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

Gerald McDermott, co-author of 'The Theology of Jonathan Edwards' (Oxford, 2011)

Books to Note

The Defining Issue of the 2012 Presidential Race?

Amy E. Black, Chris Seiple, and Galen Carey

News

Do You Follow the Liturgical Calendar?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

Our Secret African Heritage

Review

Location, Location, Location

Jake Meador

Intercultural Fiesta Fail

Excerpt

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Tullian Tchividjian

The Rhetoric of Chastity: Making Abstinence Sexy

Interview by Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Q & A: Frank Wolf on Liberty for the Captives

Interview by Susan Wunderink

Wilson's Bookmarks

John Wilson

Disappointed with Intimacy

John Koessler

Virtual Vitality: Bobby Gruenewald Links Technology and the Church

Chris Norton

News

School Choice Programs Snowball

Sheryl Blunt in Washington, D.C.

News

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

Review

Wasted Charity

Amy L. Sherman

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

Gordon Govier

News

Trading Spaces: Inner City Helps the Suburbs

Morgan Feddes

A Fresh Call for U.S. Missionaries

Bishop Hwa Yung

Research: Rich God, Poor God

News

Quotation Marks

News

Interpretation Sparks a Grave Theology Debate

Bobby Ross Jr.

Holding Her Own

Editorial

Fighting Famine Isn't Enough

A Christianity Today Editorial

Readers Write

News

Archaeology in Turkey: Major Finds in Asia Minor

Gordon Govier

News

Missionary Money: Easier to Give, Worth Less than Ever

Ken Walker

View issue

Our Latest

Analysis

Republicans and Democrats Clash on Epstein File Release

The Bulletin with Nicole Martin

The newest documents remind Christians to support sexual abuse victims.

Evangelicals Confront a Revolutionary Age

A Catholic on the campaign trail and the “possibly catastrophic character of what is happening under our eyes” caused deep concern in 1960.

News

Hindu Nationalists Attack Missionaries in Northern India

One victim describes the mob descending on their bus, a rare occurrence in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

News

Armenia Holds Inaugural Prayer Breakfast Amid Church Arrests

Some see the crackdown as persecution, others challenge the national church’s ties to Russia.

Review

A New Jesus Horror Movie Wallows In Affliction

Peter T. Chattaway

“The Carpenter’s Son,” starring Nicolas Cage, is disconnected from biblical hope.

The Bulletin

Israeli Settler Violence, Epstein Emails, and BrinGing Back Purity

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

West Bank skirmishes, Congress releases Epstein documents mentioning Trump, and Gen Z reconsiders purity culture.

News

Christians from 45 Countries Call for Zion Church Pastor’s Release

Meanwhile in China, the house church continues to gather and baptize new believers.

News

Kenyan Clergy Oppose Bill Aimed at Regulating Churches

Moses Wasamu

Pastors say the proposed law could harm religious freedoms.

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