The beliefs of some US pastors will shock you

This article was originally written for Premier Christianity.

A recent survey of 1,000 Christian pastors in the US makes concerning reading and raises questions about whether the same might be true in the UK.

The findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2022, conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University suggest that approximately just 37% of pastors have a ‘biblical worldview’. Even in the case of so-called ‘evangelicals’ this figure only rises to around 50%. 

Some of the beliefs apparently held by the majority of US pastors include things like this:

• Sexual relations between two unmarried people who believe they love each other is morally acceptable
• The Holy Spirit is not a person but is a symbol of God’s power, presence, or purity
• Having faith matters more than which faith you have
• A person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, can earn a place in Heaven
• The Bible is ambiguous in its teaching about abortion, enabling you to make a strong argument either for or against abortion based on biblical principles

Could that be true – that half the pastors are not recognisably Christian in their beliefs and practice? Is something similar happening here in the UK? I think it might be.

The context in the UK might not be the same.

There are many people calling themselves Christians, even evangelical Christians, who plainly are neither!

In the UK there is a smaller group of perhaps more dedicated and less cultural or nominal Christianity. To illustrate this, in the United States, around 60-70% of the population identify as Christian and 30% regularly attend church, whereas in the UK, around 50% identify as Christian but only about 5% attend church. 

But still, I would suggest the same trends apply. There are many people calling themselves Christians, even evangelical Christians, who plainly are neither! So how does the church in the UK respond to this reality?

A time for lament

It is a cause of deep sadness that many church leaders just don’t believe the words of the Bible. In fact, there are tendencies across major groups within the historical Christian denominations which are moving more towards a synthesis of Christianity, taking from other religions and a culturally defined morality. This is desperately sad for them and the people they lead. They are, as Jesus describes the Pharisees, like the blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). 

As one leading example, Brian McLaren, in his latest book ‘Do I Stay Christian,’ calmly informs us that he thinks it is ‘highly likely that Jesus existed and that he was a uniquely extraordinary human being. But that does not mean I take every story about him literally.’

Similarly, it is a cause of immense sadness that there are Christian leaders in the UK who no longer believe the Bible is God’s word; or that Jesus died in the place of sinners like us; or that God had a plan for sexual morality and it’s not just a lifestyle choice. Worse still some so-called evangelicals are actively hostile to other Christians who disagree, as we have seen from those who support a ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy’ which would make many pastoral and parental conversations about sex and gender illegal.

It’s no good just identifying the wrongness and calling it out. We must cry out to God that Christian pastors would in fact teach and live the truth. 

And of course, the irony is that when the worldview of most church leaders is indistinguishable from that of non-believers, there is no real incentive to persuade other people of the truth – what we call evangelism – or reason for anyone to join the church unless there is some social or financial benefit. So these churches tend to die out or reduce to a bare minimum.

But as we lament we need to pray for something better. It’s no good just identifying the wrongness and calling it out. We must cry out to God that Christian pastors would in fact teach and live the truth. 

We do this knowing that it matters deeply because the more you abandon Christian teaching the more likely people will not experience saving faith. They will not see that they need Jesus – not just to teach them but to rescue them and give them the certainty of eternal life.

A time for reflection

Whilst we’re on our knees we would do well to repent of our own inconsistency and complacency.

For those of us who call ourselves evangelical – who say we believe what the Bible says about sin and salvation – do we actually practice what we preach? Do we harbour another form of heresy – ugly hypocrisy? 

We might sneer at those who no longer want to tick the boxes of orthodoxy but do we tick the boxes of sacrificial love, compassion, welcoming to the stranger, and considering others better than ourselves? Are we genuinely seeking to make disciples and teach them to obey Jesus, or are we trying to make a name for ourselves? Are we leading people to the right beliefs and right practices AND to a rich personal relationship with Christ and lives of love and service?

Perhaps in our lifetime being biblically faithful will become a minority view across the churches of the west and may even lead to our persecution of vilification but in the end, we must hold on to what is good and call others too because God calls us to be faithful, not necessarily popular.