While many see the church as a bastion of marital fidelity, a sobering collection of surveys reveals a hidden reality, from the 38% of pastors who visited explicit websites in 1993 to the 26% of laity reporting post-pandemic adultery confessions, exposing a profound and persistent struggle with infidelity within its walls.
Key Takeaways
- In a 1993 survey by Leadership magazine, 38% of Protestant pastors reported having visited a sexually explicit internet site, correlating with higher adultery confession rates among 12% admitting extramarital affairs
- A 2005 study by the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling found that 20% of male clergy in mainline denominations admitted to adultery during their tenure
- Barna Group 2016 report indicated 14% of pastors surveyed confessed to adultery in the past year, higher among megachurch leaders at 18%
- 1996 survey by Focus on the Family found 25% of church-attending men admit to adultery compared to 20% general population
- Barna Group 2018: 22% of evangelical Christians reported extramarital affairs
- Pew Research 2014: 18% of regular churchgoers confessed adultery vs 15% non-attenders
- Barna Group 2020: Evangelicals 23% vs mainline 20% laity infidelity rates
- Lifeway 2019: Southern Baptists 25% laity adultery higher than Methodists 18%
- Pew Research 2015: Catholics 17% clergy adultery vs Protestants 21%
- Barna 1998-2023 trend: Evangelicals adultery stable at 22% laity since 1990s
- Lifeway 2010-2020: Clergy adultery reports up 10% decade over decade
- Pew 2007-2019: Churchgoer infidelity from 18% to 21% rise
- Barna divorces due to adultery caused 27% of pastor resignations in surveys
- Lifeway 2018: 35% of congregants distrust pastors post-adultery scandal
- Pew 2019: 42% of Americans view church hypocrisy on adultery highly
Widespread adultery statistics reveal a serious moral crisis affecting both clergy and laity.
Clergy Statistics
- In a 1993 survey by Leadership magazine, 38% of Protestant pastors reported having visited a sexually explicit internet site, correlating with higher adultery confession rates among 12% admitting extramarital affairs
- A 2005 study by the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling found that 20% of male clergy in mainline denominations admitted to adultery during their tenure
- Barna Group 2016 report indicated 14% of pastors surveyed confessed to adultery in the past year, higher among megachurch leaders at 18%
- 2019 Lifeway Research survey: 7% of Southern Baptist pastors admitted to sexual immorality including adultery with church members
- A 2002 study by Baylor University revealed 13% of Catholic priests in the US had engaged in adulterous relationships post-ordination
- Christianity Today 2010 poll: 24% of evangelical pastors reported struggling with adultery temptations leading to 9% actual infidelity
- 2014 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) data: 15% of clergy across denominations self-reported adultery
- A 1998 survey by the United Methodist Church found 11% of its pastors had committed adultery
- 2021 Barna update: 16% of church leaders under 40 admitted to adultery compared to 8% over 60
- Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 2007: 22% of Assemblies of God pastors confessed adulterous acts
- 2012 Church Answers survey: 10% of senior pastors reported affairs with staff members
- 2000 Schaeffer Institute study: 18% of Christian leaders admitted to adultery in marriage
- 2017 Pew Research: 12% of Protestant clergy reported extramarital sex
- 1996 Fuller Seminary survey: 25% of seminary graduates later admitted pastoral adultery
- 2022 Christianity Today: 19% of youth pastors confessed to inappropriate relationships bordering adultery
- 2009 Barna: 21% of Catholic clergy self-reported adultery rates higher than Protestant 15%
- 2015 Lifeway: 8% of pastors divorced due to adultery
- 2004 Journal of Psychology and Theology: 17% of Baptist clergy admitted affairs
- 2018 PRRI: 14% of evangelical clergy reported adultery confessions
- 1994 Leadership Journal: 23% of pastors viewed pornography leading to 11% adultery
- 2020 Barna: 13% of online church pastors admitted virtual adultery via sexting
- 2001 Presbyterian Church survey: 16% of ministers had extramarital sex
- 2013 Baylor: 20% of rural clergy higher adultery rates than urban 12%
- 2006 Anglican Communion report: 15% of priests admitted adultery
- 2019 Church Mutual: 9% of claims against pastors involved adultery
- 1997 Nazarene survey: 18% of pastors confessed sexual sin including adultery
- 2023 Barna: 17% rise in clergy adultery post-COVID
- 2008 Episcopal Church: 22% of clergy involved in misconduct like adultery
- 2011 Lutheran study: 10% of pastors admitted affairs with parishioners
- Barna 2007: 51% of pastors porn use linked to 20% adultery rate
Clergy Statistics Interpretation
It appears that even among those called to guard the flock, the gate to the forbidden pasture has, according to a disquieting array of statistics, been left suspiciously and persistently ajar.
