Just over half of US pastors plan to honor America in Fourth of July weekend services
July 3, 2022 | District of Columbia
A Lifeway Research study found just over half (56%) of Protestant pastors support showing patriotism at church during Independence Day weekend. Of those, 27% strongly support such displays.
Roughly two in five pastors (42%) disagree, and a small fraction — 2% — say they aren’t sure.
That marks a slight decline from a similar study conducted by Lifeway Research in 2016, which found 61% of pastors supported using patriotic displays in their worship services.
The study, released June 28, surveyed 1,000 U.S. Protestant pastors in September 2021. Each interview was completed by the senior or sole pastor or minister at a church, and responses were weighted by region and church size to more accurately reflect the population.
Pastors with graduate degrees were less likely to use patriotic elements in their services compared with pastors who either had no degree (70%) or a bachelor’s degree (67%)
Denominational pastors, meanwhile, were also less likely (48%) to incorporate patriotism into their worship services compared with 64% of Evangelical pastors, according to the survey.
Among the denominations, Pentecostal (77%) and nondenominational (70%) churches were more likely to display some form of patriotism in their Sunday services, compared with Methodist (52%), Lutheran (48%), and Presbyterian/Reformed (44%).
But the younger pastors aged 18-44 were the most likely (65%) to avoid the use of patriotic additions to their worship services….(Excerpt from The Christian Post)
