Peter Leithart on Study of Evangelicals

Peter Leithart comments on a recent study of Evangelicals conducted by Berkeley sociologist Manuel Castells. Leithart’s wit is classic:

“[The study found that] ‘doctrinal evangelicals’ are ‘less educated, poorer, more influential among housewives, more often residents of the South, significantly more religious, and 100 percent of them consider the Bible to be inerrant.’ Ignore the shockingly patronizing comment about credulous housewives, and ignore the fact that, actually, we don’t know anything of the kind about the educational levels or economic status of evangelicals. That 100 percent figure is what stands out in high comic relief. I’m no sociologist, but it seems to me that if you select a group defined by their commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture, and then survey them about their commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture, you are likely (let us say, 100 percent likely) to find that a high proportion of your sample is committed to the inerrancy of Scripture.”

Touché, Dr. Leithart!