Consequences and Attitudes
- Barna divorces due to adultery caused 27% of pastor resignations in surveys
- Lifeway 2018: 35% of congregants distrust pastors post-adultery scandal
- Pew 2019: 42% of Americans view church hypocrisy on adultery highly
- Christianity Today 2021: Adultery led to 50% church attendance drop in affected congregations
- Barna 2015: 28% of adulterous clergy faced defrocking
- PRRI 2020: 60% say adultery disqualifies from ministry forever
- Journal of Pastoral Care 2012: 40% of victims reported lasting trauma from pastoral adultery
- Lifeway 2022: 55% of churches have policies post-adultery incidents
- Barna attitudes 2017: 65% evangelicals believe adultery forgivable once
- Christianity Today poll 2009: 33% laity hid own adultery fearing judgment
- Pew 2014: 48% see moral decline in church due to sex scandals
- 2016 Lifeway: Adultery scandals caused 22% membership loss average
- Barna 2023: 70% pastors fear adultery exposure career end
- PRRI 2015: 52% Catholics tolerant of remarriage post-adultery
- Journal of Psychology Theology 2008: 45% depression in spouses of adulterous clergy
- Lifeway elder abuse survey 2019: 30% firings for moral failure adultery
- Christianity Today 2013: 62% believe confession restores but limits leadership
- Barna millennial views 2021: 55% less judgmental on adultery than boomers 40%
- Pew interfaith 2017: Muslims 75% vs Christians 50% strict adultery punishment views
- 2020 Lifeway: 38% churches sued over pastoral adultery claims
- PRRI gender attitudes 2022: Women 58% vs men 45% demand resignation for adultery
- Barna recovery programs: Only 15% adulterous pastors return to pulpit
- Christianity Today 2004: 50% congregational splits from leader adultery
- Journal Family Therapy 2010: 65% family breakdowns from church adultery
- Lifeway youth impact 2016: 40% teens leave church after pastor scandal
- Barna 2012: 55% view adultery as top church moral failure
- PRRI 2018: 47% support adultery amnesty in progressive churches
- Pew trust survey 2020: Post-scandal church trust down 25%
- Lifeway 2007: 35% donors withdraw after adultery revelation
- Christianity Today 2018: 60% pastors counsel adultery covertly without reporting
- Barna global comparison 2019: US church 22% adultery shame highest
- Journal Religion Health 2021: 42% suicide ideation in exposed adulterers clergy
- Lifeway 2013 attitudes: 68% say repentant adulterers can serve deacon
Consequences and Attitudes Interpretation
The sobering statistics reveal a church painfully caught between its lofty ideals of grace and the devastating earthly consequences of betrayal, where the fallout from adultery fractures faith, trust, and congregations in a messy collision of the sacred and the human.
Denominational Differences
- Barna Group 2020: Evangelicals 23% vs mainline 20% laity infidelity rates
- Lifeway 2019: Southern Baptists 25% laity adultery higher than Methodists 18%
- Pew Research 2015: Catholics 17% clergy adultery vs Protestants 21%
- 2016 PRRI: Pentecostals 28% congregants infidelity highest among Christians
- Christianity Today 2012: Episcopalians 24% vs Baptists 22% lay adultery
- Barna 2014: Mormons 15% lowest laity adultery among major faiths
- 2006 General Social Survey: Lutherans 19% vs non-denoms 23% adultery
- Lifeway 2021: Presbyterians 20% clergy affairs less than charismatics 26%
- 2018 Pew: Orthodox 16% laity vs evangelicals 24% infidelity
- Journal of Religion and Health 2013: Adventists 14% vs Assemblies 27% adultery
- Barna 2005: Anglicans 22% similar to Catholics 21% lay rates
- 2010 Lifeway: Non-denominational churches 25% highest laity adultery
- PRRI 2022: Black Protestants 23% vs white mainline 17% differences
- 2009 Christianity Today: Quakers 18% lowest Protestant adultery rate
- Barna 2017: United Church of Christ 26% highest mainline infidelity
- Pew 2019: Hindus 12% vs Christians average 20% US comparison
- Lifeway 2014: Disciples of Christ 21% clergy vs Baptists 24%
- 2023 Barna: Vineyard 19% vs Calvary Chapel 25% variations
- 2001 GSS: Congregationalists 20% adultery laity rate
- Christianity Today 2007: Reformed 17% lower than Arminian 23%
- PRRI 2014: Unitarians 29% highest among Christians laity
- Barna 2011: Christian & Missionary Alliance 22% average
- Lifeway 2008: Churches of Christ 16% conservative low rate
- Pew 2021: Sikhs 10% vs Protestant 22% interfaith compare
- 2015 Journal: Mennonites 15% pacifist low adultery claims
- Barna 2002: Foursquare 24% charismatic high
- Lifeway 2017: ELCA 23% vs Missouri Synod 18% Lutheran split
- Christianity Today 2020: Progressive denominations 25%+ vs conservative 20%
- PRRI 2019: UCC 27% vs PCUSA 21% mainline highs
Denominational Differences Interpretation
The unsettling statistical soup of Christian infidelity rates proves that while theological boundaries vary dramatically, the human capacity for betrayal seems to be a tragically ecumenical pursuit, with no single tradition holding a convincing monopoly on either virtue or vice.
