News

Go Figure

Recent stats on politics, evolution, and ministry.

Politics

86% Protestant pastors who say the government should not revoke a church’s tax exemption if a pastor endorses political candidates.

84% Protestant pastors who believe that pastors should not endorse political candidates.

Source: Lifeway Research

Evolution

Self-identified evangelical pastors on whether the earth is 6,000 years old:

No answer: 13%

Strongly agree : 29%

Somewhat agree: 19%

Somewhat disagree: 12%

Strongly disagree: 27%

Self-identified evangelical pastors on whether God used evolution to create people:

No answer: 3%

Strongly agree: 8%

Somewhat agree: 10%

Somewhat disagree: 9%

Strongly disagree: 70%

Source: LifeWay Research

Ministry

Protestant pastors on how many close friends (not in their immediate family) they have within their church:

12%: 0-1

4%: 1-2

10%: 1-3

38%: 3-5

16%: 6-10

18%: 11

Source: Lifeway Research

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See our earlier “Go Figure” postings from October 2011, September 2011, August 2011, July 2011, June 2011, May 2011, April 2011, February 2011, January 2011, December 2010, November 2010, October 2010, and earlier issues.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

My Top 5 Books on Jonathan Edwards

Books to Note

The Defining Issue of the 2012 Presidential Race?

News

Do You Follow the Liturgical Calendar?

Our Secret African Heritage

Review

Location, Location, Location

Intercultural Fiesta Fail

Excerpt

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

The Rhetoric of Chastity: Making Abstinence Sexy

Q & A: Frank Wolf on Liberty for the Captives

Wilson's Bookmarks

Disappointed with Intimacy

Virtual Vitality: Bobby Gruenewald Links Technology and the Church

News

School Choice Programs Snowball

News

Postal Hike for Nonprofits Eyed, Pro-Life Group Scrutinized, and More News

Review

Wasted Charity

Archaeology's Rebel: Bible in One Hand, Spade in the Other

News

Trading Spaces: Inner City Helps the Suburbs

A Fresh Call for U.S. Missionaries

Research: Rich God, Poor God

News

Quotation Marks

News

Interpretation Sparks a Grave Theology Debate

Holding Her Own

Editorial

Fighting Famine Isn't Enough

Readers Write

News

Archaeology in Turkey: Major Finds in Asia Minor

News

Missionary Money: Easier to Give, Worth Less than Ever

View issue

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The Bulletin

Young Republican Texts, Anglican Split, and George Santos Released

Controversial Republican texts, Anglican Communion splits, and George Santos’s sentence is commuted.

Review

Do Evangelical Political Errors Rise to the Level of Heresy?

A Lutheran pastor identifies five false teachings that threaten to corrupt the church’s public witness.

Highlights and Lowlights of 1957

In its first full year of publication, CT looked at Civil Rights, Cold War satellites, artificial insemination, and carefully planned evangelism.

News

Will There Be a Christian Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Conservatives suggest country and Christian artist alternatives for game day.

News

As Madagascar’s Government Topples, Pastors Call for Peace

Gen Z–led protests on the African island nation led to a military takeover.

News

Amid Fragile Cease-Fire, Limited Aid Reaches Gazans

Locals see the price of flour rise and fall as truce is strained and some borders remain closed.

News

Federal Job Cuts Hit Home as Virginia Picks Its Next Governor

Meanwhile, the GOP candidate draws from Trump’s playbook to focus on transgender issues in schools. 

Religious OCD and Me

Scrupulosity latches onto the thing we hold most dear—our relationship with God.

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