Prone to confusion

In Part 2 of a series about compromise in the evangelical church,
Jeff Spencer explains how worldview confusion leads to the
reckless perversion of Christian truth.

Many pulpits note the chasm between a biblical worldview and modern secular culture, warning believers to reject the mindset and morality of the world. This tactic, while necessary, seems to downplay the extent to which secular ideals have already infested Christian homes and churches.
But the following evidence proves that many believers have succumbed to the evangelism of various worldviews, and the conservative, Christian worldview – which every believer should possess – is on the verge
of extinction.

Contamination
Inarguably, cultural compromise is contaminating the church. Research, published as part of the American World View Inventory 2026 Report from George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, found that only 4% of American adults have a consistent, biblical worldview. While this reflects all U.S. adults, the percentage is not significantly different among believers, finding that only 12% of those claiming to be born-again Christians hold a consistent, biblical worldview. This “represents a significant decline from 19% in 2020,” according to the report.
The drastic decline of biblical Christianity inside the church is prophesied in Scripture. Paul warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The time that Paul foresaw has arrived.

Confusion
Statistics show that many believers are straying outside the boundaries of a Christian worldview to adopt beliefs from other worldviews, much like one chooses various foods from a buffet. The worldviews resulting from this spiritual-buffet mindset and methodology are blended systems of Christian and non-Christian beliefs. Such worldviews, concocted and embraced by countless professing believers, are neither Christian nor secular. It cannot be overstated that these compromised professing believers have great influence in drawing other believers to depart from biblical truth.
The departure from biblical roots has also resulted in the church’s weakening influence on society. As secularism infects the church, it is perceived by society as just another voice in the wilderness with little to offer that is unique or relevant.
This mingled mindset among many believers is called worldview confusion. A Christian with worldview confusion might make statements such as these:

◆ “Jesus is my path, but all religions lead to Heaven.”
◆ “I am a pro-choice Christian. Abortion should be legal.”
◆ “I believe Scripture, but science proves it has errors.”
◆ “Any ‘love’ between consenting adults is acceptable to God.”

Such reckless perversion of Christian truth devalues both Christ and Scripture. How could such moral evil be abundantly evident to some believers but completely lost to others? The answer is clear: It is the prevalence of worldview confusion in the church.
A 2017 Barna report titled Competing Worldviews Influence Today’s Christians verifies rampant worldview confusion among believers:

61% agree with ideas rooted in New Spirituality.
54% resonate with postmodernist views.
36% accept ideas associated with Marxism.
29% accept ideas based on secularism.
28% believe “All people pray to the same god.”

These degenerating beliefs are resulting in demoralizing behaviors.

Corruption
A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found little moral difference between believers and unbelievers regarding sexuality. Findings revealed that 33% of Christians believe sex between consenting, unmarried adults in a committed relationship is “always acceptable,” while 24% declare it “sometimes acceptable,” and 10% accept it “rarely.” That means 67% of Christians admit, to some degree, that sex between unmarried adults is acceptable.
Interestingly, the same poll found 46% of Christians think sex on a first date is acceptable with 3% saying “always,” 16% saying “sometimes,” and 27% claiming that it is “rarely” acceptable – though acceptable, nonetheless.
A 2025 Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study report exposed compromise among Christians on homosexuality. Findings revealed that 57% of Christians say that “homosexuality should be accepted by society,” while 55% say “same-sex marriage should be legal.”
Unquestionably, society’s constant pro-homosexual propaganda is successfully evangelizing the minds of many in the church.
The same is true about the church’s view of abortion. A 2025 survey conducted by Family Research Council in conjunction with Arizona Christian University showed that 19% of churchgoing Americans have encouraged, paid for, or had an abortion. Only 43% of this group claim to be pro-life, while 35% claim to be pro-choice. Another 15% say they lean in either direction but “could be convinced otherwise,” while 7% were undecided.
With immorality openly advocated by many believers, it is also no surprise an astonishing number of professing Christians utilize pornography. Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, a 2024 report released by Barna in partnership with Pure Desire Ministries, revealed that 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women use pornography to some degree. Forty-nine percent of Christians polled “said they were comfortable with their level of porn use,” but 21% wanted to abstain.
The same report is referenced in a Christianity Today article by Maria Baer, titled “More Christians Are Watching Porn, But Fewer Think It’s a Problem.” The article notes that porn availability has skyrocketed, with consumption increasing by 91% since 2000. On average, 2.5 million people are viewing online porn every minute.

Carelessness
These findings are evidence that many professing Christians have answered this modern siren call to abandon standards of sexual purity as set forth in Scripture. The statistics show that conservative Christianity is rapidly disappearing, and many believers don’t see the problem.
“It’s just not a big deal to them. … There’s no sense of urgency whatsoever,” said Sean McDowell, professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, in the aforementioned Christianity Today article. “I think this is an example where people are taking their cues far more from the culture and the ideas around us than Scripture and their Christian worldview.”
Many Christians are completely unaware of their compromise because the culture has secularized their biblical worldview, step-by-step, so that it now happily sits hand in hand with a contradictory pantheon of secular ideals.
In other words, the American culture – by attempting to change truth at its most fundamental, doctrinal level – is winning the war to silence the church. It is past time to consider what the church will be like in the future based on where it is today – drifting aimlessly afloat in a sea of deadly compromise.

Editor’s Note: Jeff Spencer is a professor of apologetics at Grace Evangelical Theological Seminary in Denton, Texas. See The Stand, 10/26 for Part 1 of this series.