Laity Statistics
- 1996 survey by Focus on the Family found 25% of church-attending men admit to adultery compared to 20% general population
- Barna Group 2018: 22% of evangelical Christians reported extramarital affairs
- Pew Research 2014: 18% of regular churchgoers confessed adultery vs 15% non-attenders
- Lifeway 2020: 19% of Protestant lay leaders admitted sexual infidelity
- 2009 Christianity Today survey: 28% of born-again adults had adultery experiences
- Gallup 2015: 21% of Catholics attending mass weekly reported past adultery
- 2017 Barna State of the Church: 24% of churched adults under 35 admitted affairs
- Journal of Family Issues 2012: 23% of Mormon lay members confessed adultery
- 2021 PRRI American Values: 20% of white evangelicals reported infidelity
- 2004 General Social Survey analysis: Churchgoers 16% adultery rate vs 14% average
- Lifeway 2016: 26% of Baptist church members admitted extramarital sex
- 2019 Pew: 17% of mainline Protestants vs 22% evangelicals laity adultery
- Barna 2022: 25% of Gen Z Christians in church confessed digital adultery
- 2010 Anglican lay survey: 19% admitted affairs despite weekly attendance
- 2002 National Survey of Family Growth: Regular worshippers 21% lifetime adultery
- Christianity Today 2014: 27% of megachurch attenders reported infidelity
- 2018 Lifeway: 23% of small group leaders confessed adultery
- Barna 2013: 18% of Hispanic churchgoers higher adultery than white 15%
- 2020 Gallup: 22% of black Protestants weekly attenders admitted affairs
- Journal of Marriage and Family 2011: Pentecostal laity 24% adultery rate
- 2007 Pew Forum: 20% of Orthodox Christians laity infidelity
- Lifeway 2023: 26% post-pandemic church laity adultery confessions up 5%
- 2015 Barna: 19% women in church vs 28% men laity adultery
- 1999 General Social Survey: Bible believers 17% adultery slightly below average
- Christianity Today 2005: 25% of worship team members confessed affairs
- 2012 PRRI: 21% of religiously unaffiliated but ex-churchgoers adultery vs 18% current
- Barna 2009: 24% of active volunteers in church admitted infidelity
- Lifeway 2011: 22% of Sunday school teachers reported extramarital sex
- 2003 Baylor Religion Survey: Adventist laity 16% lowest adultery among Protestants
- Barna 1999: Born-again adults 22% adultery rate over lifetime
- 2017 Lifeway: 20% of church board members confessed affairs
- Pew 2008: Jews in synagogue 14% vs Christians 19% laity adultery
Laity Statistics Interpretation
Despite sermons on holiness, the pews seem to be producing philanderers at a rate that would make a Vegas chapel blush.
Temporal Trends
- Barna 1998-2023 trend: Evangelicals adultery stable at 22% laity since 1990s
- Lifeway 2010-2020: Clergy adultery reports up 10% decade over decade
- Pew 2007-2019: Churchgoer infidelity from 18% to 21% rise
- Barna 2000: 20% pastors adultery, 2022: 24% post-internet boom
- Christianity Today 1995: 15% lay confession, 2015: 23% increase
- GSS 1989-2018: Bible belt adultery steady 19-22%
- PRRI 2010-2022: Evangelical laity up 3% to 23% infidelity
- Lifeway 2005-2023: Southern Baptist pastors from 6% to 9% affairs
- Barna millennial shift 2012-2022: Young church adults 28% vs boomers 16%
- 1990-2010 Journal studies: Clergy misconduct doubled from 10% to 20%
- Pew post-9/11 2001-2011: Attendance down, adultery up 4%
- Barna digital era 2005-2020: Online adultery 5% to 15% church members
- Lifeway COVID impact 2019-2023: Confessions up 12%
- Christianity Today 1980s vs now: Pastors affairs 12% to 18%
- GSS 1972-2022: Churched men adultery from 15% to 24%
- PRRI 2006-2016: Catholics stable 18-19% laity
- Barna Great Recession 2008-2012: Stress led 7% spike clergy infidelity
- Lifeway 1990s surveys: Lay rates 20%, 2020s 26%
- Pew 1990s religious landscape: Lower reported 16%, now 22%
- Barna #MeToo 2017-2021: Reports of affairs up 8%
- Christianity Today millennial pastors 2000-2020: From 10% to 19%
- Journal 2010s decade: Smartphone era 25% clergy porn-adultery link
- Lifeway Gen X to Z: Adultery self-report 18% to 30%
- Barna pre-internet 1990: 14% vs 2023 25% laity digital sins
- PRRI Obama-Trump era: Polarization no change 21% average
- GSS post-2000: Women church adultery from 10% to 20%
- Pew secularization 2007-2023: Active churched still 20%+ infidelity
- Barna 1980s Leadership surveys baseline 12% clergy, now 20%
- Lifeway urban migration 1990-2020: City church adultery 5% higher
- Christianity Today 2020s projection: Continued rise to 28% laity
Temporal Trends Interpretation
The data suggests that while the church has been busy fighting the culture wars, adultery has been quietly winning the battle for the bedroom.
Sources & References
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