Clergy Political Actions and Agendas: New Findings from the National Survey of Religious Leaders

Abstract

We build on prior research about clergy’s political activities and agendas by using the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL), a nationally representative survey of leaders of American religious congregations conducted in 2019-20. We find that clergy remain highly engaged in several kinds of political activities focused on a variety of issues, with substantial differences across religious traditions. Christian clergy all engage in political cue giving at similar rates. Catholic, Black Protestant, and mainline Protestant clergy typically engage in both cue giving and direct action, while evangelical clergy are much less likely than other clergy to engage in direct action. Regarding clergy issue priorities, evangelical clergy focus almost exclusively on a moral reform agenda, with a particular focus on abortion. Both mainline Protestant and Black Protestant clergy often address a social justice agenda, but Black Protestant clergy tend to focus more on community empowerment while mainline Protestant clergy are more likely than others to pursue social justice activism that seeks to transcend class and national boundaries. Catholic clergy are more likely than others to advance a wide range of issues. Taken together, these findings update and extend our knowledge about clergy political activities, broadening the traditional two-agenda characterization of clergy political agendas into a four-agenda account.