Pastors Agree: Church-State Separation Has Run Amok
by Jenni Parker
June 25, 2004
(AgapePress) - A newly released study shows that the vast majority of Protestant clergy in the U.S. believe the so-called separation of church and state in America has been carried too far.The results of the study are being made public for the first time in the July/August edition of Facts and Trends magazine. The research indicates that the vast majority of Protestant clergy agree that "the separation of church and state in the U.S. has gone too far, or in ways it was never intended to go."
Proportionally, only a handful of Protestant pastors disagreed with this assessment, with only 8% expressing the belief that the separation of church and state had not been taken far enough and that more is needed. And a slightly larger minority, 13%, said they feel the current level of separation between the religious and secular entities in America is just about right.
The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a full-service marketing research firm, on behalf of Facts and Trends, which is published by LifeWay Christian Resources, a division of the Southern Baptist Convention. The research was done among a representative sample of 700 senior pastors of Protestant churches throughout the country.
Among the larger denominational groups in the study, those whose pastors were found to be particularly likely to complain that the separation of church and state has gone too far were the Southern Baptists (93%), and Pentecostal and charismatic churches (92%). Sharing this opinion in smaller numbers were Methodist ministers (70%) and Lutheran pastors (66%).
The ministers in the study were asked to weigh in on other matters as well. Responding to the survey questions, 95% of all clergy said they believe the words "under God" should continue to be included in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag; 96% said "In God We Trust" should remain on U.S. currency; 90% said religious groups should be allowed to use government property or facilities if non-religious groups are being permitted to do so; and 79% believe displaying a Christmas nativity scene on government property should be allowed.
Clergy are sharply divided, however, on the nuances of the question about religious displays on public land or in public facilities. The most common point of view was held by 37% of all Protestant ministers, who feel that "Christian displays should be allowed on government property, but not those of any other religion." Meanwhile, 30% feel that religious displays from any of the major world religions -- including, for example, Christianity, Judaism, or Islam -- should be allowed on government property.
Still, another fairly common feeling among clergy is that no religious displays of any kind should be allowed on tax-payer-funded property. This belief was held by 22% of the pastors. But only a 12% minority felt that "religious displays from any religion, whether it's Christianity, Hare Krishna, Wicca, or anything else) should be allowed on government property."
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, says the study shows that while most clergy clearly feel there is too much separation of church and state in the country today, there is no consensus as to just what the precise application of the Establishment clause should be -- or about how it should be applied to specific religious groups.
