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Survey: Protestant pastors see increased church diversity

Pastors are more likely to say their churches are made up of multiple racial and ethnic groups than they were four years ago.

More than four in five Prot­estant pastors—or 81 percent—say their congregations are predominantly made up of one racial or ethnic group.

That figure is high, but not as high as it was four years ago, according to a study published recently by LifeWay Research. It was 86 percent in a similar survey of both mainline and evangelical churches by LifeWay in 2013.

“Protestant churches are still mostly divided by race, but they’re heading in the right direction,” said Scott Mc­Connell, LifeWay Research executive director, in a statement.