TruthBook Religious News Blog

Nearly 8 In 10 Believe There Is Major Point Of View Difference Between Younger, Older Americans

(AP) American adults from young to old disagree increasingly today on social values ranging from religion to relationships, creating the largest generation gap since divisions 40 years ago over Vietnam, civil rights and women's liberation.

A survey being released Monday by the Pew Research Center highlights a widening age divide after last November's election, when 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Democrat Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio.

Almost eight in 10 people believe there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today, according to the independent public opinion research group. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent reported major differences in an era of generational conflicts over the Vietnam War and civil and women's rights. In contrast, just 60 percent in 1979 saw a generation gap.

Asked to identify where older and younger people differ most, 47 percent said social values and morality. People age 18 to 29 were more likely to report disagreements over lifestyle, views on family, relationships and dating, while older people cited differences in a sense of entitlement. Those in the middle-age groups also often pointed to a difference in manners.

Religion is a far bigger part of the lives of older adults. About two-thirds of people 65 and older said religion is very important to them, compared with just over half of those 30 to 49 and 44 percent of people 18 to 29.

Please click on "external source" for the rest of the article, and highlights of the survey.

Labels: Americans, generation gap, morality, religion, social issues, values

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Half of Americans lack understanding of Islam: survey

Press Trust of India / Washington April 06, 2009

More than half of Americans lack a basic understanding of Islam, while a sizable number hold negative views about the world's second-largest religion.

Most Americans think President Obama's pledge to "seek a new way forward" with the Muslim world is an important goal, even as good amount of number say that even mainstream adherents to the religion encourage violence against non-Muslims, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey showed that 55 per cent of those polled said they are without a basic understanding of the teachings and beliefs of Islam, and most said they do not know anyone who is Muslim. While awareness has increased in recent years, underlying views have not improved.

About 48 per cent said they have an unfavourable view of Islam, the highest in polls since late 2001.

Nearly three in 10, or 29 per cent, said they see mainstream Islam as advocating violence against non-Muslims; although more, 58 per cent, said it is a peaceful religion.

Overall, nearly two-thirds said Obama will handle the diplomatic mission "about right". Nearly a quarter, though, said he will probably "go too far". Nine per cent said it is more likely he will not go far enough.

Republicans are also more apt than others to hold negative attitudes toward Islam, with six in 10 having unfavorable views, compared with about four in 10 for Democrats and independents.

Perceptions of Islam as a peaceful faith are the highest among non-religious Americans, with about two-thirds holding that view. Among Catholics, 60 per cent see mainstream Islam as a peaceful faith; it is 55 per cent among all Protestants, but drops to 48 per cent among white evangelical Protestants.

There are deep divisions in perceptions of Islam between younger and older Americans as well: More than six in 10 younger than 65 said Islam is a peaceful religion, but that drops to 39 per cent among seniors.

The Post-ABC poll was conducted by telephone March 26-29 among a national random sample of 1,000 adults. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

In his inaugural address, Obama extended an offer to leaders of unfriendly Muslim nations that the United States "will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

Labels: Americans, Islam, polling, President Obama, religion, understanding

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Americans Reject Labels, Not Faith

Americans Reject Labels, Not Faith

A lengthy article, well-worth the read...click on "external source"

If the new American Religious Identification Survey study tells us anything at all, it is that the categories by which people measure and define their own faith are shifting, but that is hardly something new. The personalized, even idiosyncratic nature of faith in our culture has been a growing trend for a very long time.

The bottom line is that we have always been a culture that rejected the spiritual status quo. But we have not ever been, and are not now, a culture that rejects faith. We just want in on our own terms -- that is the American spiritual tradition. The American Religious Identity Survey actually confirms that. For people invested in status quo categories, whether out of academic or theological necessity, that may be upsetting, but it need not be for the rest of us.

The results of the American Religious Identity Survey suggest that we live in a time of incredible spiritual ferment, one in which personal freedom and individual dignity are celebrated more than ever. The last time I checked, those were pretty good values to celebrate. The survey also raises important questions about the state of faith in our nation, and failing to ask them would be as mistaken as the 'death of religion' conclusion to which others have jumped.

In light of this survey, we need to ask ourselves three basic questions. First, how do people, whatever faith they follow (including no faith at all) maintain their sense of obligation to the welfare of others when personal freedom defines their identity? Without that kind of commitment, forget religion, the whole world is in trouble. How do we assure that a celebration of personal freedom is not simply cover for a culture of narcissism and selfishness?

Second, how do those of us who still feel deeply rooted in a particular tradition take advantage of this moment not to make converts, or to beef up our numbers, but to serve all people (most of whom will never sit in our pews or pay our dues) who might benefit from some of the wisdom contained within the traditions we follow? How do we use this moment in American life to become increasingly sensitive to the difference between religion as we happen to understand it and faith/belief/spiritual connection which, if they are really real, must be bigger than our particular doctrine or tradition?

Finally, are those of us who still claim attachment to a religious community or institution going to ask ourselves the tough questions raised by this survey about the credibility which religion has lost in recent decades? With violence in the name of religion on the rise, extremists becoming increasingly powerful in every segment of religious life, and the ever-more polarizing language used by ideologues ranging from absolutist atheists to radical religionists, this is not someone else's problem. If the use of traditional religious labels is on the decline, those who remain comfortable with those labels must ask ourselves what we have done to "degrade our own brand" and even more importantly, what we must do to fix it.

Labels: American Religious Identification Survey, Americans, faith, spirituality

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Friday, January 23, 2009

What do we pray for?

BY DANA MASSING
dana.massing@timesnews.com [more details]

Published: January 17. 2009 12:01AM

Christians are praying for unity this week, but that's not the number one thing people ask God for.

Help is what most people pray for, said Carol Zaleski, co-author of "Prayer: A History."

"A request is often involved -- for divine protection, healing or special favors for oneself or for others," Zaleski said.

She said that prayer is, essentially, communication with God, or with spiritual beings.

More than half of Americans do it daily, according to survey results released in 2008.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that 58 percent of the national population prays once a day or more.

