George Barna
Author • Professor at Arizona Christian University • Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center at ACU
He was the founder The Barna Group (which he sold in 2009), the Barna Institute, the American Culture and Faith Institute, and Metaformation. Through those entities he has conducted groundbreaking research on worldview, cultural transformation, ministry applications, spiritual development, and elections. He has conducted more than 1,000 surveys which have involved interviews with more than one million Americans. He has directly provided research and strategy for several hundred parachurch ministries, thousands of Christian churches, the U.S. military, Fortune 500 companies, and has supplied polling and strategy to four presidential candidates and various federal and state candidates. He has also served on multiple Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards.
To date, Barna has authored or co-authored 60 books addressing social and religious trends, worldview, leadership, spiritual development, church dynamics, and cultural transformation. They include New York Times and amazon bestsellers and several award-winning books. His books have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages. His most recent bestseller is Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul (ACU Press, September 2023).
He previously taught at several universities and seminaries; served as the Teaching Pastor of a large, multi-ethnic church; pastor of a house church; an elder; and helped to start several churches.
After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University and received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.
George and his wife Nancy attended high school, college, and grad school together before marrying in 1978. They have three adopted daughters and three grandchildren, and currently live on the central California coast and in Phoenix. In his free time, George likes to watch the Yankees, read novels, play bass and listen to music, enjoy the ocean, spend time with his family and his blind dog (Ray Charles).
Report Identifies How U.S. States Rank When It Comes to Incidence of Biblical Worldview
With the national biblical worldview incidence at 4% among adults, a new report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University indicates that there is substantial variance in that incidence across the 50 states. The state with the highest proportion of adults who have a biblical worldview is Alabama,
Americans Possess Contradictory and Unbiblical Views about Moral Truth
Most adults in the United States do not believe that there are any moral absolutes, and they live accordingly. New data from the American Worldview Inventory 2025, an annual survey of the core beliefs and behaviors of Americans conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, explains why.
Survey Reveals Significant Shifts in Faith Allegiance and Growing Confusion about Moral Truth
The annual national worldview assessment from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University continues to reveal shocking transformations in the faith of Americans. A new report based on data from the American Worldview Inventory 2025 reveals in just five years a sharp decline of Christian affiliation, a growing embrace
Most Americans—Including Most Christian Churchgoers— Reject the Trinity
Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches are trinitarian, teaching that the God of the Bible is one inseparable and unified deity comprised of three persons. Two out of three Americans claim to be Christian, leading to the expectation that they embrace the core teachings of their chosen faith. Yet, a
Americans Minimize the Role of God in Their Life
Americans are increasingly minimizing the role and influence of God in their lives—with a minority of only 40% who believe He exists or influences human lives. As a result, fewer American adults put God at the center of their lives, view their relationship with Him as important, or rely on
Most Americans Believe in a Supreme Power, But Not the God of the Bible
The worldview known as Syncretism—the blending of elements from multiple worldviews into a customized individual philosophy of life—has dominated the worldview landscape of the United States for several decades. Its 92% incidence among American adults dwarfs the runner-up worldview, Biblical Theism (or the biblical worldview), which claims only a 4%