Church leaders and laity not of one mind on churches and politics

(Original release date:  September 5, 2006)  Research results being released for the first time in the September/October edition of Facts & Trends magazine show Protestant clergy and laity are very far from being of one mind about religion and politics.

Facts & Trends is published bimonthly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Two studies were conducted for Facts & Trends by Ellison Research (Phoenix, Ariz.). One is a representative sample of 797 Protestant church ministers nationwide, and the other is a companion survey of 1,184 adults who attend Protestant churches at least once a month. The studies asked each group about their personal political views, as well as how appropriate it is for churches to be politically involved in a number of different ways.

Most clergy and laypeople agree that their church is not heavily involved in politics. Only 6 percent of clergy, and 11 percent of laity, feel their own church is very involved in local politics or political issues; the numbers are nearly identical for involvement in national politics or political issues.

Among ministers, 36 percent say their church is somewhat involved in local political issues, while 46 percent say it’s not very involved, and 11 percent actively try to avoid these issues. On national politics or political issues, 7 percent of clergy say their church is very involved, 41 percent somewhat involved, and 40 percent not very involved, while 12 percent try to avoid these issues. Perceptions of the laity involved in these churches are very similar.

The churches most likely to be involved politically are Pentecostal and Southern Baptist congregations, but even in those denominational groups, few churches go beyond being “somewhat involved” in national or local political issues. Lutheran clergy are the denominational group least likely to report significant political involvement by their church.

Overall, there are no major differences in involvement in local politics according to the pastor’s theology (mainline or evangelical), or the pastor’s personal political views (conservative, moderate, or liberal). On national issues, pastors who are evangelical and/or politically conservative are slightly more likely than others to report some political involvement, but the difference is small.

One reason for this lack of involvement in politics is likely that there is so little agreement among clergy or laity as to what is an appropriate mixture of religion and politics. The studies asked respondents from both groups to rate how appropriate it is for local churches to be politically involved in a number of different ways, using a scale of 1 (not at all appropriate) to 5 (extremely appropriate). Clergy and laity are almost equally divided among all five points of the scale on some of the issues.

The only type of political involvement deemed appropriate (a rating of 4 or 5) by a majority of ministers and laypeople is encouraging the congregation to vote (88 percent of ministers and 65 percent of laity feel this is appropriate for local churches to do). A majority of pastors also feel discussing controversial issues such as gay marriage, abortion, or the war in Iraq from the pulpit is appropriate (65 percent), although only 47 percent of their laity agree with them.

Right around half of all pastors also feel it is appropriate for their church to serve as a polling place during an election, hold voter registration drives, publish information about what individual politicians stand for, or work with politicians to address local issues, but only about one-third of all laypeople agree.

Less likely to be seen as appropriate in churches are encouraging people how to vote on certain issues (41 percent of ministers and 24 percent of laity), encouraging people to protest or get personally involved in controversial issues (35 percent of ministers and 23 percent of laity), and inviting political candidates to speak in church (just 14 percent of ministers and 20 percent of laity).

In many of these areas, pastors and laity who are either politically conservative, or who are evangelical (or both), are more likely to see involvement by local churches as appropriate. For instance, 34 percent of evangelical ministers believe publishing information on what individual politicians stand for is extremely appropriate, while only 12 percent think this is not at all appropriate. Among mainline ministers, these numbers are exactly reversed. Thirty-six percent of politically conservative pastors believe this is extremely appropriate, compared to 13 percent of moderates, and 17 percent of liberals.

Evangelical ministers are also more likely than their mainline counterparts to see as extremely appropriate encouraging the congregation to vote (74 percent to 62 percent), discussing controversial issues from the pulpit (43 percent to 27 percent), and encouraging people how to vote on certain issues (24 percent to 12 percent).

People who attend evangelical churches also show these same differences from their mainline counterparts, along with a greater willingness for the church to encourage people to protest or get involved in controversial issues. Still, although these differences exist, it is important to note that only a minority of pastors and laity see most of these areas as highly appropriate for a local church.

Personally, 62 percent of all senior pastors in Protestant churches describe themselves as politically conservative, while 23 percent are moderate, and 15 are liberal.

