One-Third of Pastors Have Endorsed Candidates This Year Outside the Church Role, Poll Shows

Protestant pastors are nearly unanimous in their decision not to endorse a political candidate from the pulpit this year, although roughly one-third say they have endorsed a political candidate outside of the church setting, according to a new LifeWay Research survey.

The poll found that 98 percent of Protestant pastors have not endorsed a candidate from the pulpit this year, although 32 percent say they have endorsed a candidate “outside of their church role.” The latter figure is an increase from 2016, when 22 percent of pastors said they had endorsed a candidate outside of their church role.

Two-thirds (65 percent) of pastors this year have not endorsed a candidate outside of their church role, a decrease from 2016 when more than three-fourths (77 percent) answered that way.

“Pastors are more decided on who they are voting for in 2020, so it’s not surprising that more pastors have shared their opinions with others personally,” said Scott McConnell executive director of LifeWay Research. “The candidates endorsed by pastors may be local, state or national. But those who do so in an official church capacity are a rare exception.”

Americans are divided on if pastors should endorse candidates. Although 43 percent of U.S. adults believe it is “appropriate for pastors to personally endorse candidates outside of their church…