Percentages ranged from 5 percent of atheists to 89 percent of Jehovah's Witnesses and included 26 percent of Jews, 45 percent of Buddhists, 62 percent of Hindus, 71 percent of Muslims and 78 percent of evangelical Protestants, results showed.

"All religions involve prayer; and prayer goes on outside the boundaries of religion as well," said Zaleski, professor of world religions at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. "Prayer is the primary means of relationship to the divine. Without prayer there is no religion."

Prayer can be spoken or silent. It can include music, dance or visual expression, said Zaleski.

"There are many differences and distinctive notes between and among religions," she said. "Prayer may be addressed to an intercessor -- such as a saint, angel or deified ancestor; or it may be addressed directly to God without intermediary. Prayer includes forms of meditation, for instance, in Buddhism, that are not overtly theistic."

One distinctive practice is the Sufi dhikr, which can involve whirling in imitation of the heavenly spheres while remembering the name of God, she said. Sufism is an Islamic mystic tradition.

Mecca is the center of Islam, Zaleski said, and Muslims face it to pray for that reason.

Muslims are expected, if they are physically and financially able, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.

"When Muslims turn to face Mecca, they are, in a sense, virtual pilgrims, united in prayer," Zaleski said.

Some Christians, particularly Catholics, Orthodox and Eastern, make a cross sign when praying. Zaleski said it's "a way of identifying one's whole self with Christ."

And within Christianity, many people bow their heads and fold their hands while praying to express humility, gratitude and assent to God's will, she said.

"It is a joyful posture, not a groveling one; humans need to feel that they are in the presence of something truly higher," Zaleski said.

Labels: Americans, Carol Zaleski, Dana Massing, prayer, religion

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Virgin Birth More Believable Than Darwin's Theory, Say Americans

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

God may be loving some recent religion-related poll results. A Harris Interactive survey released today shows that more Americans believe in an Almighty presence than in Darwin’s theory of evolution and that the majority of the public believes that the Virgin Mary gave birth to baby Jesus.

The findings, compiled from 2,126 U.S. adults, included:

— 80% of adult Americans believe in God

— 75% believe in miracles

— 73% believe in heaven

— 71% believe in angels

— 71% believe that Jesus is God or the Son of God

— 70% believe in the resurrection of Jesus

— 62% believe in hell

— 61% believe in virgin birth (Jesus born to Virgin Mary)

— 47% believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution

— 36% believe in UFOs

Click here for more of the poll’s findings.

American’s aren’t the only ones to believe in virgin birth. Another poll out today from theology think-tank group Theos has found that more than a third of Britons believe that the virgin birth of Jesus Christ really happened. In the poll carried out by ComRes on behalf of Theos, 34% of people agreed that the statement "Jesus was born to a virgin called Mary" was historically accurate, while only 32% said they believed it was fictional.

What’s also interesting is women — who experience the agonizing pains of birthing — were more likely to believe in the virgin birth (39%), compared to 29% of men, who just stand in the hospital room sweating.

Labels: Americans, angels, Darwin, God, heaven, Jesus, miracles, virgin birth

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Friday, December 12, 2008

61 percent believe in Jesus' virgin birth

December 10, 2008

A poll of Americans finds 80 percent believe in god and 61 percent believe the virgin birth of Jesus occurred.

The Harris Poll took the pulse of 2,126 adults in the U.S. between Nov. 10 and Nov. 17.

Other findings of the poll:

* 75 percent believe in miracles;
* 73 percent believe in heaven;
* 71 percent believe in angels;
* 62 percent believe hell exists;
* 59 percent believe the devil exists;
* 47 percent believe in Darwin's theory of evolution (52 percent of Catholics versus 32 percent of Protestants);
* 40 percent believe in creationism;
* 44 percent believe in ghosts;
* 36 percent believe UFOs exist;
* 31 percent believe in witches;
* 31 percent believe in astrology;
* 24 percent believe in reincarnation.

"Virgin birth" is one of the most searched terms on Google Wednesday. Also among the top search terms is parthenogenesis, an asexual form of reproduction found in females.

Labels: Americans, Harris Poll, Jesus, parthenogenesis, virgin birth

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Monday, December 08, 2008

Americans’ Views of Faith, Prayer and Miracles

Tuesday, 9 December 2008,
Press Release: HCD Research

Science or Miracle?

-- Survey Reveals Americans’ Views of Faith, Prayer and Miracles--

Flemington, NJ, December 8, 2008 - A new national survey of 854 Americans conducted by HCD Research December 6-8, found that an overwhelming majority (75%) believe that religion is a reliable and necessary guide to life. Similarly, 86% of Americans believe that miracles have occurred in the past and 85% believe that they can occur today. Most responders (56%) also claimed to have seen situations and circumstances with themselves, friends and/or family members which they consider to be “miraculous” or “unexplainable by science.”

The study was conducted to obtain Americans’ perceptions of faith, prayer and miracles in both the medical world as well as their everyday lives. To view detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

Those surveyed represent American consumers from Christian (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christian and other), Jewish (Orthodox Jewish, Conservative Jewish, Reform Jewish and Culturally Jewish), Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Scientologist, Islamic, Shinto, Sikh, and other religious traditions as well as those with no religious traditions.

Among the findings:

Views of Religious Texts

The results of this study reveal how divided Americans are on the subject of literal interpretation of religion versus metaphoric interpretation of religion. Of respondents who claimed to practice a specific religion, 48% considered themselves to be a literal believer while 52% considered themselves to be a liberal member. Likewise, 48% of responders said that the miracle stories presented in religious texts, such as the bible, should be taken as literally true while 44% said they should be taken as metaphorically true (8% said they were Pious imaginings). Although the vast majority of Americans claim to be religious, there seems to be a divergence in opinions regarding how literal religious writings are.

Perceptions of prayer and its significance

While there is a wide split regarding the literal interpretation of religious texts, most responders consider prayer to be an important part of their everyday lives. 77% responded that prayer is either somewhat important in their everyday life or very important. 71% encourage family and friends to pray and 76% responded that they pray for individual friends and family members. This demonstrates that the difference in perceptions of responders concerning accuracy of religious texts does not significantly influence “religious” people from incorporating prayer into their everyday lives.

