According to he Barna Research Group, only half (51%) of Protestant pastors could pass a test on whether they possess a "biblical worldview." This is defined as "believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize)."

Barna reports:

The Southern Baptists had the highest percentage of pastors with a biblical worldview (71%) while the Methodists were lowest among the seven segments evaluated (27%).

Educationally, the pastors least likely to have a biblical worldview are those who are seminary graduates (45%). In contrast, three out of five pastors who have not attended seminary operate with a biblical worldview (59%).

The largest gap related to gender. Whereas 53% of male pastors have a biblical worldview, the same can be said for just 15% of female pastors.

Another huge gap was based on race. White Senior Pastors were nearly twice as likely as black Senior Pastors to have a biblical worldview: 55% versus 30%, respectively.

Age and experience entered the picture. The youngest pastors in the nation (those under age 40) are more likely to have a biblical worldview than are their older peers (56% versus 50%).

Fewer than half of all Senior Pastors in the Northeast (43%) and Midwest (49%) have a biblical worldview, compared to majorities in the South (57%) and West (58%). In fact, of the nine geographic divisions defined by the Census Bureau, the one with the highest proportion of pastors giving evidence of a biblical worldview was the Pacific division... (64%).

Another interesting result is the disconnect between what pastors believe and what people in the pews believe:

“The research also points out that even in churches where the pastor has a biblical worldview,” he continued, “most of the congregants do not. More than six out of every seven congregants in the typical church do not share the biblical worldview of their pastor even when he or she has one. This intimates that merely preaching good sermons and offering helpful programs does not enable most believers to develop a practical and scriptural theological base to shape their life."

Barna, of course, finds these results shocking and disturbing - he and others believe that having a "biblical worldview" is necessary in order to be a "True Christian," not to mention being a morally centered adult. Barna, however, is not especially fit to decide what characteristics should define a "True Christian" and a "biblical worldview." I notice in his definition absolutely nothing about feeding or clothing the poor, healing the sick, or any of the other practices attributed to Jesus and the early Christian community in the New Testament.

Barna recommends that those who do have a "biblical worldview" should "strategically and relentlessly assist their congregants in adopting such a way of interpreting and responding to life," but just how likely is that to succeed? Not very. Culture has a big influence on the nature of a person's religion, and in America such extremism is not likely to capture the hearts and minds of very many people. America's religious and cultural diversity is a good antidote to Christian extremism, something that Barna's own statistics seem to bear out.

Read More:

• Fundamentalism
• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Christian Nationalism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry