may disagree on immigration policies or how we engage in social welfare, or even on what constitutes racism or sexism or any other "ism," we agree on this: God's love is available to everyone. No matter what.

 

Most Presbyterians also agree that Jesus is central to salvation. However, there's a big difference in the way that members and teaching elders understand this tenet: Significantly more teaching elders than members believe that God chooses who is to be saved through Christ, while significantly more members than teaching elders believe that people choose Christ as their Savior.

 

An overwhelming percentage of Presbyterians consider the sovereignty of God a very important Reformed principle, though this concept might not mean the same thing to everyone. One Merriam-Webster definition of sovereignty is "supreme power especially over a body politic." Asking how that applies to one's understanding of the sovereignty of God would make a great theological discussion starter for a session meeting or a small group discussion.  Other survey responses also revealed that:

• Presbyterians are involved in a limited number of interfaith activities. However, the number of types of interfaith activities in which members are involved increased somewhat between 2013 and 2016. For teaching elders, the number stayed the same;

• many Presbyterians believe that it is important to learn about other faiths; although, fewer Presbyterians regard interfaith bridge-building as a crucial task for the Presbyterian Church;

• grace is a crucial tenet of Reformed Christianity, for most Presbyterians. Other important tenets include the sovereignty of God, ministers and elders leading the church together, stewardship, and the priesthood of all believers;

• most Presbyterians believe Jesus is central to salvation, but members and teaching elders disagree about how this works.  A large number of teaching elders believe that God selects certain people for salvation through Jesus, while a large number of members believe people who commit themselves to Jesus thereby choose salvation themselves; and,

• more PC(USA) teaching elders than members feel that God is involved in most aspects of their life and on a daily basis; while fewer members feel such guidance.