Younger Churchgoers Most Likely to Say Culture Makes Some Biblical Truths “Obsolete”

Younger Protestant churchgoers in the United States are more likely than older attendees to say cultural change can make some biblical truths “obsolete,” according to a new Lifeway Research survey.

Lifeway said the findings are based on a Sept. 2-7, 2025, survey of 1,200 U.S. Protestants who attend church at least once a month. Researchers compared the results with a 2019 survey of 1,002 Protestant churchgoers conducted using the same methodology.

Overall, 28% agreed “that as culture changes, some biblical truths become obsolete,” up from 24% in 2019. Another 34% said they “accept some truths from the Bible, but others do not fit what they believe,” compared with 30% six years earlier.

Age differences were especially pronounced. Among churchgoers ages 18 to 29, 54% said some biblical truths become “obsolete” as culture changes, compared with 40% of those ages 30 to 49, 19% of those ages 50 to 64 and 13% of those 65 and older.

Young adults were also the most likely to say the truth of God’s Word can mean different things to different people, at 87%, while 56% said some biblical truths do not fit what they believe.

Across all age groups, 56% said they find it difficult to make sense of the Bible when reading it on their own, little changed from 57% in 2019.

At the same time, 91% said “they can read a passage of the Bible and usually understand how it is relevant to them,” nearly unchanged from 90% in 2019.

The findings come after Barna Group and Gloo reported last November that Bible reading among U.S. adults had reached a 15-year high even as confidence in the Bible’s accuracy declined. Their “State of the Church” data found that 36% of Americans believe the Bible is 100% accurate, down from 43% in 2000.