A new survey has found that politically conservative and liberal American evangelicals agree that premarital sex, homosexual activity, abortion and drunkenness are sinful.
Viewing pornography and cursing are also seen as sins by evangelicals, regardless of their political orientation, according to the survey, “Evangelicals in the Public Arena: Understanding Their Political, Moral, and Social Views.”
Grey Matter Research Consulting and marketing firm Infinity Concepts conducted the survey at the end of 2023 and the beginning of this year, getting responses from 1,039 evangelicals. About two-thirds identified as conservative, 12% as liberal and 24% as “right in the middle.”
Despite political liberals generally being identified with permissive views on sexual issues, those in the evangelical camp tend to fall in line with traditional biblical views, the survey found.
The research firms said defining terms was a key element of the survey. Respondents identified as evangelical if they “agree strongly” with four key positions: The Bible is the highest authority for what they believe; it is important to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as savior; Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of sin; and only those who trust in Christ alone as savior receive eternal salvation.
Using those criteria, the survey found that evangelicals represent 23% of American adults, about 59 million people.
“Being a conservative evangelical does not automatically make one a gun-toting, border-patrolling Donald Trump die-hard, any more than being a liberal evangelical makes one a pro-choice, LGBTQ+ supporting Joe Biden sycophant,” Grey Matters Research President Ron Sellers said in a statement. “The perception of an army of evangelicals calling for a militant Church with its hands in everything is simply a fallacy.”
According to Mark Dreistadt, Infinity Concepts president and CEO, the survey results offer “a profound reminder that within the tapestry of the evangelical community lies a rich diversity of perspectives, beliefs, and convictions. It dispels the stereotypes that too often permeate media portrayals and political discourse.”
However, the survey results show that some perceptions appear to remain true.
White evangelicals age 55 and older with high incomes were “more likely” to identify as political conservatives. Liberal and moderate evangelicals “tend to be younger, with lower income, and more racially and ethnically diverse.”
Researchers polled evangelicals on 11 public policy matters: transgender issues, abortion, election integrity/fairness, racism/racial justice, antisemitism, parental rights in public school decisions regarding individual children, donor privacy, public expressions of religious faith, free speech/censorship and the First Amendment, gun laws and the Second Amendment, and criminal justice issues including sentencing guidelines.
Respondents differed on which issues should draw the attention of churches and church leaders. But 54% backed church involvement in the abortion issue, and 51% said churches should weigh in on public expressions of religious faith.
In addition, 48% said churches should be involved in free speech matters; 46% backed involvement on parental rights in public school decisions; 45% called for church attention to antisemitism, racism and racial justice; and 42% said the church should address transgender issues.
Smaller percentages said churches and clergy should speak out on election integrity (34%), criminal justice and sentencing reform (32%), donor privacy (32%) and Second Amendment rights (30%).
The two firms emphasized that they polled to determine whether churches should address issues, not what church leaders should say about each issue.
The polling found liberal and conservative evangelicals share similar levels of spiritual engagement, including daily Bible reading, weekly worship attendance, Bible study, small group attendance and daily prayer.
Researchers said the online survey screened out bots, click farms and fraudulent respondents vis “stringent quality control.” Via email, Mr. Sellers said “the margin of error on a study with this sample size is [plus or minus] 2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.”
The report can be downloaded at https://www.infinityconcepts.com/evangelicals-in-the-public-arena/.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.