Barna study, PCUSA data compared
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, January 19, 2004
Only 51 percent of the Protestant pastors in the United States have a Biblical worldview, according to pollster George Barna.
In a report published on Barna Research Online, Barna said his research on pastors was prompted by similar findings in a poll among Protestant church members.
“The most important point,” Barna said, “is that you can’t give people what you don’t have. The low percentage of Christians who have a Biblical worldview is a direct reflection of the fact that half of our primary religious teachers and leaders do not have one. In some denominations, the vast majority of clergy do not have a Biblical worldview, and it shows up clearly in the data related to the theological views and moral choices of people who attend those churches.”
In his comments on the latest data about pastors, Barna draws a comparison between two denominations, the United Methodist Church and the Southern Baptist Church, which account for almost 25 percent of all Protestant denominations.
The Southern Baptists had the highest percentage of pastors with a Biblical worldview (71%), while the Methodists were lowest among the seven segments evaluated (27%).
He made no reference to pastors in the Presbyterian Church (USA), but the PCUSA’s own research office has compiled data that on Biblical and political issues that might parallel Barna’s “six core beliefs” that he used in his polling to assess Biblical worldview.
The six core beliefs are 1) the accuracy of Biblical teaching, 2) the sinless nature of Jesus, 3) the literal existence of Satan, 4) the omnipotence and omniscience of God, 5) salvation by grace alone, and 5) the personal responsibility to evangelize.
Research Services of the PCUSA has compiled data related to those areas in a Background Survey for the 2000-2002 Presbyterian Panel.
That Presbyterian survey showed:
- More members consider their “current stand on theological issues” to be moderate (47%) than either conservative (38%) or liberal (15%).
- 27% of members, 75% of elders, 26% of pastors, and 44% of specialized clergy do not believe “the only absolute Truth for humankind is in Jesus Christ.”
- 54% of members and elders, 62% of pastors, and 88% of specialized clergy do not agree that “only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.”
- 42% of specialized clergy, 32% of members, and 22% of elders and 20% of pastors do not believe “Jesus will return to earth some day.”
- 33% of members and elders, 38% percent of pastors, and 52% of specialized clergy do not believe in the existence of Satan.
Barna concluded from his polling that, “The youngest pastors in the nation (those under age 40) are more likely to have a Biblical worldview than are their older peers (56% versus 50%). Similarly, pastors who have five years or less experience in leading churches have a higher rate of Biblical worldview possession (58%) than do other pastors.”
The polling by PCUSA Research Services said the median age is 55 years for members, 56 years for elders, 48 years for pastors, and 53 years for specialized clergy.
A previous Barna study showed that adults who have a Biblical worldview “possessed radically different views on morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices.”
“Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences,” he said, “were the lesser propensity for those with a Biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17 times less likely to place bets); to get drunk (three times less likely); and to view pornography (two times less common). They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the preceding month. While one out of every eight adults who lack a Biblical worldview had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every 100 individuals who have such a worldview had done so.”