Mainline clergy addressing social issues is on the rise, new research shows. This is good news for U.S. churches.
By Leah D. Schade, with Amanda Wilson Harper and Wayne Thompson
More Christians are rejecting Christian nationalism
Historian Heather Cox Richardson recently interviewed Christian history scholar Diana Butler Bass about her new book, A Beautiful Year. In the conversation, Richardson asked Butler Bass if she was observing a backlash against Christian nationalism in the U.S. by Christians rejecting religious imperialism.
Butler Bass responded, “There’s been a real attempt in many churches in recent decades to say how can we embody the best of the Christian vision for the kingdom without the structures of hierarchy, without needing to control government. [It’s] concentrating on the communal aspects of faith and making this world a better place for all people to live.”
They both agreed that the movement to resist Christian nationalism has grown significantly over the past several decades and is gaining much more traction.
Are mainline clergy pushing back against the Christian nationalist agenda?
My team and I have been studying U.S. mainline clergy addressing social issues over the past eight years. I work with social science researchers Amanda Wilson Harper (Tarleton State University) and Wayne Thompson (Concordia University). Our findings support Butler Bass’s assertion, showing that many mainline clergy are engaging social issues in ways that counter Christian nationalist themes and lift up Jesus’s teachings on justice, peace, and community.
Since 2017, we’ve conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of preachers in the U.S. regarding ministry, preaching, and social issues following the 2016, 2020, 2022, and 2024 elections.* We’ve accumulated more than 7,000 responses from clergy in all fifty states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Respondents represented mainline denominations such as ELCA Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian-USA, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, and United Church of Christ.
Some were just starting in ministry; others had been serving for decades. They ministered in rural and small towns, suburbs, and urban congregations with worship attendance spanning from 25 or less to 500 and more.
Overall, we found that there has been an increase in the number of preachers reporting that they are addressing social issues ten times or more in a year.
By social issues, we mean topics that are in the realm of public debate and have some bearing on politics and public policy.
The chart above shows that the percentage of preachers addressing social issues doubled from 30% in 2017 to 59% in 2025.
Granted, the respondents are anonymous, so there is the risk of bias with self-reporting. Also, we did not analyze the sermon content of these preachers. Instead, what interests us is the overall trend in clergy attitudes and opinions about preaching and social issues.
We found that even as stress and burnout has increased for ministers, their willingness to talk about things like immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, and climate change has grown. This is likely due to what Butler Bass described in the interview as “Christian imperialism run amok,” whereby political and religious leaders use scripture to justify violence against vulnerable people and the planet.
When Christian clergy – who have taken vows to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and care for the needs of their congregations and communities – see this happening, many of them feel compelled to raise their prophetic voices in the pulpit.
Which social issues are preachers addressing?
For each survey, we gave a list of 20-30 contemporary issues and asked them to indicate the ones they addressed in sermons the previous year. Issues included everything from addictions to domestic violence, interfaith relations, and mental health.
The issues most frequently addressed by mainline Protestant preachers were economic, such as poverty, homelessness, and debt; and racial, such as white supremacy, racial equity, justice, and inclusion. Averaging the four surveys, economic issues were at 79% and racial issues at 78.5%.
Racism, environment, gun violence, and abortion
Even more remarkable was the increased willingness to address what we might call “third rail” issues – topics that are especially controversial. We tracked four issues in particular from 2021 to 2025: racism, environment/climate change, gun violence, and abortion.
While the percentage points for all of these issues increased, we noted that certain demographic and congregational variables affected willingness to address them. For example, willingness to address racism decreased among white pastors, those in small or rural congregations, and newer clergy in ministry for less than four years.For environmental issues, variables such as being politically conservative or serving as an associate or assistant pastor reduced willingness.
Regarding gun violence, those in urban and racially diverse congregations were more willing than those in rural or small-town churches and those serving mostly white congregations.
With abortion, willingness decreased for those serving politically divided congregations and conservative-leaning churches. Also, conservative-leaning preachers were more willing to preach a pro-life message than progressive preachers were to preach a message focusing on women’s health and choice.