This varies quite a bit by denominational group. Conservatives represent 86 percent of Southern Baptist ministers, 79 percent of ministers from other Baptist groups, and 73 percent of Pentecostal ministers. Lutherans are divided among conservatives (43 percent), moderates (28 percent), and liberals (29 percent). Even more divided are Presbyterians (38 percent conservatives, 27 percent moderates, and 35 percent liberals), and Methodists (27 percent conservatives, 38 percent moderates, and 35 percent liberals).

The people in the pews are substantially more likely to consider themselves politically moderate than are the people in the pulpits. Among all adults who regularly attend Protestant churches, 38 percent describe themselves as politically conservative, 45 percent as moderate, and 17 percent as liberal.

The political gap between clergy and laity is particularly large in Baptist and Pentecostal churches. Among Southern Baptist laity, 47 percent are politically conservative, 39 percent moderate, and 14 percent liberal, while 86 percent of Southern Baptist pastors are conservative. In other Baptist denominations, 40 percent of laity are conservative, 46 percent moderate, and 14 percent liberal, while 79 percent of other Baptist ministers are conservative. Similarly, in Pentecostal churches, 49 percent of laity are conservative, 40 percent moderate, and 11 percent liberal, while 73 percent of ministers are conservative.

Lutheran and Methodist churches also show a gap between clergy and laity, but in the other direction. While 29 percent of all Lutheran clergy are politically liberal, only 14 percent of laity describe themselves in this manner. Among Methodist laity, just 12 percent are politically liberal, while the figure is 35 percent among Methodist clergy. Presbyterians are the only major denominational group in which the political positions of clergy and laity are much the same (about equally divided among conservative, moderate, and liberal).

Interestingly, a majority of all clergy believe their political views are about the same as the views of their congregation. Sixty-four percent see themselves as politically on the same page as the congregation, while 19 percent feel they are significantly more conservative, and 17 percent believe they are significantly more liberal.

Among laity, 59 percent feel their own political views are similar to those of their church, while 8 percent see themselves as significantly more conservative and 18 percent as significantly more liberal than their own church. Fifteen percent have no idea what their church’s political views are.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, noted that these findings really bring to light the struggle surrounding the mixture of politics and churches. “In describing how appropriate various levels of political involvement are, leaders and laypeople are all over the board,” Sellers explained. “There is virtually no consensus among either clergy or laity as to what is appropriate for a church to do, beyond general agreement that it’s okay to encourage people to vote, but not a great idea to have political candidates speak in the church.”

Sellers also noted that this lack of consensus is true among a wide range of denominational, theological, and political perspectives. “There are a lot of stereotypes about churches and politics: mainline churches are liberal, evangelicals represent a politically active ‘religious right,’ conservative churches are raising Cain politically. It’s just not true. Mainline ministers are almost equally divided among political conservatives, moderates, and liberals. Fewer than half of all evangelical pastors or conservative pastors believe it’s appropriate to encourage people how to vote on specific issues, and even fewer feel it’s appropriate to encourage their congregation to get involved with controversial issues. It’s really time to look beyond the stereotypes of churches and politics, and start dealing with the reality of the situation,” he advised.

Facts & Trends, where this study is being published, is designed to assist pastors, church staff and denominational leaders in their roles of ministry by informing them about LifeWay resources and how they relate to current issues in Christian ministry. It is published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. For information about Facts & Trends, contact Chris Turner at 615-251-2307.

Both studies were conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. The sample of 797 Protestant ministers included only those who are actively leading churches. The study’s total sample is accurate to within ±3.3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level with a 50 percent response distribution. The sample of 1,184 people who attend a Protestant church once a month or more is accurate to within ±2.7 percentage points under the same parameters.

Both studies were conducted in all 50 states, using a representative sample of pastors and laity from all Protestant denominations. Respondents’ gender, age, geography, church size, and denomination were carefully tracked to ensure appropriate representation and accuracy.

