NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sep. 26, 2019—The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission unveiled results of a public survey conducted by LifeWay Research today that explore the perspectives of American adults with evangelical beliefs on civility, politics and how likely they are to engage with views different from their own.
Additionally, the ERLC released a report interacting with the findings of this public survey, titled “Faith and Healthy Democracy.” The lead researcher and author of the report is Paul D. Miller, professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an ERLC research fellow.
Russell Moore, president of the ERLC, commented on these projects:
“The results of this survey were occasionally encouraging, frequently surprising, and, in some cases, indicting. What the responses clearly show is that there are forces driving apart those within the church. That shouldn’t surprise us. But it should convict us. My prayer is that this survey and report would be one among many initiatives that can help show us the way forward and help us learn to love one another and stand with courage in the public square. Biblical courage often means being willing to stand alone, against a crowd. But biblical unity means those who are in Christ should never be forced to stand alone, or against, those who bear the name of Christ.”
The LifeWay Research survey covered a broad range of topics—asking questions concerning civility, political preferences, personal relationships and news sources, among other things.
Paul Miller, lead researcher of the “Faith and Healthy Democracy” report, utilized the LifeWay Research survey results to consider the state of public discourse and then ask how evangelicals can help improve the public square. The report concludes with two sets of recommendations, one for individuals and another for churches and seminaries.
The full report is available at this link.