Religion and the practice of medicine

Religion and medicine also present some conflicting opinions and beliefs. Most responders feel that medical practices and religion should be kept separate. While 75% believe that religion is a reliable and necessary guide to life, only 41% responded that medical practices should be guided by religious and moral teachings. When asked how much of the outcome of medical or surgical treatment they believe is related to forces totally outside of human control (referring here to the "supernatural" or an "Act of God"), 55% of responders said either very little or none of the outcome should be attributed to non-human forces and 45% said either all or most of medical outcomes are influenced by non-human forces.

The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

Labels: Americans, faith, HCD Research, medicine, miracles, prayer

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Friday, November 14, 2008

Survey: Americans Believe Religious Values Are 'Under Attack'

Los Angeles, CA, November 14, 2008 …

A majority of the American people believes that religious values are "under attack," and that the people who run the television networks and major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans, according to a survey from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued today.

American Attitudes on Religion, Moral Values and Hollywood, a national poll of 1,000 American adults conducted in October 2008 by The Marttila Communications Group, found that 61% of the American people continue to believe that religious values in this country are "under attack." The poll also found that 59% of Americans agree that "the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans."

The poll was released during the League's 2008 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

"These findings point to the challenges that we face in dealing with issues of religion in society," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The belief that religion is under attack underlies the drive to incorporate more religion into American public life. Disturbingly, 43% of Americans believe there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country."

Among the main findings of the ADL survey, American Attitudes on Religion, Moral Values and Hollywood:

• 61% of Americans say they believe that "Religious values are under attack in this country," while 36% disagree with that statement (graph). 59% agree that "the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans." And 43% hold the view that Hollywood and the national media are waging an organized campaign to "weaken the influence of religious values in this country." (graph)

• Significantly fewer Americans believe today that Jews control the TV and film industries. The survey showed that 63% disagree with the notion that "the movie and television industries are pretty much run by Jews," while only 22% agree. When ADL conducted its first survey on anti-Semitic attitudes in 1964, nearly half of all Americans believed that the television and film industries were run by Jews. (graph)

• There is surprising support for censorship. Nearly 40% of the American people support the notion that "dangerous ideas should be banned from public school libraries," and nearly the same number of Americans disagree with the statement that "censoring books is an old-fashioned idea." (graph)

• Nearly half of those surveyed – 49 percent – believe that the United States is becoming "too tolerant in its acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles;" 47 percent disagreed with that statement. (graph)

"It is troubling that so many Americans feel as if the output of Hollywood is part of an organized campaign to undermine religious values in this country and believe that censorship is acceptable," said Mr. Foxman. "It shows that in this age of pervasive media and the widening availability of the Internet, many Americans still maintain a very parochial view toward the information age, and even believe in censorship to 'protect morality.' If anything, it points to the need for a greater awareness of the fundamental role that the First Amendment has played in helping religious freedom in America to be sustained, and indeed, to flourish."

The survey was conducted by the Marttila Communications Group, a Boston-based public opinion research firm that has conducted numerous national surveys for ADL measuring American attitudes on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues. The survey has a margin of error of +/-3.09 percent. For many questions, the survey used the technique of split sampling," a process in which the 1,000 sample was split into two demographically representative national samples of 500 respondents each. The margin of error for questions answered by 500 respondents is +/- 4.38 percent.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Labels: American Attitudes on Religion, Americans, Anti-Defamation League, censorship, Marttila Communications Group, Moral Values and Hollywood, religion, religious values, TV

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Poll: Economy not getting faithful down

Published: Nov. 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A survey shows religious Americans are less worried about the economy than they are about a "spiritual recession."

The Faithbook on Facebook poll released Tuesday found nearly 72 percent of respondents said such a spiritual recession was more of a concern to them than a downturn in the spiritual arena.

In a similar vein, more than 80 percent see the developing tough times as an opportunity to revitalize the nation's level of spirituality, Faithbook said in a written statement.

"The Faithbook poll seems to confirm that the economic downturn has reached the heart of religious life," said Simon Cohen, managing director of Global Tolerance, which runs Faithbook. "It is heartening that for many people, as long as our basic human needs are met, they see the financial watershed as pregnant with hope and opportunity."

The online survey of 150 respondents also found that more than 27 percent of them said they had actually been praying more ever since the economy went south.

Labels: Americans, economics, Faithbook, religion, spiritual recession, spirituality

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Friday, November 07, 2008

The (step by step) path to worship

Classes, support groups educate, guide new believers

Friday, November 7, 2008
By Meredith Heagney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Inside a meeting room at the mosque, the converts stood shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, right hands folded over left.

Now bend at the waist, the instructor told them. Make your back as flat as you can. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad's back was so flat when he prayed that you could steady a glass of water on it.

Newly converted Muslim Vanessa Cross followed along, paying close attention. A few minutes before, she had listened to a lesson in how to perform the nine steps of wudu, the ritualistic washing Muslims complete before prayer.

Cross, 31, of the Northeast Side, attends the New Muslim Support Group at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Dublin.

It is one of many classes where new believers are welcomed and instructed on their religion.

Such classes, offered in many faiths, explain basic beliefs, scripture and worship practices while giving new believers a chance to connect. Instructors give tours of the building and pass out educational literature.

Conversion isn't a unique experience among the American faithful. Twenty-eight percent of Americans have left the faith of their childhood for another religion, or for no religion at all, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In some faiths, the classes are mandatory for new members.

Religious leaders want to help new people feel comfortable and committed as they navigate a new faith, which can be daunting. Some people are coming back to religion after a bad experience in another faith or denomination.

Cross told a group of women that she needed help putting on her hijab, the headscarf many Muslim women wear. When she would bend to pray, it would start falling off, she said.

New Christians get lots of help, too.

Evangelical megachurches such as Grove City Church of the Nazarene and Vineyard Church of Columbus offer seminars that teach about Jesus, reading the Bible and communicating with God.

After deciding to accept Jesus Christ as their savior, people often don't know what to do next, said the Rev. Brady Wisehart, an associate pastor at Grove City Church of the Nazarene.

