Experts Sound Alarm Over So-Called ‘Remarkable Religious Transformation’ Amongst One Generation

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A study published in April (14, 2025) revealed that more and more Americans are leaving organized religions in favor of personal truths, a trend that seems to have experts like George Barna concerned.

The rise in syncretism — the blending of different religions into a personalized form of faith — recently hit headlines after a shocking study from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University found that most U.S. pastors follow this “hybrid worldview.” (READ MORE: One Group Of American Christians Holds A Bigger Biblical Worldview Than Majority Of Pastors)

A more recent study led by Cornell University’s Landon Schnabel found this trend to be growing rapidly within at least one generation: Millennials. Schnabel and his co-authors studied 1,348 individuals born in the late 1980s from their adolescence through to their early adulthood, discovering that many managed their negative perceptions of religious institutions by creating their own types of spirituality.

‘Reshape The Religious Landscape’

The authors noted how “shifting social values, including growing support for same-sex marriage” was one of the core things pushing many Millennials away from their faith, directly identifying mainstream society’s mass influence over shaping young people’s worldviews. They go on to argue this as a positive, as “these trends represent the individualization of American religion, a transformation that illuminates how personal quests for authenticity can fundamentally reshape the religious landscape.” (MORE NEWS: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Religious And Moral Beliefs’ Of Founding Fathers To Be Taught In State Schools)

The results support the previous research by CRC’s Dr. George Barna, who noted that the rise in syncretism “is another strong piece of evidence that the culture is influencing the American church more than Christian churches are influencing the culture.”

Who Can Influence This Trend More Than Media?

Have you ever heard of the idea that “you are the sum of your five closest friends?” It shouldn’t surprise many of you that culture is influencing faith more than faith is influencing culture right now. Even though we’ve seen a stunning rise in faith-based and biblical impacts on America in recent years (particularly recent months), we still have a long way to go in realizing our Guiding Truths.

Barna’s research found that the group most likely to possess a biblical worldview are Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians (SAGE Cons), of which 46% had a biblical worldview in his study. “God is in the transformation business. Pastors who are willing to allow Him to transform their thinking and behavior can emerge from that process as a powerful example of what can happen when one’s heart, mind and soul are surrendered to God,” Barna added later in the statement. “It certainly seems that if America is going to experience a spiritual revival, that awakening is needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews.” (MORE NEWS: Don’t Ignore Trump’s Historic Message On Holy Week)

We can go further out into the world beyond our pews. Do you want to know how, and start helping today?

Bringing A Biblical Worldview To America

If you’d like to be more involved with shaping America’s future outside of the major election years, why not join our nationwide volunteer Action Partner leadership team of over 140 people, serving their states and communities. Action Partners are present in all 50 states, with leadership teams in 30, and more teams forming as we grow. Each state team includes a prayer coordinator, providing opportunities for connection and prayer. State Updates offer state-specific information, and while not available in every state yet, they are expanding.

Every Monday at 11am ET and 9pm ET, we hold a national prayer call, allowing small groups to connect and pray together. In four years, over 24,000 Christians have joined this grassroots movement, standing for God in the public square and uniting believers at local, state, and national levels.

Being an Action Partner means gaining tools to impact the future for God, engaging with like-minded Christians, and finding encouragement in prayer and fellowship. If you’re interested in joining, register at www.actionpartners.org.

Keep Acting Local

Politicians you elect in your city, county, and state usually have a greater impact on your daily life than anyone in the federal government. During “off-years,” these local races send ripple effects throughout American communities. It is up to you to shape them.

It seems like every time we at Million Voices speak to lawmakers and their teams, they all tell us the same thing: if just 10 people in their district write letters about issues that matter to them, elected officials know they have a serious crisis on their hands. A thousand people could message that same lawmaker via email or social media, and it would mean nothing. But hand-written, or even printed and signed letters, will make your politicians take action (if they really care about your vote, that is).

Contacting your representatives should be easy, but there are myriad ways they can ignore your calls to action. That’s where we come in. 

Yes, Million Voices helps you with voter guides. Yes, we send letters from YOU directly to your elected officials because it’s the only way to guarantee they’ll listen to you. Yes, we publish data, articles, text messages, and help bridge the gap between education and civic action. But what do you want? Tell us today.

We want to make YOU the hero of our American story by giving you the tools you need to make a difference, from your local, state, all the way up to the federal level.

Join us in our mission to advocate for religious freedom, support fair and secure elections, and uphold the values that this great nation was built upon. Tell us what you want from the next four years, and we will fight to make it a reality … again!