WHEATON, IL — A new study from Wheaton College’s Department of Theology and Digital Culture has found that the primary source of theological formation for 61% of American adults is not Scripture, seminary, or Sunday school, but inspirational Instagram graphics featuring quotes misattributed to C.S. Lewis.

The study, titled “Mere Misinformation,” analyzed over 14,000 Instagram posts tagged #CSLewis and found that 73% of the most-shared quotes were written by no identifiable author. One viral post with 1.2 million likes — “God doesn’t give you what you can handle, He helps you handle what you’re given” — was traced to a 2011 Tumblr account that also posted anime fan fiction.

“We found quotes attributed to Lewis that were actually written by Max Lucado, Oswald Chambers, a 2016 Hallmark card, and in one case, a fortune cookie from a P.F. Chang’s in Scottsdale,” said lead researcher Dr. Nora Pemberton, 47.

“The man wrote over forty books. People have apparently read none of them but feel very comfortable putting his name on a sunset graphic in Canva.”

The study also found that 22% of respondents believed Lewis was “a contemporary pastor with a podcast” and 8% identified him as “the guy from the wardrobe movie.”

Pastor Greg Dalton, 50, of Grace Fellowship in suburban Chicago, said the findings track with his experience. “A woman in my congregation once corrected my sermon by reading me a Lewis quote from her phone,” Dalton said. “It was from Pinterest. It was from nobody. She was very confident.”

At press time, a post reading “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream — C.S. Lewis” had gone viral again, despite having been written by Les Brown.