Level of church’s political involvement as perceived by clergy, by denominational group…

Level of Church Involvement All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Local politics/political issues:
• very involved 6% 9% 5% 8% 2% 11% -- 3%
• somewhat involved 36 36 41 40 23 44 35 31
• not very involved 46 46 44 44 61 36 45 51
• actively avoid 11 8 9 8 15 9 20 15
National politics/political issues:
• very involved 7 13 6 4 4 12 8 4
• somewhat involved 41 36 46 39 18 54 31 39
• not very involved 40 43 38 47 63 26 40 42
• actively avoid 12 9 9 10 16 8 20 16

Level of church’s political involvement, by theology and political perspective of clergy…

Level of Church Involvement Mainline Evangelical Politically Conservative Politically Moderate Politically Liberal
Local politics/political issues:
• very involved 7% 6% 6% 4% 11%
• somewhat involved 35 36 38 34 34
• not very involved 46 48 45 50 43
• actively avoid 13 10 10 12 12
National politics/political issues:
• very involved 6 7 9 3 6
• somewhat involved 32 44 44 36 38
• not very involved 50 38 37 49 42
• actively avoid 13 11 10 12 14

Perceptions of how appropriate various types of political involvement are, among all clergy…

Types of Political Involvement 5 – Extremely Appropriate 4 3 2 1 – Not at All Appropriate
Encouraging the congregation to vote 70% 18% 8% 3% 2%
Discussing controversial issues (e.g. gay marriage, abortion, the Iraq war) from the pulpit 39 23 22 9 6
Serving as a polling place during an election 30 20 26 11 13
Holding voter registration drives 27 21 25 14 13
Publishing information on what politicians stand for 27 20 21 14 18
Encouraging people how to vote on certain issues 22 19 22 15 24
Working with politicians to address local issues 21 26 28 15 10
Encouraging people to protest or get involved personally with controversial issues 13 22 28 22 15
Inviting political candidates to speak in church 6 8 19 20 47

Areas of political involvement clergy see as extremely appropriate or not at all appropriate, by theology and political perspective of clergy…

Types of Political Involvement Mainline Evangelical Politically Conservative Politically Moderate Politically Liberal
Encouraging the congregation to vote:
• extremely appropriate 62% 74% 74% 62% 67%
• not at all appropriate 4 1 1 2 2
Discussing controversial issues from the pulpit:
• extremely appropriate 27 43 47 23 36
• not at all appropriate 11 3 4 8 12
Serving as a polling place during an election:
• extremely appropriate 34 27 27 30 41
• not at all appropriate 13 12 13 14 8
Holding voter registration drives:
• extremely appropriate 27 26 25 26 37
• not at all appropriate 12 14 13 13 11
Publishing information on what politicians stand for:
• extremely appropriate 12 34 36 13 17
• not at all appropriate 31 12 12 20 35
Encouraging people how to vote on certain issues:
• extremely appropriate 12 24 26 14 16
• not at all appropriate 38 17 16 31 42
Working with politicians to address local issues:
• extremely appropriate 18 19 21 16 26
• not at all appropriate 8 11 9 12 8
Encouraging people to protest or get involved personally with controversial issues:
• extremely appropriate 13 11 12 11 20
• not at all appropriate 11 16 16 12 14
Inviting political candidates to speak in church:
• extremely appropriate 7 4 4 8 12
• not at all appropriate 55 45 46 46 54

Personal political views of clergy, by denominational group…

Personal political views All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Conservative 62% 86% 79% 27% 43% 73% 38% 53%
Moderate 23 10 16 38 28 20 27 28
Liberal 15 4 5 35 29 7 35 19

How personal political views of clergy compare to those of their congregation, by denominational group…

Compared to the Congregation… All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Pastor’s views are more conservative 19% 30% 13% 16% 15% 18% 7% 20%
Pastor’s views are about the same 64 65 76 52 54 74 49 59
Pastor’s views are more liberal 17 5 11 32 31 8 44 21

Level of church’s political involvement as perceived by laity, by denominational group…

Level of Church Involvement All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Local politics/political issues:
• very involved 11% 14% 11% 10% 5% 12% 3% 12%
• somewhat involved 34 38 34 23 33 30 47 37
• not very involved 43 40 46 47 54 51 46 38
• actively avoid 11 8 9 20 8 6 3 14
National politics/political issues:
• very involved 11 13 12 7 5 11 7 12
• somewhat involved 34 46 34 26 24 35 40 35
• not very involved 43 32 42 48 63 45 47 41
• actively avoid 12 9 12 20 8 8 6 13

