While there are likely numerous theological differences between evangelical, Catholic and Black Protestant pastors, they share core convictions that aren’t as common among mainline pastors.
According to the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) report, “Clergy who lead predominantly white mainline Protestant churches are much less likely to hold traditionally orthodox Christian beliefs than clergy in any other group.”
For more stories at your doorstep, subscribe to The Baptist Paper.
SIGN UP for our weekly Highlights emails that hit your inbox on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Among all Christian clergy, 91% know God really exists and have no doubts. Black Protestant (98%), evangelical (97%), and Catholic (96%) pastors, however, are far more likely to express certainty than mainline pastors (68%). Another 28% of mainline leaders say they believe in God while having some doubts about it.
The NSRL also found 9 in 10 pastors (91%) definitely believe in Jesus’s bodily resurrection. Again, belief among evangelical (99%), Black Protestant (97%), and Catholic (92%) pastors far outpaces mainline clergy (65%).
In the most recent State of Theology study, 90% of evangelicals and 89% of Black Protestants believe the biblical accounts of the bodily resurrection of Jesus are completely true, compared to 79% of Catholics and 74% of mainline Protestants.
Among pastors in the NSRL, nearly all evangelical (99%), Catholic (99%), and Black Protestant (97%) pastors definitely believe in heaven, compared to 64% of mainline pastors. Considering definite belief in hell, Black Protestants (97%), evangelicals (92%), and Catholics (74%) are more likely than mainline pastors (40%) to believe.
Black Protestant (92%) and evangelical (87%) pastors also stand out for their certain belief in Adam and Eve being historical people, compared to mainline Protestants (25%) and Catholics (17%).
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Aaron Earls and originally published by Lifeway Research.
