyond that. There are so many who think the stories in the bible are fables and foolishness. All I can write about the survey above is I guess we're in trouble as a nation.
Modern America has not only left its spiritual roots but is moving away from its historic roots. Some of this is related to the "new atheism" movement
The main figures considered leaders of New Atheism are often called the "Four Horsemen" of the movement:
Richard Dawkins – Evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion (2006), which argues against the existence of God and promotes a scientific worldview.
Christopher Hitchens – Journalist and author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), known for his sharp critiques of organized religion and debates against religious figures.
Sam Harris – Neuroscientist and author of The End of Faith (2004) and Letter to a Christian Nation (2006), which critique religious dogma and promote reason and secular ethics.
Daniel Dennett – Philosopher and cognitive scientist, author of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (2006), which examines religion from an evolutionary and scientific perspective.
These thinkers promoted a rationalist, secular, and often confrontational approach to religion, arguing that religious belief should be actively challenged rather than passively tolerated.
Luckily, this movement is starting to collapse.
https://youtu.be/keuSpq11Hqg?si=JpxUnMNfiAI_KS7B
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/28/opinion-religion-secularism-richard-dawkins/
At the end of the video there were a lot of selections, so I chose the KFC on hoping to learn why Billy Crone doesn't like KFC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-vkSviVQXo
I have no clue how to respond to that, what's wrong with KFC?
People Who Are Open Rebels say I Don't Believe in God.
You remind me of Psalm.14:1: "the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." The Bible says, "The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse'' Romans.1:20.
Your watch, clothes, car {in fact, almost everything you own} came into existence because of the intelligent design and careful labor of a craftsman. A man walking through a desert alone, finding a watch laying in the sand, would not think that the watch had simply been created by a chance combination of heat, wind and sand! Could it be possible that the earth, sun, moon, and stars also came into being through the craftsmanship of a Supreme Being?
The Bible declares the eternal existence of a God and records over 20,000 statements about God. Do you have any proof that these facts are lies? Is it not possible they could be true and you wrong?
God has a total influence over my life and well-being. And we are totally ONE Nation UNDER God. Obviously God is fond and keeps a balance over the United States of America.
I believe the only thing keeping us (USA) afloat is how we treat Israel.
I would add to this, that of those who do say that God exists, those that go to church........
The bigger percentage of those don't live as though they believe God exists. They have forgotten the LORDSHIP of Him over their lives. He is NOT just "Savior", just a "get out of hell free card."
He is LORD (first) and savior.
Do you have any idea of how many (church going) Christians that I come in contact with daily, who comfortably talk about any and everything, yet experience a certain cringe factor, and lack of ability to talk when it comes to a Christian walk... ie. things concerning God. Up to even initiating a conversation about it, yet say that it is their life. They can talk more about the stats of their favorite athlete or team, or movie or music star/group, and can't even achieve a basic conversation concerning that which they say is their life. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. By their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says unto me "Lord, Lord." Will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of My Father.
Our Lord gave me a gift a little over 2 years ago, 2 great nieces to take to church 3 times a week and then their little brother about 8 months later. I’m in constant prayer on how to handle my relationship with them. 1 of my great nieces came to our Lord in repentance about 16 months ago, she’s 13 years old. The problem is her family life is surrounded by non-believers, that call themselves Christians.I keep telling her to pray for them. I’m always walking on eggshells around her parents, so I don’t lose this contact with there children.
I know what you mean.
I look at this survey and it tells me of the great falling away from God in the end of days.
I keep saying that I believe that less than 5% ( that’s less than 20 million people in the USA Today) of the USA is actually born again Christians that live their lives daily for God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.