Worthy Christian News > Christian > Barna poll: Almost 3 out of 4 Pastors believe presidential election will negatively impact their church

Barna poll: Almost 3 out of 4 Pastors believe presidential election will negatively impact their church

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new poll by the Barna group has found that nearly 75% of pastors believe the presidential election and its aftermath will negatively affect their churches, the Christian Post reports.

The poll drew from a pool of 475 Protestant pastors who answered questions from September 24-28, in week 18 of Barna’s Church Pulse leader survey. The margin of error was between 4.77% and 7.65%, depending on the sample taken.

The survey found that 74% of the pastors had concerns that the election will negatively affect their congregation. When asked about the extent of their concern, 33% of the pastors said they were “very concerned;” 41% said they were “somewhat concerned.” A remaining 26% responded that they were “not concerned” about a negative impact on their congregation, the Christian Post reports.

Asked if they agree the election will divide their church, 65% of pastors disagreed that it will; 25% said they “somewhat agree” and 10% said they “strongly agree” that it will.

In regard to being prepared to lead their church through the election season, 87% of pastors said they either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that they were prepared.