What is a Professing Christian?

I was disturbed but only a little surprised at the Pew Forum poll results that found 57% of professing Evangelical Christians believe that Christ is not the only way to salvation. It makes me wonder what it really means now days to call yourself an evangelical or a professing Christian. It's clear that it no longer means that you adhere to the objective standard of an inspired, Holy Scripture a a rule of faith. To me, when Christ, said,"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6,ESV), he didn't leave the door open, not even a crack, for other means of salvation.

So, how can so many who profess Christ deny this basic teaching? Is it reaction to our cultural mandate that exclusivity just isn't cool? I'll admit, Solo Christos, or through Christ alone, can be one of the harder things to accept, but it is equally hard to deny its truth. Or maybe it's not that the teaching is being denied, but that it's not being taught.

At one time, most churches had a confessional standard. It was required to be taught to and affirmed by potential congregants before they joined the church. The confessional standard was not intended to supplant Scripture, but to lay out the essentials of Christianity in a systematic form. Some churches still have confessional standards, fewer still hold to them.

My sad conclusion is that calling oneself an evangelical or a professing Christian doesn't mean very much in itself. When I consider a manuscript for publication, I ask the author for a written statement of faith. Sometimes this helps, sometimes not. I'm an advocate of confessional standards in churches, more discipleship, and stricter examinations for church membership.
Let me know what you think.