Almost all Christian pastors, including mainline leaders, say the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God. But mainline Protestants are more likely than Catholics and far more likely than Black Protestants and evangelicals to say that while the Bible is the inspired word of God that still speaks today, it is not completely historically accurate, and some parts reflect the culture in which it was written and do not apply today.

While there are likely numerous theological differences between evangelical, Catholic and Black Protestant pastors, they share core convictions that aren’t as common among mainline pastors.

According to the National Survey of Religious Leaders report, “Clergy who lead predominantly white mainline Protestant churches are much less likely to hold traditionally orthodox Christian beliefs than clergy in any other group.”

Among all Christian clergy, 91 percent know God really exists and have no doubts. Black Protestant (98 percent), evangelical (97 percent), and Catholic (96 percent) pastors, however, are far more likely to express certainty than mainline pastors (68 percent). Another 28 percent of mainline leaders say they believe in God while having some doubts about it.

The NSRL also found nine in 10 pastors (91 percent) definitely believe in Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Again, belief among evangelical (99 percent), Black Protestant (97 percent) and Catholic (92 percent) pastors far outpaces mainline clergy (65 percent).

In the most recent State of Theology study, 90 percent of evangelicals and 89 percent of Black Protestants believe the biblical accounts of the bodily resurrection of Jesus are completely true, compared to 79 percent of Catholics and 74 percent of mainline Protestants.

Among pastors in the NSRL, almost all evangelical (99 percent), Catholic (99 percent), and Black Protestant (97 percent) pastors definitely believe in heaven, compared to 64 percent of mainline pastors. Considering definite belief in hell, Black Protestants (97 percent), evangelicals (92 percent), and Catholics (74 percent) are far more likely than mainline pastors (40 percent) to believe.

Black Protestant (92 percent) and evangelical (87 percent) pastors also stand out for their certain belief in Adam and Eve being historical people, compared to mainline Protestants (25 percent) and Catholics (17 percent).

Faith and Practice

A clergy’s trust in specific doctrines seems tied to their perspective on Scripture. Almost all Christian pastors (99 percent), including mainline leaders (95 percent), say the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God.

But mainline Protestants (72 percent) are more likely than Catholics (58 percent) and far more likely than Black Protestants (12 percent) and evangelicals (11 percent) to say that while the Bible is the inspired word of God that still speaks today, it is not completely historically accurate, and some parts reflect the culture in which it was written and do not apply today.

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