In the Roman Catholic Church, those wishing to convert undergo the nine-month Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

It's a time for people to decide whether Catholicism is right for them. That's why the program takes several months and provides a thorough study, said Deacon Tom Berg Jr., vice chancellor of the Columbus Diocese.

A class gathered at St. Brigid of Kildare Catholic Church in Dublin recently to get a tour of the church from Monsignor Joseph Hendricks, the pastor.

During the tour, Hendricks explained the significance of the cross and the baptismal font, and gleefully pointed out the fact that from his vantage point at the pulpit, he can see people come late and leave early.

He cleared up misconceptions. Some Protestants think Catholics worship Mary, but they don't, he explained. They simply pray to her for intercession and honor her as the mother of Christ.

For Dan VandenBosch, every bit of information is helpful. The 29-year-old plans to convert to Catholicism from the Christian Reformed Church.

His wife of 10 months, Shannon, 29, is Catholic and will serve as his sponsor. Their first child is due in January.

"This is answering a lot of questions," Mr. VandenBosch said.

Labels: Americans, conversion, faith, Meredith Heagney, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

Poll: Americans wary of churches pushing politics

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Americans strongly believe churches should tread lightly when it comes to political activity.

According to a survey released by LifeWay Research, Americans believe churches should not campaign for or endorse political candidates and pastors should only endorse candidates as private citizens outside of a church service.

When asked for their level of agreement with the statement “I believe it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office,” 59 percent said they strongly disagree. Sixteen percent somewhat disagree.

When it comes to how churches use their resources, Americans believe overwhelmingly that churches should not use those resources to campaign for candidates for public office.

When asked to respond to the statement “I believe it is appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office,” 85 percent disagree, including 73 percent who disagree strongly.

Regarding whether churches should lose tax-exempt status for publicly endorsing candidates, a slim majority agree and differences appear along many of the same lines.

Thirty-eight percent strongly agree and 14 percent somewhat agree “that churches who publicly endorse candidates for public office should lose their tax exemption.” Twenty-five percent strongly disagree, 17 percent somewhat disagree and 6 percent are not sure.

“Americans overwhelmingly want pastors to stick to faith and not political endorsements,” Stetzer says. “However, they are less certain that they want the government to strip them of their tax exemption. Americans don’t want churches in politics, but they are not as certain they want the government in the churches.”

When the question centers on pastors rather than churches, Americans are slightly more open to endorsement of candidates, but not during a church service.

Although more than half believe it is appropriate for pastors to endorse candidates for public office outside of the church, only 13 percent believe it is acceptable for pastors to endorse candidates during a church service.

The telephone survey was conducted in June 2008 among 1,208 adults randomly selected throughout the country in proportion to population. Weighting is used to adjust for non-response controlling for region, age, race, religion and gender. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the margin of error does not exceed +2.9 percent.

To view the entire report in addition to charts, visit www.lifewayresearch.com.

Labels: Americans, church, LifeWay Research, politics

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Poll: Most want church out of politics

By DAVID PAUL KUHN | 8/21/08 2:46 PM EST

Page one of two - please click on "external source" for complete article

For the first time in a dozen years, a majority of Americans believe that churches and religious institutions should “keep out” of politics, according to the annual Pew Religion and Public Life Survey.

It’s the highest level of public concern with faith’s effect on politics since Pew began asking the question in 1996.

The rise in Americans’ desire to separate religion and politics — from 44 percent in 2004 to 52 percent today — appears due to a surprising increase in conservative distaste for mingling the institutions — from 30 percent in 2004 to half of conservatives expressing the view today.

Among white evangelicals, 36 percent want religious groups to stay out of politics, a dramatic rise from 16 percent four years ago.

The findings come in the wake of the Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday, when, in unprecedented fashion, both presidential candidates — Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama — joined popular evangelical leader Rick Warren at his megachurch for their first back-to-back campaign appearance.

But the study, the most authoritative national survey of politics and religion, was conducted prior to event, July 31 to Aug. 10. Conducted on mobile and land line phones, the survey had a large national sample of 2,905 adults, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

In the survey, released Thursday, about half of Americans who view gay marriage and abortion as “very important” voting issues say churches should not be involved in politics. In 2004, only one in four voters who saw gay marriage as a top issue said the same, while a third of those who saw abortion as a top issue agreed.

Overall, 48 percent of Americans believe that social conservatives wield “too much” influence in the GOP.

Yet older adults appeared most irked by the mingling of religion and politics. Only 18 percent of Americans age 65 and older said churches should endorse candidates, while roughly a third of voters under age 50 believed a church support for a candidate was appropriate.

The public is also increasingly split over whether they feel “discomfort” when politicians discuss religion in the sphere of public policy, as both Obama and McCain did at length Saturday.

Yet more Americans — half in fact — still say it does not bother them “when politicians talk about how religious they are.” Forty-six percent said they were offended.

American religiosity, however, remains no less prevalent. The public appears to continue to support expressions of faith by public figures while feeling increasingly uncomfortable when that faith falls into the sphere of politics.

The public believes that a president should have “strong religious beliefs.” Fully 72 percent say so today, a modest uptick since 2004 — including 85 percent of voters who attend church at least once a week and 66 percent of independent voters. Equally, only 29 percent of the public believes there is “too much” expression of religious faith by political leaders.

At the same time, the public’s perception of Democrats' unfriendliness to people of faith has significantly improved, though the issue persists.

Labels: abortion, Americans, Barack Obama, David Paul Kuhn, gay rights, John McCain, Pew Religion and Public Life Survey, politics, religion

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Friday, August 15, 2008

Hell: Some believe it exists, others fear it, many do not

Posted by Charles Honey | The Grand Rapids Press
August 09, 2008

Believers in hell decline

...for more and more Americans, hell is a myth. In a survey released this summer by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, just 59 percent of 35,000 respondents said they believe in a hell "where people who have led bad lives, and die without being sorry, are eternally punished."

That's down from the 71 percent who said they believed in hell in a 2001 Gallup survey. And it is lower than the 74 percent who said they believe in heaven in the recent Pew poll.

The heaven-hell gap is reflected locally. In a 1999 Press survey of West Michigan residents, 84 percent said they believed in heaven compared to 72 percent for hell.

