U.S. churchgoers’ pro-life conviction plummets by 20 points in two years, new study reveals
A highlighted finding shows that in just two years, the percentage of churchgoing adults who identify as “pro-life” has plummeted from 63% to 43%, according to a national study released Monday (Oct. 13) by the Family Research Council (FRC) in partnership with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University (CRC).
The extensive survey, which polled more than 1,000 adults who attend Christian worship services at least monthly, paints a picture of a church struggling with its convictions in the face of overwhelming cultural pressure. The research suggests that on foundational moral issues, the gap between those in the pews and the secular public is narrowing at an accelerated pace.
“It’s deeply discouraging to see the share of churchgoers identifying as pro-life drop so dramatically,” said David Closson, Director of FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview. “For decades, Christians have led the way in defending the dignity of unborn life, but these findings reveal just how much cultural confusion has seeped into the church.”
This growing ambivalence appears linked to a waning confidence in the clarity of Scripture on the matter. In 2023, two-thirds of churchgoers (65%) believed the Bible is clear and decisive in its teaching on abortion. By 2025, that number had fallen to just 51%. Strikingly, even among the 51% who believe the Bible is clear, only half (53%) identify as pro-life, while nearly a third (30%) still call themselves pro-choice.
The study also suggests a vacuum of teaching from the pulpit. Just over half of churchgoers (53%) reported that their church preaches or teaches on abortion at least once a year. A quarter of Protestants (26%) and 16% of Catholics said their church never addresses the topic.
Furthermore, the appetite for such teaching is shrinking; the share of churchgoers who said more biblical worldview education on abortion is “very desirable” fell from 41% in 2023 to just 28% today.
“When the people of God lose moral clarity on an issue as fundamental as the sanctity of life, it signals a serious discipleship crisis,” Closson stated. “Scripture could not be clearer that every human life is made in the image of God and therefore possesses immeasurable worth (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139).”
The survey found a similar decline in consensus regarding the definition of family. The study revealed no majority view among churchgoers, with the largest share (46%) defining family according to God’s design — a man and a woman married to each other, along with their children and relatives.
However, a significant portion embraced alternative definitions. Roughly one in five (22%) said the definition of family changes over time and across cultures, and nearly as many (20%) believe family is simply any group of people who care for one another.
George Barna, who serves as a Senior Research Fellow for FRC, agreed that external forces are having a powerful impact. “The media bombardment favoring a new moral standard is clearly having a transformative effect on Americans,” he stated.
https://www.christiandaily.com/news/us-c...dy-reveals
A highlighted finding shows that in just two years, the percentage of churchgoing adults who identify as “pro-life” has plummeted from 63% to 43%, according to a national study released Monday (Oct. 13) by the Family Research Council (FRC) in partnership with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University (CRC).
The extensive survey, which polled more than 1,000 adults who attend Christian worship services at least monthly, paints a picture of a church struggling with its convictions in the face of overwhelming cultural pressure. The research suggests that on foundational moral issues, the gap between those in the pews and the secular public is narrowing at an accelerated pace.
“It’s deeply discouraging to see the share of churchgoers identifying as pro-life drop so dramatically,” said David Closson, Director of FRC’s Center for Biblical Worldview. “For decades, Christians have led the way in defending the dignity of unborn life, but these findings reveal just how much cultural confusion has seeped into the church.”
This growing ambivalence appears linked to a waning confidence in the clarity of Scripture on the matter. In 2023, two-thirds of churchgoers (65%) believed the Bible is clear and decisive in its teaching on abortion. By 2025, that number had fallen to just 51%. Strikingly, even among the 51% who believe the Bible is clear, only half (53%) identify as pro-life, while nearly a third (30%) still call themselves pro-choice.
The study also suggests a vacuum of teaching from the pulpit. Just over half of churchgoers (53%) reported that their church preaches or teaches on abortion at least once a year. A quarter of Protestants (26%) and 16% of Catholics said their church never addresses the topic.
Furthermore, the appetite for such teaching is shrinking; the share of churchgoers who said more biblical worldview education on abortion is “very desirable” fell from 41% in 2023 to just 28% today.
“When the people of God lose moral clarity on an issue as fundamental as the sanctity of life, it signals a serious discipleship crisis,” Closson stated. “Scripture could not be clearer that every human life is made in the image of God and therefore possesses immeasurable worth (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139).”
The survey found a similar decline in consensus regarding the definition of family. The study revealed no majority view among churchgoers, with the largest share (46%) defining family according to God’s design — a man and a woman married to each other, along with their children and relatives.
However, a significant portion embraced alternative definitions. Roughly one in five (22%) said the definition of family changes over time and across cultures, and nearly as many (20%) believe family is simply any group of people who care for one another.
George Barna, who serves as a Senior Research Fellow for FRC, agreed that external forces are having a powerful impact. “The media bombardment favoring a new moral standard is clearly having a transformative effect on Americans,” he stated.
https://www.christiandaily.com/news/us-c...dy-reveals
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
