Methodists are among the most likely to say women can be committee leaders (98%) and the most likely to permit women to be coed adult Bible study teachers in their churches (100%).
Specifically, Methodist and Pentecostal pastors are slightly more likely than Restorationist movement, Lutheran and Baptist pastors to say women could be ministers to children or teenagers.
Most pastors in all denominational groups say women could be ministers to children, ministers to teenagers, committee leaders, or coed adult Bible study teachers in their churches. But Protestant churches disagree on his intent.” “In the Apostle Paul’s letters, he gives instructions to churches regarding these specific roles. “The reason some pastors make a distinction between women leading as pastors or deacons or even teaching men compared to other leadership roles is because of how they interpret the Bible,” said McConnell. Less than half of evangelical pastors (44%) say the same. Among mainline pastors, 76 percent say a woman could be the senior pastor at their churches. Eight in 10 mainline pastors (79%) say the role of deacon is open to women, while 56 percent of evangelical pastors agree. Large majorities of pastors at both evangelical and mainline churches say women can be ministers to children (94% and 97%), committee leaders (93% and 95%), ministers to teenagers (89% and 95%), and coed adult Bible study teachers (84% and 95%).Ī divide emerges over the roles of deacon and senior pastor. In general, pastors at mainline congregations say their churches have fewer restrictions on the roles in which a woman can serve compared to evangelical churches. “This question has been debated for centuries with biblical scholars in different denominations coming to different conclusions about what Scripture means.”ĭue to specific convictions about biblical interpretation, different Protestant denominations have varying levels of openness to women serving in certain leadership positions. But these are not questions of opinion as much as biblical interpretation,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.
“Someone without context may think differences of opinion on where women can serve in church are simply fickle or archaic perspectives. Fewer than 1 percent say they are not sure. Fewer say a woman could be a deacon (64%) or senior pastor (55%), while 1 percent say none of these roles are open to women. While a slight majority say the position of senior pastor is open to women, a broader consensus exists for other positions.Ĭlose to 9 in 10 pastors say women could be ministers to children (94%), committee leaders (92%), ministers to teenagers (89%), or coed adult Bible study teachers (85%) in their churches. Most Protestant pastors say a woman could be the senior pastor at their church, but that varies dramatically among denominational groups.Ī Lifeway Research study asked US Protestant pastors about six potential leadership roles and if women are permitted to hold them in their congregations.
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