Over the decades, the number of people with a “Biblical worldview,” or the viewpoint that ethics and morals are guided by the Word of God, has steadily decreased. A recent study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University suggests that the number may have reached an all-time low: 66% of U.S. adults consider themselves “Christian,” but only 6% of Christians have a Biblical worldview.
Even more harrowing to believers, 92% of U.S. adults are beholden to a syncretic view of ethics.
According to the Oxford Reference Dictionary, “religious syncretism” is the process of exchange and interaction that occurs when two or more distinct belief systems are fused to create a new religion. In essence, someone searching for peace hears, reads, or believes aspects from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other religion. From that collection of life experiences, they form an amalgam of morals by which they live moving forward.
Other findings in the study validate that merged mindset among U.S. adults:
- 35% depend “mostly on their reason and emotions” to distinguish right from wrong.
- 31% believe “humans should live in harmony and interdependence” with animals, plants, and nature.
- 31% think “animals and plants, as well as the wind and water, have unique spirits.”
- 28% say a Messiah “has been promised” and will “make His initial visit to earth to save His people.”
- Likewise, 22% of Americans say that nobody “really knows for certain whether or higher power or God exists.”
To someone beholden to syncretism, a Biblical worldview is possible. Yet, that’s not the only lens they use to see life. While that word may be foreign to many people, including Christians, it is far from a new way of thinking.
Syncretism and Its Coincidental Origin
The ancient Greeks, such as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, were revered for their intellect. Those individuals, and many more like them, are chiefly responsible for advanced mathematics (Pythagoras), intensive medicine (Hippocrates), and deep astronomy (Hipparchus) far beyond their knowledge. Scripture proves this as well.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
Wisdom and knowledge are what they craved above all else. The same is true for their concept of faith. Greek mythology–the Olympians or gods and goddesses–is renowned for its depth. Every state of mind and force of nature has a patron god named to it. This “polytheism” is considered the origin of syncretism. Even Gnosticism converged the teachings of Christ with the philosophy of Greece.
The Greeks’ “Biblical worldview” emerged from the writings of ancient philosophers around 320 B.C.E. The etymology of their culture is esteemed to this day, but herein lies the rub.
Ancient Greece was known as the Hellenic Republic (Hellenes, Greek: Έλληνες). Anything that pertains to its civilization (e.g., architecture, culture, art, people) is considered “Hellenic.” It’s a synonym in classical antiquity marked following the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.) to the reign of Julius Caesar (33 B.C.E.). While this is not directly connected to historical thought, a popular conspiracy theory is rooted in the name–“hell.”
And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
He never stops deceiving. Mythology wasn’t enough, which may be why Roman emperors leveraged the power of syncretism as an expansion tool for their empire. The Greeks did the same. Both ancient civilizations borrowed from the Egyptians. This mindset created the “borrowing” of many religions into one.
- Cleopatra VII worshipped Egyptian deities, which were duplicated by tens of thousands of Romans and Greeks.
- The Egyptian pantheon of gods and goddesses found a home in Roman and Hellenic mythology
- Syncretism adoption created the foundation for several cults (i.e., Attis, Cybelism, Desponia, Sabazius)
The popular thought was the best way to divide a nation is to unify what is held most dear–faith over fear, freedom over bondage, heaven over hell.
Why a Biblical Worldview Isn’t More Popular
Although syncretism is not a religion, it has created a legion of followers. How are 92% of U.S. adults swayed by a collection of thoughts instead of the premise of a religion? A common thought is absolute truths. An orthodox adherence to Christianity leaves little room for gray between black and white. While many answers to life’s most pervasive questions are thought to be found in the Bible, the world opts to look everywhere for the best answer.
There are concocted names for syncretized religions, like “Chrislam,” which combines inclusive thoughts from Christianity and Islam. Mormonism espouses numerous Christian beliefs, but instead of going to Heaven upon death, followers travel to “Spirit Paradise.” From the Unification Church to Santeria, Vodou (known as “voodoo”) to Paganism, syncretic religion is spreading because it accepts all points of view, including Christianity.
In 2021, Barna offered its thoughts about the same survey done that year.
“Unfortunately, a worldview in America develops by default,” Barna explained. “Very few schools’ curricula focus directly on a person’s worldview. Most adults don’t even know what a worldview is, much less the worldview alternatives, how they differ, and which one they possess…It takes years of holistic teaching, integration of thought and behavior, and reinforcement of appropriate choices before someone is likely to develop a biblical worldview.”
Statistics have shown as many Christians are leaving the faith, America’s faith-based majority could be a thing of the past by 2070, when believers are projected to make up less than 50% of the country. Today, approximately 64% of U.S. adults identify as Christian; 50 years ago, that number was 90%.
Ten years before the Barna quote, the national leader in faith-based research wrote about reasons young Christians leave the Church. Now, 13 years later, five of the six reasons show the concern of syncretism:
- Churches seem overprotective
- Young people’s experience of Christianity is shallow
- Churches come across as antagonistic to science
- They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity
- The Church feels unfriendly to those who doubt
If you have a Biblical worldview, you are protective of God’s Word, focus more on faith than science, applaud the exclusivity taught in the Bible, and are not unfriendly to doubters. They all need Jesus, just like the same people who created that unfriendly exclusion in the first place.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
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