A rundown of some of the major headlines and events of the last month—National Religious Freedom Day, the Women’s March, the March for Life, Karen Pence’s employment at a Christian school accused of discriminating against the LGBT community, a viral video of a confrontation between Catholic high school students and Native Americans, and the new abortion legislation in NY state—is enough to illustrate the many and complicated issues on which religious leaders might speak out today. Though there is widespread agreement among clergy that they have a uniquely important role to play when it comes to preserving religious freedom in the U.S., they are much less certain about just what that role is.

A brand new Barna report, Faith Leadership in a Divided Culture, is the culmination of four years of research examining clergy members’ views on matters of religious liberty in the United States. Specifically, we found that Christian leaders believe discipling Christians around social issues is a critical part of their pastoral responsibility. However, when it comes to some issues in particular, pastors feel a level of sensitivity and pressure in how they approach those topics from the pulpit. A divided and contested American culture raises the stakes for faith leaders as they address many of the controversial issues of the day.

The Role of Clergy in Religious Freedom Debates Barna has found that even though many people of faith report feeling misunderstood, persecuted, marginalized and extreme in society today, the majority also believes their faith is primarily a positive contribution to society. Large majorities of practicing Christians, and especially Millennials and evangelicals, report two confident attitudes: They feel their faith is a force for good (88%) and that it is essential for society (75%).

This is also true for American faith leaders, regardless of religious tradition. A majority believes their position as clergy gives them a unique and important role to play in society and in preserving religious freedom. The study was primarily conducted among Christian leaders; however, in order to represent the voice of non-Christian faith leaders on issues that affect multiple religions, the research also included clergy from Mormon, Jewish and Islamic traditions. Across the board, most leaders embrace the idea that they have a uniquely important role when it comes to religious freedom, including solid majorities of Protestant non-mainline pastors (72%), Catholic priests (67%), clergy from other traditions (63%) and Protestant mainline pastors (61%).