5LQ Episode 305: The State of Theology

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Daniel Im are joined by Scott McConnell, Executive Director of Lifeway Research. During their conversation, they discuss the following questions: What is the state of theology in America? Why is this important? What surprised you about this research? What trends did you see? What should churches do with this research? BEST QUOTES  “7 out of 10 Americans believe in the trinity.” “Almost 7 out of 10 Americans believe God is a perfect being and cannot make a mistake.” “Less than a quarter of Americans agree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.” “Our definition of good is completely different than God’s.” “6 out of 10 Americans believe that religion is a matter of personal opinion, it’s not about rejecting truth.” “Almost 6 out of 10 Americans agree that worshiping alone or with your family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.” “Among those with evangelical beliefs, 52% agree that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.” “Of those with evangelical beliefs, half agree that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam.” “57% of those with evangelical beliefs are denying the personal nature of the Holy Spirit.” “Imagine if in your congregation you could help people catch a glimpse of who God really is and the relationship He really wants with us.” RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network Lifeway Research State of Theology Study Report 5LQ Episode 294: Scott McConnell on Bible Research 5LQ Episode 278: Scott McConnell on VBS Research 5LQ Episode 299: Research on the Unchurched Text “research” to 888111 to receive a copy of the research from this podcast The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers The One Thing Podcast