Skepticism about hell is growing even in evangelical churches and seminaries, says one local theologian.

"In a pluralistic, post-modern world, students are having a more difficult time with (the idea of) people going to hell forever because they didn't believe the right thing," says Mike Wittmer, professor of systematic theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.

"That's the biggest question out there right now: 'Would God send someone to hell if they were someone as good as me, but didn't believe what I believe?' "

It was easier to believe in hell 20 years ago when missionaries tried to convert people in far-flung places, Wittmer says. In today's global village, many live next to good, non-Christian neighbors and wonder why an all-powerful, loving God wouldn't eventually empty out hell, Wittmer says.

"I've noticed in the last five years how that view is making inroads even in conservative churches, whereas five years ago it wasn't even uttered or discussed," he adds.

Americans' optimism and tolerance for diversity complements a growing view of God as benevolent, not judgmental, other experts say.

The believers

The Pew survey showed the biggest believers in hell are evangelical Protestants, African-American Protestants and Muslims. Sizable majorities of Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, as well as atheists, agnostics, and the rest of the unaffiliated, say they do not believe.

Islamic beliefs

At the Islamic Center and Mosque of West Michigan on Burton Street SE, Imam Sharif Sahibzada also listens for the devil's footsteps. Though faithfully following God, Sahibzada says he nevertheless fears hell.

Jewish viewpoint

Although many Jews believe in neither hell nor heaven, others have varied views of the afterlife, says Rabbi David Krishef of Congregation Ahavas Israel.

One is that souls go to a place called Gehenna, often translated as hell in the Bible. It is derived from a burning valley south of Jerusalem where garbage was dumped and children sacrificed. Their souls are purified in a kind of purgatory before most go to heaven, but some are so evil they are punished or utterly destroyed, Krishef says.

He tends to believe in the latter as the fate of unrepentant evil-doers such as Hitler, Osama bin Laden and Yigal Amir, the assassin of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In any case, the morality by which one lives is the key, he says.
Press Photo/Lance WynnCarmella Conway, 85, a Dominican Sister at Marywood Health Center, said she believes in a gracious God who relies on people to help save others from hell.

Helping others

How we live can keep a lot of people out of hell, if you ask Sister Carmella Conway.

She is a Grand Rapids Dominican Sister who spent 55 years teaching religion. She believes in a gracious God who relies on people to help save others from hell, both on earth and beyond.

"We can transform the world by helping others," Sister Conway says following a morning Mass at Marywood, the Dominican motherhouse. "We're kind of guilty if anybody goes to hell."

Starvation, war, lack of charity: These sins make life hellish for many, she argues. Between God's grace and people's faithful work, very few if any will go to hell, she says.

"I think we're going to be surprised when we get there," she adds with a smile.

So does Sister Marjorie Vangsness, 91, who flatly says she does not think about hell.

"I think about the fact God loves us unconditionally, and that God has given us union with God," says Sister Vangsness, a native of Iron Mountain who taught at Aquinas College. "I'm inclined to go along with those who think maybe there's nobody in hell, that God helps all of us to be with him."

Ultimately, we need to accept the mystery of life after death, she says. Sister Emma Kulhanek agrees, but is confident about where she will go.

"If we live as we can best live, then I'm going to heaven," says Sister Kulhanek, 78, a former teacher and principal. "There's a lot of pain just in this world. It's what we do with it that makes the difference."

-- The New York Times News Service contributed to this story

Labels: Americans, evangelicals, God, heaven, hell, Islam, Judaism, Pew survey, religion

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Recent Poll Shows Christians Believe Religious Freedom is Crucial to Foreign Policy Issue

More than half of Christians in America believe religious freedom should be a high priority in crafting U.S. foreign policy, according to a recent Wilson Research Strategies survey commissioned by Open Doors USA.

“The persecution of Christians in the world today is on the rise, with an estimated 100 million suffering some sort of repression and even death for their faith,” said Carl Moeller, president and chief executive officer of Open Doors USA, a Christian ministry that has served persecuted Christians around the world for more than 50 years. “Open Doors commissioned this study to try to understand what Christians in America feel about religious freedom. Clearly, it is a priority.”

Fifty-four percent of U.S. Christians polled consider religious freedom an important issue in making U.S. foreign policy, according to the survey. This is an especially high priority with those who attend church most frequently (60 percent), compared with those Christians who never attend (40 percent).

The study shows that 96 percent of respondents believe strongly that religious freedom is a basic human right, and that more than eight in 10 believe it is a very important basic right. Those who feel most strongly about the issue are women who frequently attend church. Ninety-one percent believe it is a very important issue.

Respondents did not believe that direct intervention should form our religious freedom foreign policy. Instead, they favored the U.S. using more indirect policies, such as economic sanctions (20 percent) and diplomatic measures to pressure persecuting regimes rather than having the U.S. directly intervene.

“The findings of this study demonstrate that senators McCain and Obama must address the issue of religious freedom in their foreign policy positions if they are intent on winning the vote of faithful Christians,” said Moeller.

Geographically, the weakest support for religious freedom as a basic human right is in New England, with only 76 percent of respondents ranking it as very important, compared with Mountain States, where 9 out of 10 say it is very important.

Among Christian groups, the strongest support came from Baptists, non denominational/independent churches, Lutherans and charismatics. The weakest group support came from Catholics, Presbyterians and Episcopalians.

Of special interest is the finding that 98 percent of frequent listeners to Christian radio believe strongly that religious freedom is a basic human right.

Labels: Americans, Christianity, foreign policy, Open Doors USA, religious freedom, Wilson Research Strategies

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Believers see many paths to heaven

Most Americans believe in God but not dogma

By CATHY LYNN GROSSMAN • USA Today • June 24, 2008

Newly released data from a major survey find that most U.S. adults range far from knowing or caring about the distinctive teachings of their professed faith.

