The vast majority of pastors (90 percent) said their churches are open to messages about racial reconciliation, but despite that dynamic, a minority of preachers (26 percent) said church leaders have urged them to speak on the topic, according to a recent Lifeway Research poll.
And when asked about some of the actions they’ve taken over the past three months, 51 percent of senior pastors surveyed said they have discussed reconciliation with other church leaders, with 53 percent saying they led “corporate prayer for racial reconciliation.”
Additionally, 57 percent said that they socialize with neighbors of other ethnicities.
Just 40 percent said, though, that they regularly met with fellow preachers from other ethnic groups and 45 percent said they had preached on racial reconciliation during that time period. Clearly, there’s a mixed bag when it comes to personal actions, though pastors are more than open to discussing reconciliation.
“Most pastors appear to be taking a leadership role in encouraging racial reconciliation,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in a statement announcing the results. “Nine in ten pastors say they recently have done something to encourage racial reconciliation.”
He continued, “A majority has been socializing with other races and ethnicities and have led prayer on racial reconciliation, but less than a third have addressed economic inequity or publicly lamented injustice.”
The survey, which included 1,000 senior pastors from across the U.S., was conducted last fall, offering a lens into church perspectives during a time in which racial issues have been strained throughout the country. Read more about the results.
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