wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Survey says: Presbyterians find Truth in Jesus

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7821 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Survey says: Presbyterians find Truth in Jesus
03270
June 20, 2003

Survey says: Presbyterians find Truth in Jesus

Church members tend to be females; leaders tend to be males 

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - Nearly three-quarters of Presbyterians believe Jesus Christ is
"the only absolute Truth for humankind," but decidedly fewer think "only
followers of Jesus Christ can be saved."
	
Those were among the findings of recent survey of about 3,500 people - 1,102
members, 1,145 elders and 1,435 ordained ministers -randomly chosen for the
2003-2005 Presbyterian Panel.
	
A new statistically representative group is assembled every three years by
the Research Services Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to serve as
subjects of numerous surveys on a variety of topics relevant to
Presbyterians.
	
While the sample size suggests a strong correlation between the qualities and
opinions of the study group and those of the denomination as a whole, the
results are subject to sampling and other errors. The research office says
differences between groups of less than 8 percent are not statistically
meaningful and that "small differences should be interpreted cautiously."
	
The background survey for the new group was conducted between October 2002
and January 2003. 

As always, the results are fascinating. For example:

*  Fewer than half of all members were raised in the Presbyterian church, but
two-thirds of pastors were brought up Presbyterian. About 15 percent of
members and elders were raised in the Methodist church. The second-largest
group, at 10 percent, came up as Baptists. 
*  Presbyterians of every category tend to be long in the tooth: The median
age of members and elders (the point where equal numbers are younger and
older), is 55 years. For pastors and specialized clergy, it's 51 years. About
30 percent of all members and elders are retired.
*  Church membership is dominated by females - 61 percent are women - but
leadership is another story: About half of elders are females, but 77 percent
of pastors and 66 percent of specialized clergy are males.
*  The PC(USA) is overwhelmingly white. More than 90 percent of all four
groups claimed that ethnicity. For members, it was 97 percent.
*  Presbyterian members and elders worship close to home: More than half live
within three miles of their churches. Two-thirds of members and 90 percent of
elders said they attend worship "every week" or "nearly every week." The
average member joined his or her current congregation 13 years ago, the
average elder 17 years ago.
*  When panelists were asked whether they agree that "the only absolute Truth
for humankind is in Jesus Christ," 70 percent of members, 75 percent of
elders, 71 percent of pastors and 55 percent of specialized clergy said they
agree or strongly agree.

Curiously, however, only 43 percent of members, 50 percent of elders, 39
percent of pastors and 24 percent of other clergy said they agree or strongly
agree that "only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved."

* Two-thirds of members and specialized clergy and 80 percent of pastors and
elders said they agree that "Jesus will return to earth some day," and nearly
all Presbyterians - ranging from 86 percent of members to 96 percent of
pastors - believe in life after death. 
* Ninety-three percent of lay members of the PC(USA) believe in heaven, but
only 78 percent believe in hell.
*  More ministers (88 percent) said they pray every day than specialized
clergy (82 percent), elders (73 percent) or members (64 percent).

The same is true of Bible reading: one-third of members and slightly more
than half of elders said they read scripture privately at least once a week,
while 56 percent of pastors and 36 percent of specialized clergy said they
read the Bible "daily" or "almost daily."

*  Of the pastors, 54 percent work solo, 27 percent supervise staff and 18
percent are associate pastors. More than a third of all ministers had
long-term secular jobs or careers before entering the ministry. Two-thirds of
Presbyterian ministers have been ordained since 1980, one-third since 1989.

More than two-thirds of all ministers graduated from PC(USA)-related
seminaries - one in six from Princeton Theological Seminary, and between 3
percent and 9 percent from each of the other nine PC(USA) seminaries (except
Johnson C. Smith, which was attended by less than 1 percent). Of the
non-Presbyterian seminary graduates, 6 percent went to Fuller, 4 percent to
Gordon-Conwell, 2 percent to Union-New York, and 1 percent each to Yale and
Duke. 

* It's a Grand Old Presbyterian (GOP) denomination: 57 percent of members, 55
percent of elders, 52 percent of pastors and 36 percent of other clergy
identified themselves as Republicans.

*** For instructions on using this system (including how to UNJOIN this
meeting), send e-mail to mailrequests@ecunet.org
------------------------------------------
Send your response to this article to pcusa.news@pcusa.org

------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an 'unsubscribe' request to

pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org