A study from The Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that most religious communities are politically inactive and strive to avoid controversial topics. The researchers believe that incessant polling and political analysis of believers misses a boarder truth; most churches are not political. This study was focused on congregations and not religious leaders or institutions.
Charissa Mikoski and Scott Thumma, who organized the report wrote that they believe ” [details] get left out of conversations about religion and politics but are inferred to be influential. Popular assumptions suggest many churches and other places of worship are highly politically active, but is this supported by evidence?” Their investigation provided insights into how American Christians navigate a fractured political landscape.
In their study, they questioned nearly 15,000 congregations in early 2020. They found that even if individual members engage in political actions, most places of worship do not. The scientists believe that most churches take deliberate actions to keep politics out of the sanctuary. The data was derived from a larger study by The Hartford Institute for Religion Research which is designed to track how churches are changing over time.
According to the director of the HIRR, Scott Thumma, “When they come together as a spiritual community, they don’t want politics directly involved. There’s a lot of pushback from the people in the pews.” He co-wrote the report with Charissa Mikoski, an assistant research professor. The report relies on reports from 15,278 religious leaders who replied on behalf of their communities.
Almost half of the leaders, around 45%, thought that their parishioners disagreed with some of their political views. Many pastors view politics as a dangerous topic. The report found that many religious leaders are worried about offending members of their church. Unsurprisingly, the more politically divided a congregation was, the less likely they were to discuss political matters. Instead of taking political controversy head-on, many preachers reported that they would give broad statements on values related to specific issues like immigration or abortion.
The study measured political engagement by asking respondents which of the 7 political activities their church took part in. The list of political actions included handing out voter guides, speaking with political candidates, and organizing protests. Responses range from 22% of Churches handing out voter guides, to less than 8% who reported inviting candidates to speak at their church.
This flies in the face of traditional wisdom on Church politics. Many commentators have blamed evangelical churches for the rise of President Trump. “The congregations who are engaged in these kinds of political activities do not fit the broader narrative of Evangelical Protestants being more politically active. While these connections are present at the individual level, it does not appear to be happening at the organizational (congregational) level” HIRR reports.
Of the Christian communities questioned, the report finds that Orthodox and Catholic Churches are more active than their Protestant counterparts. The study also found that the more black members a church had, the more political it was. “It’s almost built into the DNA of an African American congregation to have that kind of activism approach,” said Thumma.