New Study Reveals What Happens When Churches Stop Preaching about Sin

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Prominent evangelical researcher George Barna says it is a "devastating body blow to the Church world" after a new survey revealed that a majority of Christians reject basic teachings about sin. 

According to the eighth installment of its 2025 "American Worldview Inventory," the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that while a substantial number of respondents (84%) believe in the existence of sin, many were less likely to agree with the statement that "I am a sinner, including 74% theologically identified of born-again Christians, 66% of Protestants, and 60% of identified Christians. Additionally, roughly half of Catholics (50%) admitted they were sinners, while less than half of self-identified non-Christians (36%) did.

Barna, director of research at the Cultural Research Center, noted that the results come due to the lack of churches preaching against sin, The Christian Post reported.

"The job of the local church is to educate people about God's ways," he explained. "Yet, a 2019 Pew Research study that analyzed sermon content across the nation determined that just 3% of all sermons preached even mentioned sin. That's a devastating body blow to the Church world."

"Students will remain ignorant when their teachers fail to inform them of critical information and consequences," he added. "For an overwhelming majority of Christian churches to suppress the reality of sin, its consequences, and its solutions from the people those churches serve is a travesty."

Barna described "taking refuge in the idea that other people have a sin problem, but they personally do not" or that "sin is an outdated concept" as "harmful strategies."

"Parents, pastors, and religious influencers have a vital responsibility to keep basic biblical truths before the Christian body, including the reality of sin and its repercussions," the veteran researcher said. 

"Allowing Americans to skirt around the personal implications of sinful living is a major disservice to the people they influence, and facilitates the continuing demise of American society," he concluded.

The survey also found that 70% of people believe in and 70% of people embrace the idea of the basic goodness of humanity.

"Describing all people as 'basically good at heart' is the culturally comfortable dismissal of sin that millions of people use to ignore the possibility that their love affair with disobedience to God is a life-threatening spiritual disease with eternal consequences," Barna stated.

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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.