They believe overwhelmingly (92 percent) in God and 58 percent say they pray at least once a day. But when it comes to specific religions they're all over the map, say the latest data from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Pew's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey questioned 35,000 Americans, nearly three in 10 of whom profess no religious identity but sometimes go to church. Most evangelicals, whose denominations teach that Jesus is the sole route to salvation, instead say people who have "led good lives" go to heaven. Only one in three Catholics say their church should preserve its traditional beliefs rather than change with the times or adopt modern practices.

Pew released demographic data in February from the survey, conducted in May through August 2007. This new installment focuses on questions about religious beliefs and practices, spiritual experiences, and views on society and politics.

Diversity and complexity

This analysis, based on a questionnaire that never mentions Jesus, portrays a nation of "free-flowing spirituality," said Pew Forum Director Luis Lugo, who finds the declining adherence to dogma "stunning."

When Green and Lugo factor in Pew's February findings that 44 percent of adults say they've switched to another religion or none at all, Lugo said, "You have to wonder: How do you guarantee the integrity of a religious tradition when so many people are coming or going or following ideas that don't match up?"

You can't, said the Rev. Frank Page, of Taylors, S.C., immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

Page said people don't know their faith because "Gospel, once clearly preached in virtually every Protestant church, is rarely heard in the 21st century. The number who teach a clear doctrinal Christianity are a minority today. How would people know it when they never hear about how to be saved?"
Individualism vs. church

Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sees in the numbers that Catholics, like everyone else, are shaped by an individualistic culture. "People are trained to trust only their own spiritual experience," he said.

Labels: Americans, Cathy Lynn Grossman, church, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion, spirituality, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life to Release Part II of U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

Posted : Thu, 19 Jun 2008
Author : Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Study details Americans' religious beliefs and behaviors as well as their social and political attitudes

WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a noon EDT conference call for journalists on Monday, June 23, 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life will release the second report of a landmark survey that examines the tremendous diversity of Americans' religious beliefs and practices as well as their social and political views. This new analysis follows the first report of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which was published in February 2008 and detailed the size and demographic characteristics of religious groups in the U.S.

Based on interviews conducted in English and Spanish with a representative sample of more than 35,000 adults, part two of the Landscape Survey includes a wealth of information on the religious beliefs and practices of the American public. It also explores the social and political attitudes of religious groups, including groups that are as small as three-tenths of 1 percent of the adult population.

Topics explored in the report include the importance of religion in people's lives; belief in God and the afterlife; attitudes toward the authority of sacred writings; frequency of worship attendance, prayer and meditation; and views of religion and morality, among others. The report also examines ideological and partisan orientation; attitudes on abortion, homosexuality, evolution and other social issues; views on helping the needy, the environment, and the size and proper role of government; and opinions on foreign affairs.

Subsequent releases will include a re-contact survey that delves deeper into religious-political identity, issues related to conversion and attitudes towards religious pluralism in America.

Labels: afterlife, Americans, God, morality, Part 2, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, prayer, religion, social issues

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Friday, May 23, 2008

With age come happiness and improved self-esteem

By Richard Griffin/Growing Older
Mon May 19, 2008

Happiness, it turns out, increases with age.
At least, that’s what a new study has found. Older people are happier than any other age group.

And the main reason why this holds true? According to what Professor Yang Yang, the study’s leading researcher, has told Reuters News Service, it’s largely due to an increase in self-esteem.

She also found that “happiness in later life is closely related to early-life conditions and formative experiences.”

You may have your doubts, but the study looks solid. It comes from the University of Chicago and is based on surveys of Americans conducted over a 30-year period.

The researchers interviewed between 1,500 and 3,000 people each year. So the findings do not rest on a slim sample.

That it began three decades ago suggests that happiness has been a subject of interest for a lot longer than one might have thought. I had considered it something of a fad that sprouted only recently.

For the past few years, it has been of serious interest to social scientists, part of the so-called Positive Psychology movement.

Defining happiness, however, turns out to be difficult.
Tal Ben-Shahar, who teaches a course about happiness to packed rows of Harvard undergrads, sees it as a combination of pleasure and meaning. For him, you need both to make you happy.

In his delightful book “Stumbling on Happiness,” another Harvard psychologist, Daniel Gilbert, writes: “The you-know-what-I-mean feeling is what people ordinarily mean by happiness.”

He then shows in detail how the subject is a lot more complicated than this definition (and this column) might lead you to believe.

The findings of the Chicago researchers run counter to received opinion. Left to themselves, most Americans might have classified old people as basically unhappy. Don’t they have to put up with a lot more grief than young people?

Though not myself a researcher, I judge these findings consistent with experience of many of my age peers. An oft-repeated sentiment that one hears from people from 30 on up: I wouldn’t ever want to go through my 20s again.

(Incidentally, that is not a sentiment I exactly share. I would welcome another shot at it. Of course, this time I would get it right.)

In my more rational moments, however, I do relate to the findings of the survey. My happiness quotient has indeed increased, and I now claim higher marks than previously.

For fear this be mere grade inflation, however, let me qualify this claim. Almost surely, my current happiness will undergo serious tests and resulting ups and downs. I fully expect things to go wrong.

But that belongs to the uncharted future. The present looks quite good to me, despite the ongoing chagrin I harbor over many events. The damage the neo-cons have done to this country, for example. And the grief I feel for the people of Burma/Myanmar, of China, and those living in other parts of this troubled world.

Like many others among my age peers, I got off to a good start with happiness. One of the first things I read as a child came in Sunday school from a little book full of questions and answers.

The second question asked why God made me.
And the answer, if I may here abridge the words a bit, told me it was for me to be happy.

Of course, the slings and arrows of actual living tend to weaken our hold on happiness. Life surprises us with unexpected blows that move us off course. The deaths of dear ones, for example, make happiness sometimes feel remote.

But, even then, self-esteem continues to promote happiness. That means openness to loving and being loved. And that loving begins with loving yourself and being ready to forgive and be patient with yourself.

As suggested above, I think that spirituality promotes happiness. Among human goods, having an interior life rich in spirit surely deserves a high rank.

Among other ingredients for happiness, one of the most important is being at peace with others. It astonishes me how many people are at odds with their relatives or former friends and associates.

It is hard to imagine anyone being happy without a sense of humor. Unless you can laugh at certain human predicaments, you will almost surely become unhappy.

