Pastors and Salvation in Christ Alone

From CP:

I would like to see this same survey asked of 20somethings, 30 somethings, and then 50somethings.

A recent survey conducted by LifeWay Research found that while a majority of Protestant pastors believe Christianity is the only way to obtain eternal life, there is a small percentage who strongly feel other religions offer eternal salvation as well.

The survey asked 1,000 Protestant pastors the question, “If a person is sincerely seeking God, he/she can obtain eternal life through religions other than Christianity.”

Seventy-seven percent of the pastors questioned said that they strongly disagree with the statement and seven percent somewhat disagreed. Another seven percent somewhat agreed and five percent strongly agreed. Three percent said they are not sure.

The educational level of the pastor played a role in their decision making. Pastors with a graduate degree were more likely to strongly agree with the statement, and less likely to strongly disagree, compared to pastors with a bachelor’s degree or less.

The study also found that evangelical Christians held stricter views on the universality of eternal salvation compared to mainline pastors. According to LifeWay, 85 percent of evangelical pastors were more likely to strongly disagree that there are other ways to eternal life other than Christianity than mainline pastors at 57 percent.

Only two percent of evangelical pastors strongly agreed with the statement, while 11 percent of mainline pastors strongly agreed.