Life and death. Sexual confusion. Parental authority. Religious freedom.

These are just some of the many issues on the ballot this coming November, an election that promises to determine the direction of our country for generations to come.

But with just five Sundays to go until the pivotal day, how many pastors will be addressing these issues from the pulpit?

A new survey from Lifeway Research finds that nearly a quarter of all pastors refuse to say who they plan to vote for – a significant increase from 2020 when just 4% declined to respond to the question. This year, among pastors likely to vote, 23% claimed they were undecided.

Clearly, many pastors are treading carefully. In a highly contentious and even toxic environment, even innocuous comments can be construed negatively, setting off a series of controversies and complaints.

But is that a valid reason to retreat into silence?

“It is a misconception that pastors cannot address political issues—even ‘hot button’ issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control—from the pulpit,” wrote Jorge Gomez for First Liberty, a Christian nonprofit legal group that specializes in defending religious freedom.

“Any person or entity that attempts to silence a pastor for addressing these issues is violating that pastor’s constitutional rights under the First Amendment. Pastors have every right under the First Amendment to talk about any of those issues, and there’s never been any case in American history that said pastors can’t do that.”

Therein lies the distinction between “partisan politics” and “policy issues” – a nuance that many shepherding flocks may be either unaware of or unwilling to draw.

Push back from pastors in the pulpit reluctant to wade into the cultural morass is not a new development, but it’s a trend that appears to be growing.

Few, if any, socially conservative evangelicals expect their pastor to endorse a particular candidate – but they do want them to help guide the congregation in making informed choices.

Don’t talk about candidates – but talk about the pressing issues and questions on the front page and the consequential subjects trending in social media.

If it’s true what Ronald Reagan said that “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face,” why shouldn’t pastors be talking about real-world problems?

“All through the week I am on the look-out for material that I can use on the Sabbath,” Charles Spurgeon told his students in Britain. “Always keep your eyes and ears open, and you will hear and see angels. The world is full of sermons — catch them on the wing.”

The Bible has a lot to say about abortion, and so should pastors. We read in Jeremiah, “Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). It was Isaiah who wrote, “The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name” (Isaiah 49:1).

The Bible has a lot to say about human sexuality, and so should pastors. Scripture is clear that sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin (Hebrews 13:4), and that homosexuality is also outside of God’s design (Romans 1:26-27).

The Bible has a lot to say about how parents are granted authority over their children, and so should pastors. Whether noted in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12), or Paul’s reiteration of it while writing to the Ephesians, children are to “Honor [their] father and mother” (Ephesians 6:2-3).

The Bible may not specifically address religious freedom, but Jesus models it by not demanding everyone worship Him. True faith is also never coerced.

Despite all these issues – abortion, human sexuality, parental authority and religious freedom – being all biblical issues, pastors may nevertheless shy away from addressing them in the modern context out of fear of tipping their hand or hat to a particular party or candidate.

It’s a mistake.

American Christians are pleading and praying to be led, educated, inspired and instructed. There is no better person to guide and direct them than a pastor who possesses the truth of the Word of God.

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