Closely related to a sense of humor is a sense of perspective. If every little happening can upset you, how in the world can you stay even reasonably happy?

Do something for other people. Almost by itself, I have found, being willing to reach out to others will promote happiness. Even if you are largely incapacitated, a word or gesture directed toward another person has the potential to make you feel better.

Finally, writing makes me feel happy. You may not feel the same way about this activity but to make something — a sweater, a bookshelf, a garden — can prove a powerful source of happiness.

Richard Griffin of Cambridge is a regularly featured columnist in Community Newspaper Company publications. He can be reached by e-mail at rbgriff180@aol.com or by calling 617-661-0710.

Labels: Americans, God, happiness, humor, meaning, Richard Griffin, self-esteem, spirituality, survey, Yang Yang

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70 percent of Americans find divorce 'morally acceptable', says Gallup survey

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

An alarming 70 percent of Americans now believe that divorce is “morally acceptable,” according to a recent poll by Gallup’s 2008 Values and Beliefs survey.

The new figure – the highest on record – represents an 11 percent increase from just 7 years ago and a 3 percent increase from 2 years ago. Only 22 percent of Americans said they believed divorce was “morally wrong,” according to the results.

The acceptability of divorce among Americans was ranked higher than all of the other 16 ethical issues surveyed – including the death penalty, gambling, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion and medical research on animals. Additionally, divorce has risen faster in moral acceptability among Americans than any of the other ethical issues.

Although the recent results revealed that the acceptability of divorce has risen steadily to the point where it is now “morally acceptable by a majority of nearly every major demographic category of Americans,” respondents who identified themselves as “conservative,” “religious,” or over 65 years in age were more likely to say that divorce was “morally wrong.”

Respondents who identified themselves as “liberals,” “independents,” and “non-religious,” on the other hand, registered the highest number of responses that said divorce was “morally acceptable.” Nearly 91 percent of those who said religion was “not very important” in their lives said divorce was “morally acceptable,” according to the results.

While the recent poll reveals a steady and alarming rise in the acceptability of divorce, more than 70 percent of Americans continued to rate suicide, cloning humans, polygamy, and “married men and women having an affair” as “morally unacceptable.”

The Gallup poll results were based on telephone surveys of over 1,000 adults.

Aaron Leichman
Christian Post Reporter

Labels: Aaron Leichman, Americans, divorce, Gallup Poll, morality

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Christians in Politics: Too Much or Too Little?

By Richard Land
Christian Post Guest Columnist

Over the past few weeks, a national polling firm for LifeWay Research and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission conducted a survey asking Americans to respond to this statement: “I am concerned that at times Christians are too involved in politics.”

The results were quite informative. The majority of Americans (52%) either “strongly disagree” (32%) or “somewhat disagree” (20%) with the statement. Even larger majorities of faith-affiliated Americans disagreed with the statement. When researchers asked Americans who attended religious services of any faith at least once a week, disagreement with the statement was even higher, with 65% indicating they were comfortable with Christians being involved in politics, and only 21% expressing varying discomfort with Christians’ political activity.

Those who self-identify themselves as “born-again,” “evangelical,” or “fundamentalist” expressed the highest level of disagreement (72%) with the assertion that “at times Christians are too involved in politics” with only 27% telling pollsters they agreed (“strongly” or “somewhat”) with the statement.

These results do not surprise me at all. They underscore and reinforce the feedback I receive on a consistent basis from grassroots Christians of all perspectives, particularly conservative Christians – Catholic and Protestant.

These polling results suggest that those pundits, analysts, and religious leaders that tell us that people of faith are disillusioned with politics and public policy need to get out more and talk with the people who actually go to churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. If they did, they would find that the people who most often attended religious services disagree with their assessment by an almost two to one margin, 65 percent to 31 percent. On a more personal note, among Southern Baptist pastors who were asked the question of whether “at times, Christians are too involved in politics”, two thirds of them either “strongly disagreed” (41%) or “somewhat disagreed” (26%).

When people of faith enter the political process they should always understand that their ultimate allegiance is to the Almighty, not any ideology or party. People of faith have an obligation to be involved as “salt” and “light” in the world, and that includes “politics.” They should be voting their values, beliefs, and convictions, based on their understanding of the imperatives of their faith.

This column originally published at Casting Stones, a blog hosted by Beliefnet.com.

Labels: Americans, Christian, LifeWay Research, politics

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Monday, March 31, 2008

A God of War? Presidential Faith and U.S. Foreign Policy

By Lyn Boyd-Judson

The religious values held by George W. Bush have undoubtedly informed his foreign policy decisions. This simple fact should give every American voter pause.

For the past eight years, many like-minded Americans have rejoiced in the current president's conservative Christian worldview and its foreign policy consequences, rather than recognizing that this worldview is a profoundly disturbing element of his presidency. They take comfort in the belief that their president receives God's guidance in political matters, both domestic and foreign. Their logic is that if good and evil exist in our world, the tension between the two manifests in the political realm and plays out in our foreign policy.

In contrast, those Americans - both secularists and liberal Christians - who find the current president's claims of divine guidance profoundly disturbing argue that one of the key principles on which the U.S. was founded is freedom from religion in state institutions. They argue that the founding fathers were deists who advocated a natural religion based on human reason rather than divine revelation. They understand that one's religious beliefs or worldview can never truly be divorced from decision-making, but they also hold that these religious assumptions should constantly be re-evaluated by rational and factual criteria when applied to matters of state. So when it is reported that President Bush says he receives divine guidance on matters of U.S. foreign policy - for instance, that God told him to invade Iraq? - these Americans believe that all citizens, Christian or otherwise, should be profoundly disturbed, because an unjust war can never be a divine war.

This contrast between American Christian worldviews is starkly apparent in the recent media reports of controversial comments made by religious leaders connected to the current presidential candidates. Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has made inflammatory remarks about the U.S. government, suggesting that the U.S. is racist on the home front and that its foreign policy is unjust, aggressive and foments Islamic terrorist attacks on U.S. citizens. John McCain has close ties to pastors Rod Parsley and John Hagee. Parsley has claimed that Islam is a false religion that America should destroy, and John Hagee has called for bombing Iran to hasten the Christian apocalypse.

