Some 63 per cent of US Christians say mercy is something that often influences their words and actions but 21 per cent say while it’s part of their belief, it doesn’t influence their actions “that much”, according to the findings of a Barna Group study.
The study, which was conducted in partnership with Jack Alexander – author of The God Impulse: The Power of Mercy in an Unmerciful World and chairman of the The Reimagine Group, also found that another 21 per cent said while it was part of their belief, they don’t really think about it “that much”.
Looking at pastors in particular, the study found the proportion of those who said mercy often influenced their thoughts and action was significantly higher at 83 per cent while only nine per cent said it was part of their belief but doesn’t influence their actions that much and only six per cent said it influenced their belief but they don’t really think about it that much.
The study also revealed that women, older adults and the more educated are morely likely to say mercy influences their actions while among pastors this was the case among the older, mainline and more experienced ministry leaders.
The full results from the study – which involved a representative sample of 1,502 practicing Christian adults in an online survey and a representative sample of 515 Protestant senior pastors by telephone and online – are slated to be released early next year. Practicing Christians are defined as those who “identify as Christian, have attended church within the past month and strongly agree that their faith is very important in their life today”.
