As Spiritual Interest Rises, New Book ‘Beyond The System’ Questions Religious Systems
Orlando, Florida – August 30, 2026 – Signs of renewed spiritual curiosity are emerging across the United States, but new research suggests interest in faith does not necessarily translate into deeper spiritual engagement.
The American Bible Society’s State of the Bible USA 2026 found that 28% of Americans now belong to its “Movable Middle”: people who are open to the Bible but are not deeply engaged with it. That group has grown by approximately nine million people since 2024. Meanwhile, Barna’s 2026 State of the Church research identifies a similar tension, reporting that spiritual openness is growing while long-term indicators of Christian formation continue to lag.
The findings raise an increasingly relevant question for people pursuing Christian spiritual growth: What is actually shaping their beliefs?
Author and pastor Pete Robertson explores that question in his latest book, Beyond the System: Breaking Free from Worldly and Religious Systems. Rather than simply examining declining or rising religious participation, Robertson focuses on the unseen cultural and religious structures that can influence people’s thinking, behavior and spirituality without their awareness.
“We are living in a moment when people are asking spiritual questions again, and that is encouraging, but curiosity by itself is not transformation,” said Pete Robertson. “People can become more interested in God while still viewing faith through cultural assumptions, traditions, expectations and religious structures they have never stopped to examine. My new book Beyond the System is intended to help readers recognize those influences and ask whether they are genuinely drawing closer to God or simply becoming more committed to a system around Him.”
The book questions how culture can shape belief, why religious traditions can become substitutes for relationship, and whether sincere religious activity can still leave people distant from what Robertson describes as a living, daily relationship with God. It challenges performance, fear, self-effort, rules and ritual while emphasizing intimacy, surrender, and spiritual freedom.
That message arrives as readers increasingly seek Christian discipleship books and resources that address the difference between religious identity and lived faith. Barna says two-thirds of U.S. adults report having made a personal commitment to Jesus that remains important to them, yet fewer Christians than 25 years ago say faith is central to daily life.
“The question is not simply whether someone attends church, identifies as Christian or follows a religious tradition,” Robertson added. “The deeper question is whether that person is being transformed through an authentic relationship with Jesus. Genuine Biblical discipleship requires us to examine what has been forming our worldview, surrender what competes with God’s truth and move beyond religious performance into a faith that affects how we think, live and relate to others every day.”
Beyond the System: Breaking Free from Worldly and Religious Systems is available through Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble and Hudson Booksellers, with bulk purchases available through IngramSpark.
About Pete Robertson:
Pete Robertson is a pastor, author, songwriter and ministry leader whose work focuses on discipleship and helping people develop a deeper relationship with Christ. He leads “Natural Discipleship” and “Be Mission Minded”, co-hosts the RIOT Podcast and has authored several books on Christian faith, surrender and discipleship. Visit https://peterobertson.com/
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