(OPINION) Once considered the “denomination” of Scriptural truth-bearers, Evangelical Christians might be in jeopardy of losing their theological reputation.
In what researchers described as a “shocking” find, a new report from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University indicated just over half of all U.S. pastors of Evangelical churches (51%) have a biblical worldview.
This study, released Tuesday, builds on an earlier report from CRC’s “American Worldview Inventory 2022,” which showed that just 37% of Christian pastors bring a biblical worldview with them to their pulpits.
Launched as an annual tracking study in 2020, the American Worldview Inventory is a survey that evaluates the worldview of American adults. It is based on 54 worldview-related questions that measure both beliefs and behavior within eight categories of worldview application: purpose and calling; family and value of life; God, creation and history; faith practices; sin, salvation, and relationship with God; human character and nature; lifestyle, behavior and relationships; and Bible, truth, and morals.
The nationwide study of about 1,000 Christian pastors conducted between February and March found that 57% of pastors leading nondenominational and independent churches held a biblical worldview, which researchers called “Biblical Theism.” Nondenominational and independent churches were even more likely to subscribe to a biblical worldview than leaders of Evangelical churches, 51% of whom abide by biblical theism in their daily lives.
Perhaps most surprisingly, just 48% of pastors of Baptist churches, widely viewed as the most enthusiastic about embracing the Bible as the Word of God, held a biblical worldview. Pastors of Southern Baptist churches, by contrast, were far more likely (78%) to have consistently biblical beliefs.
Much smaller shares of pastors belonging to other denominational categories possessed a biblical worldview, according to the report. Just over a third of charismatic or Pentecostal church pastors — 37% — hold a biblical worldview, slightly higher than pastors from mainline Protestant churches (32%) and those aligned with “holiness theology” (28%), which is generally aligned with Pentecostal teachings but promises believers can reach a “sinless state” following their conversion.
Pastors associated with “Traditionally Black Protestant” churches and Catholic priests were found least likely to hold to biblical theism, with the incidence of biblical worldview measured in single digits. Nine percent of pastors leading traditionally black churches had a biblical worldview, along with 6% of Catholic priests.
“The old labels attached to families of churches are not as useful as they were in the past,” said lead researcher George Barna, director of research for the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, in a statement. “The best example is the term ‘Evangelical,’ which has traditionally connoted churches where the Bible is revered and is taught as God’s reliable and relevant word for our lives.” FULL REPORT