Are mainline preachers addressing Christian nationalism?
When we began this study in 2017, Christian nationalism as a term was barely on the radar of most Americans. According to Samuel Perry, there was a marked increase in Google searches for the term “Christian nationalism” after the Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt and in the years that followed.
While we didn’t include that term in our 2021 study, we did ask about related issues. A substantial number of preachers reported addressing political divisions (61%) and ethics/integrity/corruption (46%).
In 2025, we did include the term “Christian nationalism” among the list of topics; only 23% said they had addressed it in their preaching. However, 47% indicated that they had addressed democracy issues (voting, political divisiveness, etc.). This indicates that at least half of mainline Protestant clergy are speaking out about issues related to Christian nationalism more broadly.
[Here’s an example of preaching about Christian Nationalism for Christ the King Sunday: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ecopreacher/2023/11/christ-the-king-sunday-counters-christian-nationalism/.]
The heresy and blasphemy of Christian nationalism
Butler Bass pointed to a recent video from “Secretary of War,” Pete Hegseth, in which the words of the Lord’s Prayer were superimposed over images of war, violence, the American flag, and the current U.S. president. (The post can be found on X, Facebook, and Instagram.)
“I don’t know what to call that other than heresy,” said Butler Bass. Using the words of Jesus to bless “genocidal madness,” as she put it, is blasphemy.
However, Christians who see this for the horror that it is are “standing up,” she said. “I think in the last two or three decades, we were very quiet. We assumed that good would always win out because that’s the kind of people we generally are. Now we’re looking around saying, ‘Hey, wait a second. Sometimes good has got to be noisy.’”
As a homiletician who teaches and prepares leaders for ministry and preaching, I agree. Preachers must be “noisy” with the prophetic gospel in the face of the genocidal madness of Christian nationalism. And while it is heartening to see the number and frequency of preaching about these issues increase, more is needed.
Tools to empower a preacher’s prophetic voice
Now is not the time to be timid about resisting fascism and tyranny. Sermons, teaching, and pastoral leadership must provide biblical, theological, and ethical guidance to educate and equip congregations for living out the teachings of Jesus and the biblical prophets.
I’ve created a free, online, 5-minute assessment tool for preachers and congregations to determine whether they should take a “gentle,” “invitational,” or “robust” approach to social issues. And in my book, Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice, I offer strategies based on the approach that would work best for different contexts.
Focus on belonging
Regardless of which issues preachers address in sermons, focusing on the universal human need for belonging can form the basis of nearly any sermon on social issues.
As homiletician Lisa L. Thompson describes it, “Belonging is about a state of being connected and in relationship without breach. Belonging conjures a sense of being in relationship with someone or something. It’s just as much about a sense of home as it is having one’s presence and place affirmed in the midst of another.” (Preaching the Headlines: Possibilities and Pitfalls [Fortress Press, 2021], 79.)
Understanding this yearning for belonging and naming it as a primary human need can build bridges between people who utilize different moral foundations, occupy opposing worldviews, or come from different walks of life.
Resisting the hatred, cruelty, and violence of Christian nationalism requires preachers to open minds, soften hearts, and unclench fists. With prophetic courage, preachers can — and must — proclaim the transforming love, grace, mercy, and justice of God.
Heather Cox Richardson interviewed Diana Butler Bass on Nov. 11, 2025
*Note: The 2025 study was approved in a human ethics review by the Concordia University Wisconsin-Ann Arbor Institutional Review Board, #IRB-FY25-136. The 2017, 2021, and 2023 studies followed protocols for the study of human subjects.
Read also:
Clergy Stress & Resilience in a Divided America: 2025 Survey
Christ the King Sunday Counters Christian Nationalism
Is Your Pastor Preaching Christian Nationalism? 8 Red Flags
The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is a seminary professor and ordained minister. Her opinions are her own.
Leah is the author of Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her book, Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, was co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).
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