Pastors who definitely believe in hell
Percent of pastors by tradition, National Survey of Religious Leaders (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Black Protestant (97%). Lowest: Mainline (40%).
- Black Protestant: 97%
- Evangelical: 92%
- Catholic: 74%
Source: Lifeway Research, Mainline Pastors Less Likely to Hold Historic Christian Doctrine · National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) of Christian clergy. Article published 2025-07-03.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Black Protestant (97%). Lowest: Mainline (40%). Black Protestant: 97%. Evangelical: 92%. Catholic: 74%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Mainline Pastors Less Likely to Hold Historic Christian Doctrine (https://research.lifeway.com/2025/07/03/mainline-pastors-less-likely-to-hold-historic-christian-doctrine/).
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.