1. Pastors Divided on When to Perform Weddings Survey of 1,000 Protestant Pastors

2. 2 Methodology  The telephone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted October 7-14, 2010  The calling list was randomly drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Up to six calls were made to reach a sampled phone number  Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called  Responses were weighted to reflect the geographic distribution of Protestant churches

3. 3 Methodology Continued  The completed sample is 1,000 phone interviews  The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.2%  Margins of error are higher in sub-groups

4. Survey Responses

5. 5 “I see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married.” Q.: “I see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married.” Among Protestant Pastors

6. 6 “I see nothing wrong with legal civil unions between two people of the same gender.” Q: “I see nothing wrong with legal civil unions between two people of the same gender.” Among Protestant Pastors

7. 7 The majority of pastors will perform marriages for a couple who is living together. Q: “When asked to do so, will you perform a marriage ceremony for a couple whom you know is living together?” Among Protestant Pastors

8. 8 Only 5% of pastors will not perform a marriage ceremony if the man or woman has been divorced; 61% base their decision on the reason for the divorce. Q: “When asked to do so, will you perform a marriage ceremony if the man or woman has been divorced?” Among Protestant Pastors

9. 9 “I see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married.” Pastors located in the South are least likely to strongly agree (6%) and most likely to strongly disagree (83%). Pastors who consider themselves “Mainline” are more likely than pastors who consider themselves “Evangelical” to strongly agree (21% to 5%), somewhat agree (11% to 3%), and somewhat disagree (10% to 6%). Conversely, “Evangelical” pastors are more likely to strongly disagree than “Mainline “ pastors (87% to 57%).

10. 10 “I see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married.” continued When highest education level is divided by pastors with a graduate degree, those pastors are More likely to strongly agree (14% to 3%) More likely to somewhat agree (7% to 1%) Less likely to strongly disagree (70% to 90%) than pastors who have earned a Bachelor’s degree or lower.

11. 11 “I see nothing wrong with legal civil unions between two people of the same gender.” Pastors from the smallest churches, average worship attendance less than 50, are least likely to somewhat agree (6%). Pastors located in the South are least likely to strongly agree (8%) and most likely to strongly disagree (70%). Pastors who consider themselves “Mainline” are more likely than pastors who consider themselves “Evangelical” to strongly agree (30% to 9%), and somewhat agree (19% to 11%).

12. 12 “I see nothing wrong with legal civil unions between two people of the same gender.” continued “Evangelical” pastors are more likely to strongly disagree than “Mainline “ pastors (67% to 38%). Pastors having earned a graduate degree are more likely to strongly agree (21% to 3%), more likely to somewhat agree (17% to 4%), and less likely to strongly disagree (50% to 81%) than pastors who have earned a Bachelor’s degree or lower.

13. 13 “When asked to do so, will you perform a marriage ceremony for a couple whom you know is living together?” Pastors who consider themselves “Mainline” are more likely to answer “Yes” (68% to 57%) and less likely to answer “No” (24% to 34%) than pastors who consider themselves “Evangelical”. Pastors with at least a Master’s degree are more likely to answer “Yes” (62% to 52%) and less likely to answer “No” (29% to 36%) than pastors having earned a Bachelor’s degree or less.

14. 14 “When asked to do so, will you perform a marriage ceremony if the man or woman has been divorced?” When comparing pastors who consider themselves “Mainline” with those who consider themselves “Evangelical”, “Mainline” pastors are More likely to answer “yes, regardless of the reason” (41% to 29%) Less likely to answer “yes, depending on the reason” (55% to 65%) Less likely to answer “No” (2% to 5%)

15. 15 “When asked to do so, will you perform a marriage ceremony if the man or woman has been divorced?” continued When comparing pastors with graduate degrees with all other pastors, pastors with a graduate degree are more likely to answer “Yes, regardless of the reason” (34% to 25%) and less likely to answer “No” (3% to 7%) Interestingly, pastor’s with a Bachelor’s degree are the most likely to answer “Yes, depending on the reason” (71%).

16. Survey of 1,000 Protestant Pastors Pastors Divided on When to Perform Weddings