Click here for the full release and the graphics.

Some excerpts from the story:

According to a survey released by LifeWay Research, Americans believe churches should not campaign for or endorse political candidates and pastors should only endorse candidates as private citizens outside of a church service...

"There is a longstanding and publicly affirmed view that the pulpit is not the place for politics, particularly endorsements," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. "It would appear this view is still widely held in most sectors of society."

When asked for their level of agreement with the statement, "I believe it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office," 59 percent said they strongly disagree while 16 percent somewhat disagree...

When it comes to how churches use their resources, Americans believe overwhelmingly that churches should not use those resources to campaign for candidates for public office.

When asked to respond to the statement, "I believe it is appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office," 85 percent disagree including 73 percent who disagree strongly...

When the topic turned to whether churches that publicly endorse candidates should lose their tax-exempt status, a slim majority agree and differences appear along many of the same lines. (Churches that campaign or endorse candidates in violation of IRS prohibitions have been threatened with losing their tax-exempt status.)

Thirty-eight percent strongly agree and 14 percent somewhat agree "that churches who publicly endorse candidates for public office should lose their tax exemption." Twenty-five percent strongly disagree, 17 percent somewhat disagree and 6 percent are not sure.

"Americans overwhelmingly want pastors to stick to faith and not political endorsements," Stetzer said. "However, they are less certain that they want the government to strip them of their tax exemption. A majority do think such churches should lose their tax exemption, but a significant minority does not. Americans don't want churches in politics but they are not as certain they want the government in the churches."

Details here.

What do you think? What does your church do and not do? Why?

Senator Obama and I were at the same hotel a couple of weeks back (you saw pictures if you followed the Twitter, including this one here). A mutual friend tried to set up a meeting between us. Obama is targeting younger evangelicals and I tend to move in that space. The conversation went back and forth between "his people" and my friend.

The end result was that they were open to a meeting if I would make an endorsement.

Well...

I would have listened to Senator Obama respectfully, agreed with him on some issues, and then shared that as an evangelical Christian I hold certain values that are at odds with what he has stated. There are some areas we agree, but there are some major views that are simply impossible for me, as an evangelical, to stomach. And, I could not make such an endorsement.

For example, I think it matters deeply that children in the womb are protected and valued--and that is not a political issue, it is a life-or-death issue.

In addition to being a sin (and I recognize that is a harder case to make in the naked public square), I think that affirmation of homosexuality as a valid alternative lifestyle is unhelpful to society and hurtful to the individuals involved.

And, since Senator Obama has spent much time talking about his faith, I would share that Christianity is not something that is "true for me," it is true for all-- whether they know it or not.

It would seem that other evangelicals share some of my concerns about Obama. Barna gives some helpful insights and, I believe, gets it right in his analysis here.

Understanding Evangelicals

One of the most frequently reported on groups of voters is evangelicals. Most media polls use a simplistic approach to defining evangelicals, asking survey respondents if they consider themselves to be evangelical. Barna Group surveys, on the other hand, ask a series of nine questions about a person's religious beliefs in order to determine if they are an evangelical. The differences between the two approaches are staggering.

Using the common approach of allowing people to self-identify as evangelicals, 40% of adults classify themselves as such. Among them, 83% are likely to vote in November. Among the self-reported evangelicals who are likely to vote, John McCain holds a narrow 39% to 37% lead over Sen. Obama. Nearly one-quarter of this segment (23%) is still undecided about who they will vote for.

Using the Barna approach of studying people's core religious beliefs produces a very different outcome. Just 8% of the adult population qualifies as evangelical based on their answers to the nine belief questions. Among that segment, a significantly higher proportion (90%) is likely to vote in November, and Sen. McCain holds a huge lead (61%-17%) over the Democratic nominee. Overall, just 14% of this group remains undecided regarding their candidate of choice.

I just cannot imagine that many evangelicals (as defined by belief) will vote for Obama. Perhaps I will be proven wrong, but he is so at odds with key evangelical beliefs on issues evangelicals hold dear. Simply put, I do not believe that many active evangelicals will vote for a candidate this far to the left.

I do know that many self-identified Christians will (and Barna gives a helpful breakdown by type). I have heard their rationale and do not find it convincing.