Most pastors are undecided in the coming elections, says study

A new survey conducted by LifeWay Research revealed that many Protestant pastors were undecided about which candidate to vote for in the upcoming presidential elections.

The phone survey, conducted between Aug. 22 and Sept 16, showed that 40 percent of pastors were still unsure while three percent did not plan to vote. 32 percent picked Donald Trump while 19 percent said they would vote for Hillary Clinton. Four percent planned to vote for Gary Johnson.

Only a few believed that Christians who vote according to their conscience would pick the same candidate.

Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, observed that most pastors have not warmed up to the major party candidates.

"Donald Trump does better with pastors than Hillary Clinton," said McConnell. "But both candidates are still less popular than 'Undecided,'" he added.

Despite the unpopularity of the leading candidates, a majority of the pastors still said that voting is a must. Around 88 percent of them said that Christians have a biblical responsiblity to vote.

When asked whether American Christians should pick a candidate who has a reasonable chance of winning, only 29 percent said they agreed while 65 percent disagreed.

When asked about which characteristics were the most important in choosing a candidate, 27 percent said the candidate's character mattered most. 20 percent believed that the candidate's picks for Supreme Court justices was the most important.

Around 12 percent considered the candidate's ability to protect religious freedom. Ten percent were concerned with the candidate's stance on abortion.

More than half of African-American pastors were still undecided but 37 percent picked Clinton. Only 6 percent said that they would vote for Trump.

Among white pastors, 41 percent were undecided. 35 percent planned to vote for Trump while 18 have chosen Clinton.

When it comes to political endorsements, 98 percent of the pastors said that they have not endorsed a candidate inside the church. Only 1 percent admitted to endorsing a candidate while another 1 percent said they were not sure.

Outside the church, 22 percent admitted that they have endorsed a candidate outside their role as a church leader. 77 percent have not made a political endorsement even outside the church while 1 percent said they were not sure.

A related study conducted by Lifeway last month revealed that most Americans do not want preachers to endorse a candidate during church service.