After the death of Charlie Kirk, more Christians are encouraging other believers to get more involved in politics and the so-called culture wars. However, a recent survey from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University is showing that Christians’ biblical worldview is becoming less certain on certain social issues like LGBTQ+.

The survey, entitled “Social Issues and Worldview,” found that 47% of self-identified churchgoers believe the Bible is “clear and decisive” about “whether homosexuality is morally acceptable.” That’s a drop from 63% in 2023. Twenty-six percent of said the Bible is “unclear or ambiguous,” 16% believe the Bible doesn’t address homosexuality, and 11% said they are unsure.  Sixty-five percent of churchgoers agreed that the Bible has “clear & decisive” teachings about the definition of a legitimate marriage.

Regarding transgenderism, there was a similar drop. Only 40% said the Bible is “clear and decisive” on “whether transgenderism is morally acceptable,” down from 52%. Twenty-three percent believe Scripture is “unclear and ambiguous” about transgenderism, another 24% believe the Bible doesn’t address it, and 11% said they’re unsure if the Bible addresses transgenderism. The study also looked at churchgoers’ understanding on topics like abortion and religious liberty. Fifty-one percent stated the Bible had “clear & decisive” teachings about abortion, another drop from 65% in 2023.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins told The Christian Post that the study revealed the need for greater biblical teaching on these issues. “Many pastors, many churches are not systematically teaching the word of God. And that’s really what we’ve got to get back to,” he said.  “I think people, some pastors are afraid they’re going to offend or lose people by … addressing these controversial issues. And the result is it’s created a vacuum that is being filled by the broader culture in the media. So that’s what’s shaping the worldview of many Christians.”

Some Christians have already begun to enter the fray of addressing the social issues. Allie Beth Stuckey recently appeared on Jubilee’s popular YouTube series “Surrounded” where she faced off with progressive Christians on social issues. She addressed a man who identified as a gay Christian and remained firm that the Bible is clear that marriage is designed as one man and one woman and that he was called to deny his flesh. Apologist Wes Huff, address some of the language issues brought up by one of the participants who claimed that the words attributed to homosexual prohibitions were only meant for exploitative relationships. “They’re not valid interactions and interpretations of the text,” Huff concluded. “What we see in these attempts to reinterpret the Biblical stance on issues like homosexuality and marriage and gender or even abortion, etc. are not honest interactions and interpretations. They’re ideologically captured ones.”