We’ve been exploring what spiritually open people hope to get out of their conversations about faith. But what do they bring into those conversations?

For Christians or church leaders who are engaging with non-Christians, it’s important to grasp the public’s existing baseline of beliefs about God, Jesus and more. This can go a long way in being precise and building trust and connection through conversations or sermons. It also can keep people in the Church from making assumptions about the ideas or worldviews of those outside the Church; they may be surprised by just how prevalent Christian beliefs are among the non-Christian public, especially those who are spiritually open.

“God Is Definitely Real—and Might Be Many Things”

In general, spiritually open non-Christians tend to be more accepting of foundational Christian beliefs about Jesus, heaven, the Bible and God than those who are not spiritually open. (Return to this article for more details on how we defined these categories. Here, we’re referring to the 48 percent of non-Christians who fall into high or moderate levels of openness as “spiritually open,” while those who are “not spiritually open” are the 52 percent of non-Christians who scored low on this metric.)

For instance, spiritually open non-Christians are significantly more likely to believe in God or a higher power than those who are not spiritually open. While, overall, 58 percent of non-Christians hold this belief, nearly all of spiritually open non-Christians (87%) do so, compared to only 23 percent of non-Christians without this openness.

While a significant 30 percent of non-Christians who are not spiritually open is simply unsure what they believe about God, about half (47%) firmly do not believe there is a God or higher power. When prompted elsewhere to identify what or who, exactly, God might be, these more spiritually closed non-Christians are consistent in their conclusions: 42 percent say there is no such thing as God. There is a whopping difference on this point, as only 4 percent of spiritually open non-Christians do not believe there is a God.

Instead, spiritually open non-Christians are more likely to lean toward a more traditional Christian understanding of God. More than one-third (36%) believes “God is the all-powerful, all knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today.” Only 14 percent of non-Christians who are not spiritually open agree with this statement.

On the other hand, a sizeable number of spiritually open non-Christians tend to embrace more relativistic or pluralistic beliefs about who God is. It’s possible, they say, that God represents a state of higher consciousness (17%) or that everyone is god (17%). There are many gods (14%), they suggest, or godhood could be something found in the realization of human potential (11%).

While a general spiritual openness leaves ample room for Christian beliefs about God, it is clearly not exclusive. This tracks with spiritually open non-Christians’ confidence that many religions can lead to eternal life (43% strongly agree).

You can read the rest of the article “Spiritually Open Non-Christians’ Mixed Ideas About the Gospel Message” when you upgrade to Barna Access Plus. You’ll also gain exclusive access to downloadable Spiritually Open field guides for leaders, exclusive video interviews with experts and church leaders and the new Sharing Jesus Assessment for your congregation. The seventh issue of Spiritually Open will release early October.