Millennials in America are "leading the charge" against the traditional Christian belief in "absolute moral truths", according to new research.

The 'Millennials in America' report by researcher George Barna is based on a survey of the attitudes and beliefs of young adults in their 20s and 30s.

It found that six out of 10 respondents in this age group believe there are "no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time".

The report, commissioned by US campaign organisation Foundations of Freedom, says: "For some time, Americans have been turning their back on the notion that absolute moral truths exist. Millennials are leading the charge.

"The spirit of relativity has comfortably settled in among Millennials – although it should be noted that more than one-fifth of them (22 percent) have yet to figure out where they stand on moral truth.

"But among those who have taken a stand, rejecting rather than accepting moral absolutes is the dominant perspective by a 5:2 ratio (56 percent vs. 22 percent)."

The report comments: "To those who have 'ears to hear and eyes to see' it is incomprehensible that intelligent people would base moral choices on such fluid and unreliable influences as personal emotions, past experiences, and the advice of other people.

"Yet those are the primary inputs on which Millennials rely when making their moral decisions.

"Nearly two-thirds of young adults (63 percent) identified those influences as driving their moral choices while only one-fifth (19 percent) said they depend on a different source of moral input."

But the research found that Millennials are generally positive about the person of Jesus Christ.

"One of the most important insights from the study is that Millennials do not seem to have a problem with Jesus Christ as much as they have problems with Christian churches, Christian individuals, and some biblical principles that directly conflict with popular culture perspectives," the report says. 

It also found that the Bible "fares relatively well" with Millennials "although companion research suggests that they are ill-acquainted with its contents."

Summarising its section on the 'Faith Factor', the report declares: "In a nation whose history is one of a passion for religious freedom and world-class spiritual engagement, the decline of spiritual commitment and engagement in America has been a pillar of the nation's moral and cultural decline. That downward spiral has been fortified by the dramatic reshaping of the faith domain by Millennials."