It sounds redundant that professing Christians would need to be reminded of this, Barna said on Washington Watch Monday.
"Most Americans don't really rely upon the Bible for making those decisions – but for those people who do, we find that they make not only the best decisions, but they're the happiest in life. They become very joyful about their experience here on Earth in ways that most people don't," Barna told show host Tony Perkins.
A worldview is basically defined as how people experience, interpret and respond to the world around them. For most people, development of worldview begins early, as young 15-18 months old, and can be mostly complete by the age of 13, Barna said.
"When we try to figure out who we are, what we want to accomplish, what matters in life, all of these things and more, it all stems from our worldview, and you've got many choices of the kind of worldview that you develop. We make hundreds of decisions every day, and so we're constantly interacting with that worldview without even thinking about it," Barna stated.
A biblical worldview, while it may sound abstract, is actually very down-to-earth as an applied concept, he continued.
"It's very practical, very grassroots. It's simply trying to say, 'How can I apply truth, God's truth, which is the only truth, into every choice that I'm going to make every day?' He's given us the book that outlines that for us, and all we have to do is to read it, figure out how to apply it in our personal lives, and everything is going to work the way it's supposed to," Barna said.
Morality: Biggest biblical worldview obstacle
The biggest obstacle for many in pursuit of a biblical worldview is the issue of morality.
For instance, in 2022, 24% of protestants and 37% of Catholics believed a person's gender could be determined sometime after birth, according to the Pew Research Center. At least a quarter of United Methodist churches have left the denomination over concerns about LGBTQ-related policies.
Morality – the quality of being in accord with what is believed to be good conduct – is at the center of many of today's most-discussed social questions, according to Barna.
"The Bible's very clear on that, makes no bones about it. God doesn't say, 'I want you to like what I've chosen for you.' He just says, 'This is what I've chosen for you because it's best. It's what I like, and therefore you should embrace it.'
"So, if we think about many of the big issues of the day – whether we talk about things like abortion or marriage or crime or immigration – all of those issues come back to worldview because God has things to say about all of those issues," Barna said.
Editor's note: George Barna is senior fellow with FRC's Center for Biblical Worldview.
