Survey: Southern Baptists 'Most Political'

Churches are not likely to be involved in politics, a new study finds, but among those that are, Southern Baptist and Pentecostal churches are the most active. Facts & Trends Magazine, a publication of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, commissioned two surveys, one of almost 800 ministers, the other of about 1,200 church-goers. The goal was to determine the personal political views of each group and how appropriate they believe it is for churches to be involved in politics. The studies found that a key reason many churches are not involved in politics at all is because there's so little agreement among clergy and congregation as to what is an appropriate mix of religion and politics. The only type of political involvement deemed appropriate by a majority in each group is encouraging the congregation to vote. Sixty-five percent of pastors also believe it is appropriate to discuss issues like gay marriage, abortion and the war in Iraq from the pulpit, but only 47 percent of those in the congregation agree with that position. The surveys found the laity is more politically moderate than pastors, 38 percent describing themselves as conservative compared to 62 percent for pastors. Among Southern Baptist laity, the studies found, 47 percent are conservative, 39 percent moderate and 14 percent liberal. Eighty-six percent of Southern Baptist pastors are conservative. Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, the firm that conducted the studies, said they show, "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 OK to encourage people to vote, but not a great idea to have political candidates speak in the church."

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