LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, has released some interesting results from its in-depth surveys of Southern Baptist pastors across the nation.
Eighty percent of Southern Baptist pastors say that they currently support and plan to vote for Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the presumptive 2008 Republican nominee for president. Conversely, only one percent expressed their intention to vote for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and zero percent supported Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
Fifteen percent of the Southern Baptist pastors surveyed said they were still undecided about their presidential preference, while four percent said they intended to vote for a third-party candidate.
These pastor presidential preference numbers are probably skewed slightly by the fact that only pastors were surveyed, and not non-ordained church members. Over recent history, surveys have shown consistently that Southern Baptist pastors are slightly more conservative on most issues than rank-and-file church membership.
Still, these poll numbers are radically at odds with the general public, where polling shows a tight race between Senator McCain and either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton.
When it comes to presidential preference, Southern Baptists are marching to the beat of a different drum than their non-Southern Baptist neighbors.