Gallup Poll Gives Methodists Highest Positive Ratings

Igniting Ministry Credited for Breakthrough

UMNS — Methodists have the highest positive ratings of religious and spiritual groups in the United States, new research by the Gallup Panel shows.

Ninety-six percent of the 1,005 persons interviewed during the March poll had either a positive or neutral view of Methodists. Four percent had an overall negative view. The survey used the broader category of Methodists rather than United Methodists specifically.

Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications, credited The United Methodist Church’s 7-year-old Igniting Ministry advertising campaign for moving “Methodists” out of the pack. The advertising campaign primarily targets persons seeking spiritual fulfillment who may not necessarily have a church affiliation.

Hollon said new research by Barna Research Group indicates that the “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” advertising slogan of Igniting Ministry is proving to be effective in communicating key characteristics of The United Methodist Church.

“One of the challenges that denominations typically face is that people don’t really know that much about them,” said Hollon. “The survey data gives us a snapshot of how others see us. The indication is that the campaign has helped to reframe people's indistinct perceptions about the church into something more positive.”

Gallup Poll

Methodists are one of the four U.S. religious groups with strongly positive ratings in the Gallup Poll. The others are Jews, Roman Catholics and Baptists. Broader groups of “evangelical Christians” and “fundamentalist Christians” did not fare as well, but still rated more positively than negatively, according to an analysis of the survey.

Methodists received the highest marks in the total positive and net positive categories of the survey of “Americans’ Views of U.S. Religious and Spiritual Groups.” The 45% net positive rating is the result of subtracting the 4% negative rating from the 49% total positive rating. Forty-seven percent of the respondents gave Methodists a “neutral” rating.

As a matter of comparison, Jews had a 42% positive rating, Baptists and Catholics 35% each.

The random, demographically weighted poll was conducted March 24-27. Gallup says it has a margin of error of plus or minus 4% points.

Barna Research

The Barna study assessed 10 different statements about The United Methodist Church that reflect the intended communications within the advertising messages developed for the campaign. More than 1,200 respondents from six test markets were interviewed by the Barna Research Group in order to better understand how the denomination is positioned among the target audience of adults ages 21-60 who do not attend a United Methodist church and who are searching for something spiritually.

Among the findings:

  • 58% of respondents agreed that United Methodists care for and support each other, compared to 43% surveyed in 2002
  • 57% believed United Methodist accept you for who you are, up from 45% in 2002
  • 41% said United Methodist help you find deeper meaning and purpose in life, compared to only 26% in 2002
  • 51% said United Methodists help people facing personal difficulty, up from 38% in 2002

The survey showed that those exposed to the advertising campaign were much more likely to hold favorable views of The United Methodist Church than those who did not recall the advertising.

The Igniting Ministry campaign started in 2001 with a threefold purpose: to increase awareness and recognition of The United Methodist Church’s basic beliefs, to promote willingness to visit a United Methodist church, and to renew a sense of commitment among United Methodists. Independent research is conducted annually to determine if the campaign is reaching those goals.

The complete Barna survey is avaialble through Igniting Ministry.