Perceptions of how appropriate various types of political involvement are, among all laity…

Types of Political Involvement 5 – Extremely Appropriate 4 3 2 1 – Not at All Appropriate
Encouraging the congregation to vote 42% 23% 18% 8% 8%
Discussing controversial issues (e.g. gay marriage, abortion, the Iraq war) from the pulpit 28 19 23 12 18
Serving as a polling place during an election 16 15 24 15 30
Holding voter registration drives 18 15 24 15 28
Publishing information on what politicians stand for 18 14 22 14 33
Encouraging people how to vote on certain issues 12 12 20 17 39
Working with politicians to address local issues 16 18 26 16 24
Encouraging people to protest or get involved personally with controversial issues 13 11 25 18 32
Inviting political candidates to speak in church 10 10 21 17 42

Areas of political involvement laity see as extremely appropriate or not at all appropriate, by theology and political perspective of laity…

Types of Political Involvement Mainline Evangelical Politically Conservative Politically Moderate Politically Liberal
Encouraging the congregation to vote:
• extremely appropriate 33% 47% 58% 30% 41%
• not at all appropriate 8 7 5 8 13
Discussing controversial issues from the pulpit:
• extremely appropriate 14 35 40 19 24
• not at all appropriate 30 12 14 21 19
Serving as a polling place during an election:
• extremely appropriate 15 16 17 13 22
• not at all appropriate 30 30 29 29 35
Holding voter registration drives:
• extremely appropriate 20 18 22 14 22
• not at all appropriate 33 26 20 32 34
Publishing information on what politicians stand for:
• extremely appropriate 10 22 25 13 13
• not at all appropriate 48 26 27 35 41
Encouraging people how to vote on certain issues:
• extremely appropriate 8 13 17 7 12
• not at all appropriate 55 33 27 45 52
Working with politicians to address local issues:
• extremely appropriate 15 18 20 13 19
• not at all appropriate 32 21 21 24 30
Encouraging people to protest or get involved personally with controversial issues:
• extremely appropriate 8 15 18 8 15
• not at all appropriate 43 28 28 34 38
Inviting political candidates to speak in church:
• extremely appropriate 8 11 14 6 12
• not at all appropriate 48 41 41 41 49

Personal political views of laity, by denominational group…

Personal political views All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Conservative 38% 47% 40% 36% 41% 49% 34% 35%
Moderate 45 39 46 52 45 40 32 46
Liberal 17 14 14 12 14 11 34 19

How personal political views of laity compare to those represented by their church, by denominational group…

Compared to the Church’s
Views…		 All Southern Baptist Other Baptist Meth-
odist		 Luth-
eran		 Pente-
costal		 Presby-
terian		 All Others
Own views are more conservative 8% 8% 7% 6% 8% 12% 8% 9%
Own views are about the same 59 62 71 54 65 57 47 57
Own views are more liberal 18 21 14 14 13 13 34 20
Have no idea what the church’s views are 15 9 8 26 14 18 11 14

Direct comparison of clergy and laity perspectives on local churches and politics…

Top Priority Clergy Laity
Perceived involvement of their church in local politics:
• very involved 6% 11%
• somewhat involved 36 34
• not very involved 46 43
• actively avoid 11 11
Perceived involvement of their church in national politics:
• very involved 7 11
• somewhat involved 41 34
• not very involved 40 43
• actively avoid 12 12
See various activities as extremely/very appropriate:
• encouraging the congregation to vote 88 65
• discussing controversial issues from the pulpit 62 47
• serving as a polling place during an election 50 31
• holding voter registration drives 48 33
• publishing information about what politicians stand for 47 32
• encouraging people how to vote on certain issues 41 24
• working with politicians to address local issues 47 34
• encouraging people to protest or get involved personally 35 23
• inviting political candidates to speak in church 14 20
Personal political views:
• conservative 62 38
• moderate 23 45
• liberal 15 17
How personal views compare to the church/congregation:
• own views are more conservative 19 10
• own views are about the same 64 69
• own views are more liberal 17 21

Numbers may not add to exactly 100% due to rounding. "Don't know" responses are not shown.  The survey included all Protestant denominations, but the groups shown separately in the table above were the only ones with large-enough subsamples to examine separately.