61% of UK evangelicals believe most people are good by nature, according to a new survey. Dr Samuel Tunnicliffe warns that such beliefs risk emptying the gospel of its true power
Most people believe they are basically good.
We may not say it out loud, but we feel it instinctively. Of course, we know we are not perfect – “nobody’s perfect” we readily admit – we regret things we have done and wish we had done some things differently. Yet beneath it all lies an assumption we find it very difficult to dispose of: that, despite all our flaws, we are fundamentally decent people.
The problem is, the Christian faith teaches the reverse.
Made in God’s image
The latest State of Theology survey from Ligonier should give us pause. It’s found that nearly two-thirds of UK evangelicals (61%) agree with the statement, “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”
At first, that may not sound especially alarming. In fact, it sounds rather reasonable. After all, most of us know plenty of kind and generous people. We see acts of compassion every day. Surely there is evidence of goodness all around us.
Well, on one level, the Bible would agree. Human beings are made in the image of God.
That image remains, however damaged by the fall.
For all our dignity, humanity is fallen. Sin is not merely something we do. It is something that has corrupted us. The problem is not that we occasionally commit sins. The problem is that we are sinners.
Saved sinners
Scripture’s assessment of humanity is not based on people at their best but on people as they truly are. The Bible looks not merely at our actions but at our hearts. And that matters enormously, because our view of sin shapes our view of salvation.
If people are fundamentally good, what exactly was Christ accomplishing on the cross? Why did the Son of God enter the world? Was it simply to offer us tips to improve our lives in helpful ways? In which case, you have your gurus and I can have mine.
A minor problem requires life advice. If we just need encouragement, education, or moral improvement, then a teacher would be enough. But Christianity claims that something far more dramatic was required. The Son of God came not simply to advise us. The Son of God came into the world to save sinners.
When we ran our survey in 2018, 61% of evangelicals agreed that “even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation”. Today, in 2026, that number has fallen to 49%. Yet James 2:10 teaches that “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” Why? Because sin is not merely the breaking of a rule; it is rebellion against a holy God. Our instinct is to grade sins on a sliding scale and assume that being better than others is enough. But the Bible’s standard is far higher. God is perfectly holy, and His law reflects His character. Even our smallest sins fall short of that perfection. What we need isn’t self-help; we need saving.
Sin matters. The cross only makes sense when we understand the seriousness of sin. This is why the historic Christian faith has always spoken so strongly about human corruption, because only a realistic view of sin allows us to appreciate the wonder of grace.
Understanding grace
When a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941, the SS selected at random ten men to die of starvation in retaliation. One of them, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out in despair for his wife and children. At that moment, a Polish priest named Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and offered to take the man’s place.
Maximilian Kolbe was among the best of humanity. Yet even Kolbe knew he needed a Saviour. Christianity does not divide the world into good people and bad people. It divides the world into sinners who know they need grace and sinners who do not. The cross makes sense only when we realise that we are sinners; indeed, that even our heroes require mercy – that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
We can never comprehend the heights of grace if we first deny the depths of sin. The smaller our view of our guilt becomes, the smaller our view of Christ becomes, and our worship of him is lessened.
The truth
Ultimately, this is not merely a matter of survey results or theological literacy; it is a matter of the heart. The question is not simply whether we can answer a doctrinal statement correctly. The question is whether we understand ourselves correctly.
The church should be encouraged by signs of renewed spiritual interest across the United Kingdom. We should rejoice whenever people enter our churches, open a Bible, or begin asking questions about Christ.
But those newcomers, and indeed all of us, need more than enthusiasm - we need truth.
If we lose sight of the seriousness of sin, we will inevitably lose sight of the greatness of Christ. And when that happens, the gospel itself begins to fade from view and the Bible should be numbered among the self-help books, and Jesus with so many other gurus. But when we confess our sin, we discover the wonder of a risen Saviour who takes our sin upon himself and clothes us in his own righteousness.
To find out more about what your friends, neighbours and other Christians believe in 2026, see thestateoftheology.com/uk
No comments yet