Methodology
The study was sponsored by Houston’s First Baptist Church and Richard Dockins, MD. The mixed mode survey of 1,576 evangelical and Black Protestant pastors was conducted Aug. 17–Sept. 15, 2021, using both phone and online interviews. Phone: The calling list was a random sample, stratified by church membership, drawn from a list of all churches in all evangelical and Black Protestant religious traditions except Southern Baptists. Online: The email list was a random sample drawn from all Southern Baptist congregations with an email address. Invitations were emailed to the pastor by Lifeway Research followed by one reminder. Each survey was completed by the senior pastor, minister, or priest at the church contacted.
The completed sample is 1,576 surveys (1,000 phone, 576 online). Responses were weighted by region, church size and denominational group to more accurately reflect the population. The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 2.7%. This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Comparisons are made to a phone survey of 1,500 evangelical and Black Protestant pastors conducted by Lifeway Research March 5-18, 2015. The 2015 Pastor Protection study was sponsored by the North American Mission Board and Richard Dockins, MD.
About Lifeway Research
Lifeway Research is a Nashville-based, evangelical research firm that specializes in surveys about faith in culture and matters that affect churches.
About Lifeway Christian Resources
In operation since 1891, Lifeway Christian Resources is one of the leading providers of Christian resources, including Bibles, books, Bible studies, Christian music and movies, VBS, and church supplies, as well as camps and events for all ages. Lifeway is the world’s largest provider of Spanish Bibles. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Lifeway receives no denominational funding and operates as a self-supporting nonprofit.
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