Presbyterian Panel report
grabs national headlines
The Layman, March 2, 2010
The Presbyterian Panel’s “Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians 2008” continues to generate dialogue, but its findings offer few departures from previous surveys.
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Though the statistics closely mirrored the most recent Presbyterian Panel survey in 2005 asking similar questions, some of the findings have caught the national media’s attention. Garnering the most interest from the report has been the number of PCUSA members, elders, ministers and specialized clergy that do not agree that “only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.”
In addition to being picked up by the Associated Press, which in turn distributed the story to thousands of publications around the world, the Presbyterian Panel report has been a popular subject in the blogosphere and Christian press.
Among the headlines the story received were: “Wiggle room: Some Presbyterians see salvation by other faiths,” “PCUSA: Some reject John 14:6” and “Presbyterians may take other paths to salvation.”
The Rev. Paul Viggiano, pastor of Branch of Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Torrance, Calif., used the report as an opportunity to witness in an article for his local newspaper.
“Jesus didn’t come to help us figure out how to overcome our sin, He came as the Lamb of God to take away our sin,” he said. “This teaching is so central to a Christian, that to deny it is to deny one’s faith altogether. Jesus, as the Savior of men’s souls, is also a unique aspect of the Christian faith. Christianity is the only religion where men don’t save themselves.
“Such a denial of the clear, orthodox teaching of the Christian faith is endemic of Western Evangelicalism’s anemic condition and subsequently the anemic condition of the culture,” Viggiano said. “The PCUSA serves well as a case study exposing our culture’s willingness to believe falsehoods. … If the religious leaders in one of our nation’s largest denominations are willing to adopt falsehoods, how can we expect more from our political leaders?”
The Presbyterian Panel offers a demographic and religious profile of more than 5,000 denomination members, elders and clergy. Though the rest of the report didn’t grab the national spotlight, it does include plenty of interesting information:
- The median age of members and elders continues to increase, with the 2008 report show a median age of 60, up from 58 according to the 2005 survey.
- Only one-third of PCUSA members (37 percent) and less than half of elders (49 percent) read the Bible privately at least weekly. Pastors (96 percent) and specialized clergy (81 percent) fared much better on the same question. Of those PCUSA members surveyed, 17 percent “never” read the Bible privately.
- When asked to describe their theological views, elders tend to be the most conservative (42 percent) while specialized clergy claim to be liberal (52 percent). Most members and pastors count themselves among the “moderates.”
- Half of elders (50 percent) support the 2009 decision to uphold the denomination’s constitutional standards for ordination. Pastors surveyed are divided on the question, while 60 percent of specialized clergy oppose the decision. The fidelity/chastity standard, which was affirmed in 2009 by a majority of presbyteries, requires ordained pastors, elders and deacons to be faithful in heterosexual marriage or chaste in singleness. More members (39 percent) and pastors (49 percent) support the decision to leave ordination standards unchanged, than those who want them changed (members, 29 percent; pastors 42 percent).
- On the issue of ordaining “sexually-active gay and lesbian persons,” pastors are split with 48 percent opposing their ordination as ministers and 44 percent in support. Two-thirds (67 percent) of specialized clergy support the ordination of practicing gays and lesbians as deacons, elders and ministers. A majority of members (53 percent) and elders (60 percent) oppose ordaining “sexually-active gays and lesbians” as ministers. A smaller majority from both groups oppose their ordination as deacons and elders.
- Half of pastors and a majority of specialized clergy (65 percent) – while only three in 10 members (31 percent) and elders (29 percent) – describe their political preference as Democrat. Nearly half of members (46 percent) and elders (49 percent) – while only a quarter of pastors (23 percent) and even fewer specialized clergy (13 percent) – identify as Republicans. About one in five in each statistical grouping takes the “Independent” label.
- A majority of members (62 percent) and almost all elders (92 percent) report volunteering time in the month prior to teach, lead, serve on a committee or help with an event. A majority of members (53 percent) and elders (65 percent) also reported volunteering time in the prior month outside the church.
- Financial stewardship was higher in all categories measured, except for median giving per person among elders and pastors. The mean per household congregational giving was way up among elders (44 percent) and pastors (37 percent) when compared with answers to the same question from the 2005 report.
The report is divided into four sections, and findings from the report are listed according to category.
The group described as “specialized clergy” is comprised mainly of chaplains (33 percent), seminary or college staff and faculty (31 percent) and PCUSA national or middle governing body staff (13 percent).
The first Presbyterian Panel was created in 1973 to inform leaders of the opinions and activities of the denomination’s rank and file. The panel is re-established every three years.
The current survey group will provide data from 2009 to 2011. Additional reports from the 2008 Presbyterian Panel that are “forthcoming,” according to the Research Services Web site, include “Spirituality and Health” and “Charitable Giving and Financial Planning.”
To view the complete report, and others, go to the Research Services Web site.