Saturday, June 14, 2003
Faith polls hearten secularists
Pollsters who pry into matters of faith know they have to phrase their questions carefully.
One big question goes something like this: "What is your religion?" As a rule, few dare to answer "none."
But researchers at the City University of New York made a subtle change in 2001 when updating their portrait of U.S. religious identities. They asked: "What religion do you identify with, if any?" A stunning 14 percent said "no religion" -- nearly 30 million Americans. Another question asked if respondents were religious or secular, and 16 percent chose "secular."
"Those two words -- 'if any' -- made a big difference," said Fred Edwords, editorial director of the American Humanist Association.
"Those two little words signaled that it was acceptable for people to say that they didn't believe in God or at least didn't practice any particular religion."
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