Survey: 81% of Americans See “Declining Morality” in the US

8 in 10 Americans See “Declining Morality”

The large majority of Americans recognize there is something wrong with this nation.

A recent survey by the American Bible Society (ABS) showed that 81% of Americans (Christians or not) “see declining morality in society”—and that percentage is up 5% since just last year! The large majority of Americans recognize there is something wrong with this nation. Of course, without an absolute authority, how do we determine what’s moral and what’s not anyway?

What do Americans think could potentially help fix this problem? Well, reportedly, “even as more Americans this year see morality taking a plunge, a majority believe the Bible is the source of eternal hope for all and offers a way out of the mess society is in.” According to the ABS president,

The Bible remains a hands-down winner of hope for Americans. . . . Those who are opening up the Word of God are discovering it to be a guide to help make sense of life and a source of eternal hope.

A Biblical Illiteracy Epidemic

Now, it may be true that many Americans believe the Bible is the answer—and indeed the Bible, and the gospel message found in it, is the only solution to the problems our society faces. But do people actually read the Bible much less know what it teaches?

According to the same article, 58% of Americans would like to spend more time reading the Bible but only one in five Americans is “actively reading and studying the Bible.” And other research has shown that only 4% of millennials have a basic biblical worldview!

People don’t know what the Bible teaches, so, while they may have some concept of the Bible being a source of hope or morality, are they really turning to God’s Word for morality or to answer the tough questions? Sadly, no, they aren’t, because they don’t have any idea of the basics of biblical teaching. There is an epidemic of biblical illiteracy within our culture and, tragically, within the church as well.

Combating Biblical Illiteracy with ABC

How do we combat this growing biblical illiteracy? By helping people become familiar with God’s Word! When we looked at the research that we commissioned from America’s Research Group for my coauthored book Already Gone, we realized that there was a big problem in the church. Young people were not being taught to defend their faith with answers to secular attacks of our day, and they didn’t have a biblical worldview. So we decided to do something about it. Our solution was Answers Bible Curriculum (ABC).

ABC is a chronological Sunday school curriculum that walks through the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation every four years. It provides a powerful overview of God’s Word, teaching doctrine—helping your young people and adults become familiar with the content of the Bible—and apologetics material all the way through to help you defend the truth of God’s Word.

This recently updated curriculum is designed for all ages from preschool to adult, and is synchronized across several age groups so that families are all learning the same thing, at varying levels of depth.

ABC is a fantastic resource for Sunday school as well as home or Christian school. I encourage you to try an entire month of lessons for free, and consider preordering the expanded second edition of Answers Bible Curriculum for your church, family, or school.

Learn more at AnswersBibleCurriculum.com.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.