FROM THE PASTOR

Civic Life & Faith

Last Sunday we started a four week series on Civic Life and Faith, sponsored by the Global links Team.  I hope that many of you will be part of this series.  We are seeking different points of view on difficult issues.  We want to listen to what is on your mind as we consider issues which are tearing apart the fabric of our civic life.  The church should be a place for serious, faith filled conversation, listening to various points of view, finding grace in disagreement and living more deeply into the faith we share.   

A recent poll shows us that Mainline Protestant churches like St. Luke’s  are exactly the kind of faith communities capable of places of serious moral deliberation.  Mainline Protestant clergy members and the worshippers they serve may share a faith, but they often don’t hold the same political views, according to a new survey on mainline Protestantism from Public Religion Research Institute. 

The survey showed that more than half of clergy members (55%) identify as liberal, compared to just 1 in 5 mainline Protestant churchgoers. 

Church leaders are also more likely to identify as Democrats. Nearly half of mainline Protestant clergy members (49%) describe themselves as a Democrat, and just 14% say they’re Republican. 

Among churchgoers, the balance between the two parties is more equal: 30% of mainline Protestant worshippers identify as Democrats, while 34% identify as Republican. 

In spite of these political differences, most clergy members believe their congregation accepts them and does a good job discussing thorny political issues, like immigration and LGBTQ rights. 

“The majority of mainline clergy say their congregations are accepting of political differences, whether it is the clergyperson’s views or another congregant’s views,” Public Religion Research Institute reported. “Nearly 7 in 10 clergy (69%) say their congregations are at least moderately accepting of them when they have a political difference.” 

The new research is based on responses from 3,066 clergy members from the seven largest mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S.: the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the American Baptist Churches USA, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). 

Have a look at the video for this coming Sunday’s topic: “What are Lutheran Views on Civic Life?”