(CP) While the overwhelming majority of Evangelicals believe they have a duty to share the teachings of the Bible, most don't feel prepared to do so, according to a new survey.
The Institute of Faith and Culture released the results on Tuesday of its 2024 Survey on Christian Cultural Engagement, which it conducted in collaboration with Lifeway Research.
When asked if Christians have a responsibility to "share truths from God's Word with people who hold different views," 92% agreed, while only 6% disagreed and 2% were unsure. However, only 35% of Evangelicals considered themselves "ready for most opportunities to share what the Bible says about cultural and hot button issues."
An additional 18% said they were "ready for any opportunity to share what the Bible says," while 32% maintained that they were "only ready to discuss a few truths" they knew well. Nine percent did not think they were ready for "most opportunities to share what the Bible says," while 5% believed they were "not ready to share what the Bible says at all."
Even as many Evangelicals remain hesitant to share the teachings of the Bible in some cases, 40% of respondents "somewhat agreed" that "their church prepares them to have conversations with people whose views differ from the Bible," and 38% "strongly agreed" that their church equips them for such encounters. Only 10% "somewhat disagreed" that their church adequately prepares them to talk with those who have a different worldview, and 3% "strongly disagreed."
However, just 37% of respondents "somewhat agreed" that their church "intentionally creates environments to discuss differences between our culture's values and the Bible's," as an additional 22% "strongly agreed." Significant shares of those surveyed either "somewhat disagreed" (17%) or "strongly disagreed" (9%) with that statement.
"There are noticeable differences in the large number of evangelicals who feel responsible to share the Bible's views than the number who are ready to do so," said Scott McConnell, the CEO of Lifeway Research. "Churches seek to help Evangelicals have conversations with people whose views differ from the Bible, but fewer churches discuss the Bible and the culture's values side-by-side."
When asked if they thought God was "unconcerned with how they vote," 12% said they "strongly agree" with that analysis, while another 12% reported that they "somewhat agree" with it. Forty-four percent "strongly disagreed."
"While few Evangelicals doubt God cares how they engage the world around them, more than 1 in 5 don't think this applies to voting," McConnell noted. "This discrepancy could lead to different decisions among this minority of Evangelicals."
Only a plurality of those surveyed (38%) acknowledged that they sometimes "seek opportunities to promote the Bible's perspective on topics knowing they are not popular." An additional 20% admitted to seeking out such opportunities "often," while 10% said they do so "always." Twenty-two percent of respondents "rarely" seek to bring up biblical positions on matters if they are unpopular, while 7% never do.
Similarly, a plurality (45%) of respondents told pollsters that they sometimes "share a biblically informed view when someone says something that is not biblical." An additional 23% "often" provide a biblical response to unbiblical remarks by others, while 9% "always" do so, and 16% of Evangelicals said they "rarely" do so and 6% "never" do.
Forty-seven percent of those surveyed "somewhat agree" that they "want to speak up when talking with someone who says something that doesn't align with Scripture," followed by 28% who "strongly agree" that they possess such a desire, 14% who "somewhat disagree" and 6% who "strongly disagree."
By contrast, 50% of Evangelicals indicated they "strongly agree" that they wanted to "promote biblical truth among people they know," while another 39% "somewhat agree" that they had such a desire. Just 5% "somewhat disagree" that they sought to share the Bible's teachings with people that they know while only 3% "strongly disagree."
"Promoting biblical truth appears to be much easier for evangelicals when they are among people who agree with them," said McConnell. "Far fewer say they rarely give a biblical response in settings where the Bible's position is not popular."
The data in the report is based on responses collected from 1,000 Evangelicals from July 18-Aug. 2. The survey had a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.
