Belief in Jesus’ virgin birth has fallen below half of Americans, crossing a troubling threshold for a nation whose history and values bear the deep imprint of Christianity.
The finding raises a question far larger than public opinion: What happens when a culture begins abandoning the biblical truths that helped shape it?
According to The Christian Post, new research from the American Bible Society found that just 49% of Americans believe the virgin birth is at least probably true. The publication reported that this marks the first time a major national survey has recorded belief below 50%.
Only 53% believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Just 44% believe God miraculously parted the Red Sea.
These are foundational claims of Scripture. The virgin birth affirms Jesus’ miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His identity as the Son of God. His resurrection declares His victory over death. Rejecting these truths changes the message of Christianity itself.
The findings come from ABS’ annual State of the Bible report, based on responses from 2,649 Americans collected Jan. 8-27.
Pew Research Center previously recorded belief in the virgin birth at 73% in 2014 and 66% in 2017. Different wording and survey methods limit direct comparisons. Nevertheless, the latest findings show how many Americans now doubt a central truth of the Christian faith.
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That doubt should trouble America and the wider West. Christianity helped shape the conviction that every person bears God’s image, that the vulnerable deserve care and that human authority answers to a higher moral law. These convictions helped build societies that prized human dignity, charity and freedom.
Such an inheritance requires more than admiration for its benefits. It requires people willing to understand and uphold the beliefs that helped sustain it.
The report offers encouragement within the church. Among practicing Christians, 97% believe in the virgin birth, 99% affirm Jesus’ resurrection and 92% believe in the parting of the Red Sea.
Those findings show that biblical conviction remains strong among practicing believers. They also challenge the body of Christ to examine how faithfully we teach Scripture and prepare others to understand it.
With 62% of Americans believing in the supernatural, spiritual interest remains widespread.
“It’s our responsibility to help our fellow Americans open the Bible and experience a life-changing encounter with God,” John Farquhar Plake, ABS’ chief innovation officer, said in a statement quoted by The Christian Post.
That responsibility calls for clear biblical preaching, patient discipleship and personal witness. It also requires an honest examination of our own obedience.
Our most immediate course of action must be repentance. Before bemoaning the culture’s unbelief, we must confess where we have neglected Scripture, compromised our obedience or hesitated to proclaim its truths.
Repentance means turning from those failures and returning to God. From that humility must come renewed obedience: opening our Bibles, teaching our children and proclaiming Jesus Christ with conviction.
The call to return to biblical truth must begin with us.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
