Though consulting astrology or horoscopes is forbidden in Scripture, more than a quarter of Christians say they believe the stars and planets have some impact on human destiny, according to a Pew Research Center study. The study was conducted in the fall of 2024 through a survey of a nationally representative sample of 9,593 U.S. adults. Some 30% of U.S. adults stated that they consult astrology or a horoscope, tarot cards or a fortune teller at least once a year. Most, however, said they engaged in the practice for fun, and few said they based major life decisions on what they are told.
Researchers found that some 27% of religiously affiliated Americans believe in astrology, which was statistically similar to the 28% of religiously unaffiliated Americans who believe in the practice. African American Protestants and Hispanic Catholics were more likely to believe in astrology than white Evangelicals. About a third of African American Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, and respondents who described their religion as “nothing in particular” had similar views on the subject. White Evangelicals, atheists, Jewish Americans, and agnostics were less likely to say they believe in astrology than the general public.
While respected Christian researchers like George Barna have been sounding the alarm on the dangers of syncretism to a biblical worldview in recent years, a new study in April, Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion, suggests more Americans are leaving organized religion in search of personalized faith perspectives that embrace a fusion of different religions. In the study, the researchers tracked 1,348 individuals born in the late 1980s from adolescence through early adulthood using longitudinal surveys to examine how young adults manage tensions between institutional religion and personal authenticity as they came of age during the rise of religious “nones.” “Our analysis shows how young people are responding to the bureaucratization and rationalization that German sociologist Max Weber predicted would create an ‘iron cage’ in modern institutions, developing new forms of religious and spiritual expression outside formal institutions,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers argued that the religious marketplace had expanded beyond competing denominations to “include options outside formal institutions altogether, from personalized spirituality to individually crafted approaches to faith and meaning. People are breaking free not with bolt cutters but with deeply personal acts of spiritual rebellion,” the researchers argued. “Rejecting the rationalized, systematized and institutionalized religious constructs of modernity in favor of more dynamic, diverse, and syncretic expressions.”
Biblical Connections: Any form of false belief like astrology or witchcraft was strictly forbidden by the Bible. Isaiah 47 attacks the false beliefs of the Babylonians who created much of astrology. Verses 13-14 states, “You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before!” The Book of Daniel continually shows that the astrologers, called the wise men, were impotent in actually being able to understand visions and make predictions, whereas Daniel, empowered by God, was able to accomplish these tasks. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul warned Timothy that in the end times, people would walk away sound doctrine and would turn to false beliefs. Christians need to stay away from these types of false teachings. That more and more “Christians” are getting involved in these beliefs could possibly be a sign that we are nearing the end times.
PRAY: Pray that those that claim to be believers and yet are engaged in false religion will turn from their wickedness and go back to the truth.