A new survey commissioned by Ligonier Ministries UK found widespread uncertainty about core Christian beliefs among adults in Britain, while also reporting that churches are attracting some newcomers who began attending as adults.
The 2026 State of Theology survey, conducted by Whitestone Insight, is the second UK edition of the study since 2018. The research surveyed 5,177 UK adults from Jan. 23-27, 2026, with an additional sample of 1,000 practising Christians, according to Christian Today’s report on the findings.
Among the general population, 39% said they were unsure whether they agreed with the Christian understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Fifty-six percent could not say whether the Holy Spirit brings about spiritual rebirth before a person comes to faith in Christ, while 46% were uncertain about the claim that people are made righteous before God through faith in Jesus rather than through their own works.
The survey also found substantial disagreement with traditional Christian claims. Thirty-nine percent rejected the statement that the biblical account of Jesus’ bodily resurrection is historically accurate, and 44% rejected the assertion that hell is a real place of eternal punishment. The findings indicate both unfamiliarity and disbelief, rather than a single pattern of religious decline.
Ligonier’s report also highlighted uncertainty among people identified as evangelicals. Sixty-three percent of UK evangelicals agreed that most people are good by nature, while 57% of “new evangelicals” agreed that the Bible contains ancient myths but is not literally true. Ligonier defines new evangelicals in the survey as people who began attending Sunday church services for the first time as adults within the past two years.
There were also signs of renewed participation. Twenty-eight percent of UK evangelicals said they had begun attending Sunday services as adults within the previous two years. Among new evangelicals, 99% affirmed belief in the Trinity and 97% accepted the bodily resurrection of Jesus, while 96% of practising Christians affirmed the Trinity and 90% agreed that righteousness before God comes through faith in Jesus Christ rather than personal works.
Ligonier said the results show both “great opportunity and great need,” pointing to the need for churches to provide biblical teaching and discipleship as people enter congregations. The ministry has made the survey’s full results and a free discussion guide available through its UK State of Theology resource, allowing churches and other groups to examine responses by religious identity and other demographic categories.