Led by evangelical writer Os Guinness, the group of Christian scholars and theologians says Christians have become "useful idiots" for politicians by using faith to express political views, USA Today reported Wednesday.

The term "evangelical" risks sliding into the same disfavor and misuse as "fundamentalist," which has become a pejorative code word, says A. Larry Ross, a spokesman for the group.

The manifesto drafted by Guinness and eight other scholars, pastors and theologians is aimed at returning the word to its religious roots and not permitting it to be used to refer to Christians who have conservative political views.

A survey of 1,201 adults conducted in April by LifeWay Research found that 52 percent of U.S. adults do not think Christians are too involved in politics.