Most Americans Want Little Influence From Religious Leaders

By Aaron Earls

Most Americans say religious leaders have had influence in their life, but few say they regularly consult with them when making a big decision today.

A recent AP survey found 55% of Americans say clergy members or religious leaders have had at least some influence in their lives, while 45% say they’ve had little to no influence.

Specifically, 21% say religious leaders have had a lot of influence, 33% say some, 25% say not much, and 20% say pastors have had no influence.

Those who identify with a religion are more than twice as likely to say pastors have had an influence compared to the religious unaffiliated (63% to 26%).

Among those who have a religious affiliation, those who regularly attend services (85%) are far more likely to say religious leaders have influenced their lives (47%).

Less than half of Americans say they actually want religious leaders to have influence in their lives.

While 47% say they want at least some influence, 52% say they want not much or none at all.

Among parents of children under 18, those numbers essentially flip when asked how much influence they want a religious leader to have in their child’s life.

More than half (52%) say they want some or a lot of influence, while 48% say they want less.

Among religiously affiliated Americans, 59% say they want a pastor to have at least some influence in their life.

Only 7% of the religiously unaffiliated say they want influence on their life from a pastor or religious leader.

The younger one is the less likely they are to want pastoral influence.

Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 68% say they want religious leaders to have little to no influence on their life, with only 30% who want at least some influence.

Americans who are 60 and older are twice as likely to say they want the influence of a pastor in their life.

While 60% say they want at least some influence, 40% say they want not much or none at all.

Few actually consult religious leaders

Regardless of whether, they say they want influence or not, few Americans actually consult a clergy member or religious leader when making an important decision.

Around 1 in 4 (24%) say consult a pastor at least sometimes, including 6% who say they do so often.

Another quarter (26%) say they rarely do so, while half of Americans (49%) say they never consult religious leaders during when facing a big life choice.

Those who identify with a faith are more than seven times as likely to consult with a religious leader (30% to 4%).

Among those with a religion, those who regularly attend services are more than three times as likely to seek consultation as those who attend less frequently (49% to 16%).

Americans are more likely to ask religious leaders about charitable giving or marriage than they are to talk to them about finances or sex.

One in 5 (21%) say they are very or extremely likely to consult pastors on volunteering or charitable giving, as well as marriage, divorce, or relationships.

Among parents, 18% say they are at least very likely to consult religious leaders about child rearing and 16% say the same about the child’s education.

Very few say they can see themselves talking to a clergy member about medical decisions (8%), career or work life (8%), family planning, such as fertility or birth control (8%), political activity or voting decisions (8%), financial decisions (7%), or sex and sexuality (7%).

However, more than 8 in 10 of those who talked with a religious leader about an important decision say the consultation had at least some value.

More than 2 in 5 say the conversation was very or extremely valuable (43%), while 40% say it was moderately valuable.

Fewer say the consultation was not very valuable (11%) or not valuable at all (5%).

AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.