Protestant Pastors Views on Creation Survey of 1,000 Protestant Pastors
2 Methodology The telephone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted in May 2011 The calling list was randomly drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Up to six calls were made to reach a sampled phone number Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called Responses were weighted to reflect the geographic distribution of Protestant churches
3 Methodology Continued The completed sample is 1,000 phone interviews The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.2% Margins of error are higher in sub-groups
Survey Responses
5 Nearly three in four pastors strongly agree that Adam and Eve were literal people. 100% Among Protestant Pastors 80% 74% 60% 40% 20% 8% 6% 11% 0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree 1% Not sure Q.: I believe Adam and Eve were literal people.
Nearly two-thirds of Protestant pastors strongly disagree that God used evolution to create people. 6 100% Among Protestant Pastors 80% 60% 40% 64% 20% 12% 12% 8% 0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree 4% Not sure Q.: I believe God used evolution to create people.
7 About one in five pastors agree that most of their congregation believes in evolution. 100% Among Protestant Pastors 80% 60% 62% 40% 20% 10% 9% 13% 0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree 5% Not sure Q.: Most of my congregation believes in evolution.
There is an almost even split among pastors agreeing or disagreeing about the earth being 6,000 years old. 8 100% Among Protestant Pastors 80% 60% 40% 30% 34% 20% 16% 9% 0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree 12% Not sure Q.: I believe the earth is approximately six thousand (6,000) years old.
Only slightly more than one-third of pastors teach on creation and evolution more than about once a year. Among Protestant Pastors 9 Several times a month 3% About once a month 4% Several times a year 28% About once a year 26% Rarely 29% Never 8% 1% Not sure 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Q: How often do you teach your church on the subject of creation and evolution?
10 I believe Adam and Eve were literal people. Pastors in the Northeast are most likely to strongly disagree (24%) that Adam and Eve were literal people compared to pastors in the South (9%), Midwest (9%), and West (13%). Pastors self-identifying as Evangelical are more likely to strongly agree (82% to 50%), less likely to somewhat agree (8% to 12%), less likely to somewhat disagree (3% to 14%), and less likely to strongly disagree (6% to 23%) than pastors self-identifying as Mainline.
11 I believe Adam and Eve were literal people. continued Pastors with a highest level of education being a Bachelor s degree (91%) are more likely to strongly agree than those with a graduate degree (65%). Pastors with a graduate degree are more likely to somewhat agree (11% to 3%), somewhat disagree (8% to 2%), and strongly disagree (16% to 2%) than those with at most a Bachelor s degree.
12 I believe God used evolution to create people. Pastors in the Northeast are most likely to strongly agree (25%) compared to pastors in the South (8%), Midwest (12%), and West (13%). Pastors in the Northeast are least likely to strongly disagree (46%) compared to pastors in the South (68%), Midwest (64%), and West (64%). Pastors in a large city are least likely to somewhat disagree (3%) compared to pastors in a small city (8%), the suburbs (11%), and a rural area (10%).
13 I believe God used evolution to create people. continued Pastors of churches with average weekly attendance 250+ are least likely to strongly agree (4%) compared to pastors of churches with attendance of 0-49 (13%), 50-99 (14%), and 100-249 (12%). Pastors of churches with average weekly attendance 250+ are most likely to strongly disagree (77%) compared to pastors of churches with attendance of 0-49 (64%), 50-99 (65%), and 100-249 (58%).
14 I believe God used evolution to create people. continued Pastors with a graduate degree are More likely to strongly agree (16% to 4%) More likely to somewhat agree (16% to 4%) More likely to somewhat disagree (11% to 5%) Less likely to strongly disagree (53% to 85%) than pastors with at most a Bachelor s degree. Mainline pastors are more likely to strongly agree (25% to 8%), somewhat agree (20% to 10%), and less likely to strongly disagree (37% to 70%) than Evangelicals.
15 Most of my congregation believes in evolution. Pastors in the South are most likely to strongly disagree (69%) compared to pastors in the Northeast (47%), Midwest (60%), and West (56%). Pastors of churches located in the suburbs are least likely to strongly disagree (46%) compared to pastors of churches located in a large city (62%), small city (64%), and rural area (67%).
16 Most of my congregation believes in evolution. continued Pastors of churches with attendance between 100-249 are least likely to strongly disagree (55%) compared to pastors of churches with attendance between 0-49 (66%), 50-99 (64%), and 250+ (69%). Evangelical pastors are less likely to strongly agree (6% to 24%) and somewhat agree (8% to 16%) but are more likely to strongly disagree (66% to 36%) than Mainline pastors.
17 Most of my congregation believes in evolution. continued Pastors with graduate degrees are more likely to strongly agree (15% to 2%), somewhat agree (12% to 3%), and somewhat disagree (16% to 8%) than pastors whose highest education level is at most a Bachelor s degree. Additionally, pastors with graduate degrees are less likely to strongly disagree (50% to 84%).
18 I believe the earth is approximately six thousand (6,000) years old. Pastors with a graduate degree are less likely to strongly agree (23% to 42%) and more likely to strongly disagree (42% to 18%) than pastors with at most a Bachelor s degree. Pastors age 18-44 (24%) are least likely to strongly disagree compared to pastors age 45-54 (33%), 55-64 (38%), and 65+ (38%).
19 I believe the earth is approximately six thousand (6,000) years old. continued Pastors who self-identify as Evangelical are More likely to strongly agree (29% to 17%) More likely to somewhat agree (19% to 12%) More likely to somewhat disagree (12% to 8%) Less likely to strongly disagree (27% to 54%) than pastors self-identifying as Mainline.
20 How often do you teach your church on the subject of creation and evolution? Pastors of churches with average weekly attendance of 0-49 (7%) and 50-99 (7%) are more likely to teach about once a month compared to those with attendance of 100-249 (1%) and 250+ (2%). Pastors having earned at most a Bachelor s degree are more likely to teach several times a year (33% to 26%) and less likely to teach rarely (22% to 33%) than pastors with a graduate degree.
21 How often do you teach your church on the subject of creation and evolution? continued Pastors identifying themselves as Evangelical are more likely to teach several times a year compared to pastors identifying themselves as Mainline (29% to 23%).
Protestant Pastors Views on Creation Survey of 1,000 Protestant Pastors