A new study found that American Protestant Christians are increasingly less likely to talk about their faith with non-Christians and hesitant to discuss spiritual beliefs even with fellow Christians.
The survey, called the “2025 State of Discipleship: Living Unashamed,” found that about one in six Protestant churchgoers in the U.S. agree that they are reluctant to tell non-Christians in their life that they are Christian.
The Lifeway Research survey collected 2,130 responses and found that 30% of Protestant churchgoers say that many people they know are not aware that they are a Christian. That number has more than doubled since 2013. In a 2013 Lifeway Research study, only 14% of churchgoers responded that people they know weren’t aware that they were a Christian. A 2019 Lifeway Research study showed that the number had climbed to 20%.
A third of the responders in the recent study say they believe that not everyone they know needs to be aware that they are a Christian.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, responded to the statistics in the Lifeway announcement sharing the research.
“Ideally a Christian would be talking about their relationship with Jesus Christ, not as something they have to say, but as an overflow of their love for Him and His impact on their lives,” McConnell said. “The honesty of churchgoers about gaps in living unashamed reveals large numbers have room for growth in this important aspect of discipleship.”
Another question asked if spiritual matters tend to not appear in normal, daily conversations with other Christians. While 42% of those surveyed agreed, 35% disagreed and 23% were neutral.
“Living unashamed is an indication of spiritual integrity,” said McConnell. “What you think about your relationship with God should be evident in the substance of your relationships with other churchgoers and be present in your interactions with non-Christians.”
Research conducted by the Barna Group also shows that U.S. Christians are increasingly becoming silent about their faith. In 2022, the Barna Group recorded that 56% of Christians say that their spiritual life is private.
While speaking on “Washington Watch,” McConnell expressed that there is “a large number of followers of Christ that maybe aren’t intentionally hiding” but “are definitely keeping their mouth shut at some key opportunities to let others know that they’re a follower of Jesus Christ.”
And studies routinely show that fear is a primary inhibitor to Christians sharing their faith.
“Twenty-eight to 30%—depending on the survey you look at—of Americans have no religion,” he said. “And so, I think there are a lot of Christians [who] kind of look around and they see the culture has religion or faith on mute, and they just assume they need to stay quiet, and they assume that people really are against religion and against faith.”
McConnell elaborated further by referencing another Lifeway survey conducted among nonreligious individuals.
“[W]e find that only half of them would prefer that religion not belong in public life,” he said. “So, the very people you’d expect to be secular, they’re pretty split on the issue. And in fact, almost three out of 10 say they themselves are a person of faith, even though they don’t have a religion, and almost half of them would call themselves spiritual. And so, I think sometimes Christians are … making it bigger than it really is, when in fact, people are open to hearing your beliefs and the things that are important to you.”
Closing his “Washington Watch” conversation, McConnell encouraged Christians to become more vocal about their faith.
“[W]hen we’re telling the success stories within a church setting, when we’re encouraging one another and being open and honest … when we build that transparency into relationships at church, and we are openly talking about how we’re following Christ, we begin to make that a habit in our lives,” he suggested. “And it makes it easier for that to spill into conversations with people who may not be followers of Christ in our lives. And as we’re open and honest in a church setting, hopefully that integrity runs through everything in our lives.”
