Many Americans Misunderstand Sin, New Survey Finds

A recent national study suggests that most U.S. adults — including many who call themselves Christian — do not hold views of sin that align with traditional biblical teaching, as reported in The Baptist Paper.

The research comes from the American Worldview Inventory 2025, conducted by George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. 

Key Findings:

• Only approximately 14% of self-identified Christians show what the study calls a “biblically accurate understanding of sin.”
• Just over half of all American adults (52%) believe that everyone has sinned, though that belief is central to many Christian doctrines. Among self-professed Christians, 66% agree. Protestants (73%) are more likely to hold this belief than Catholics (57%).
• Generational differences are significant. Only 41% of Gen Z believe everyone has sinned, compared with 49% of Millennials, 53% of Gen X, and 57% of Baby Boomers.
• Ethnic and regional variation is also present. Black adults (62%) were more likely than whites (51%) or Hispanics (50%) to agree that everyone has sinned. Only 28% of Asians agreed. Self-identifying as a sinner also varied: about 31% of Asians accepted that label, compared to 54% of Black adults. Southern and Midwestern residents were more likely to describe themselves as sinners than people in the East or West.

The survey further uncovered that even within Christian communities, many reject core concepts of sin:

• A quarter of those who say they are “born-again” Christians (those who believe they are assured of Heaven because they confessed sins and accepted Jesus as Savior) still refused to describe themselves as sinners.
• Among churchgoers: about one-third of regular attenders at Protestant churches reject the “sinner” label, and about half of Catholic attenders do as well.
• Views also differed by denomination among Protestants:
  • Mainline Church Attenders ~70%
  • Independent/Non-Demoninational ~69%
  • Evandelicals ~61%
  • Pentecostal/Charasmatic ~55%

George Barna, Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center, points out that these gaps in belief can hinder evangelism efforts.

“Among adults who are not associated with the Christian faith, only about one-third (36%) believe they are a sinner,” Barna noted. “Individuals aligned with religions other than Christianity are even less likely to embrace that label (27%) than atheists and agnostics (38%). It appears that atheists and agnostics are largely unfazed by the concept of sin, while adherents of non-Christian faiths are less likely to believe it exists at all.”

Barna’s remarks suggest that when people do not see themselves as sinners, core Christian messages about need, redemption, and salvation may fail to resonate.