Several political pundits describe the current politico-cultural divide in the U.S. as a rift between God-fearing Christians and "secular" (read atheist) liberal intellectuals from (pick your coast). Of course, this distinction is inaccurate and misleading. The divide in American political culture over God is not so much about whether Americans believe in God as it is about how the 90 percent of Americans who believe in God? want to define his purpose in our political world. In this sense, the divide in American political culture over a presidential God is an argument between the politically left-leaning Christian who embraces a God of peace, inclusiveness, forgiveness and social justice, and the politically right-leaning Christian who embraces a God Almighty whose main attributes are judgment, the strength to vanquish enemies, and the righteous impulse to devalue - even destroy - all things not Christian. Again, which presidential God will shape the foreign policy decisions made in the Oval Office?

As Americans, regardless of our religious beliefs or political commitments, it is our duty as voters to reflect deeply on what we value in foreign policy initiatives, why we hold these values, and how we express them in the public sphere. We need reasonable voices speaking to reconcile the factions in the religio-political divide - a divide not over whether a candidate knows God, but over how Americans want to define the role of a candidate's God in a president's foreign policy. While religious values can certainly inform our moral impulses, the distinction between an exclusive or inclusive God is where war and peace often hang in the balance.

Labels: Americans, Barack Obama, Christianity, George Bush, John McCain, Lyn Boyd-Judson, politics, religion, war

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Book Review: How did we become so anxious?

by Judith Timson
March 18, 2008

In her compulsively readable new book, A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours & Mine), Toronto author Patricia Pearson reports that more than 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety.

Ms. Pearson herself has battled her way back from debilitating anxiety attacks, one of which involved frantically ordering crates of freeze-dried vegetables in case the pandemic flu hit and there was no fresh food available.

After reading her book, rich in humour and insight, I came to the grateful conclusion that I was (barely) within the normal range of anxiety. I know people who are not so lucky, burdened with clinical anxiety that inhibits their lives.

But how did we all get so anxious? It can't all be from watching CNN.

Ms. Pearson thinks anxiety is spreading through our culture because "we need, on a collective, cultural and spiritual level, to grow." There's also the matter of control - we wish desperately to control what is going to happen to us, and if modern life has rammed home anything to us, it is that we have little control.

Workplace angst is a major component of this modern condition. Julie McCarthy, a professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management, says new statistics show that "in North America, 25 per cent of workers feel anxious most days in a week and that 44 per cent are anxious about losing their jobs."

I can believe that. Our jobs are insecure, the demands of new technologies are overwhelming and our bosses, suffering from bottom-line anxiety themselves, just aren't very nice to us any more. Hence the feeling of working throughout the day with your stomach clenched.

Of course the flipside of workplace anxiety involves workaholics using their jobs to keep all their other anxieties at bay. Self-medication through BlackBerry use. If I'm at work, the feeling goes, I can control the universe. If I'm at work, I don't have to be thinking about all the other things in my life that make me anxious.

But it's the kids I'm really worried about.

Ms. Pearson argues that anxiety in young adults is about the search for emotional attachment, but my guess is that low-grade (and not clinical) anxiety is exacerbated by a number of factors - including seeing their parents worried about money, work and health all the time, not to mention transmitting a hyper-realized state of global anxiety (cyber-terrorist attacks, anyone?). Children's anxiety can also be heightened by overweening parenting. (I shudder when I remember how overprotective I was of my children, "streetproofing" them into such paranoia that they probably thought they were living in a Martin Scorsese movie).

And certainly there's the foreboding sense many kids of all ages have that they simply have to succeed. Or else. A long-time philosophy professor told me he has never seen such driven students as the ones today: "They know that the world is no longer their oyster, that they can't depend on it to validate them, and that they have to differentiate themselves."

It's no wonder, then, with all this anxiety, that people young and old are desperate for ways, pharmaceutical and otherwise, to calm down and cope.

Ms. Pearson, having given up on medication, hints that visiting her local church is doing her a world of good. Others look to yoga and its calming properties, and there are lineups to get into "mindfulness programs," which teach people how to find the "stillness" at the centre of their beings.

The birth of anxiety as the disease of our times has actually been a progression from the paranoia of the 1960s, which became the depression of the 1980s and 1990s, and is now presenting as anxiety in the 21st century. What's next?

It would be nice to think that all our relaxation techniques will eventually pay off, that serenity will rule and the calm will inherit the earth.

Labels: A Brief History of Anxiety, Americans, anxiety, children, church, control, Judith Timson, Patricia Pearson, workers

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

American faith: A work in progress

American faith: A work in progress
Politics and a new view of morality have radically altered the religious landscape.

By Stephen Prothero

Numbers lie, but they also tell tales, untrustworthy and otherwise. So the key question stirring around the much discussed U.S. Religious Landscape Survey released in late February by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life is what tale does it tell about the religious state of the union.

For some, the story of this survey, based on interviews in multiple languages with more than 35,000 U.S. adults, is the strength of American religion.

Not too long ago, I wrote that American atheism was going the way of the freak show. As books by Christopher Hitchens and other "new atheists" climbed the best-seller lists, I caught a lot of flak for that prophecy. But atheists make up only 1.6% of respondents to this survey. And 82% of respondents report that religion is either somewhat or very important in their lives.

Others find in this new data a nation of religious shoppers: 44% of the Americans surveyed have traded in their original religious home for another. Apparently, the grass is also greener at the church, synagogue or mosque next door.

Still others, noting that only 51% of Americans describe themselves as Protestants, see Protestantism teetering on the verge of becoming a minority.

Catholicism is at least by some readers of the tea leaves in trouble, too, now that ex-Catholics constitute 10% of the population.

Diminished safeguards

The tale I take away from this study is that shifts in the political and moral winds are transforming American religion. Many believe that the Founders separated church and state in order to save the federal government from the interference of overzealous ministers. Not so. The purpose of the First Amendment's establishment clause — which prohibits the federal government from passing laws that favor any one religion (atheism included) — was to safeguard religion against the encroachment of politics. And this new survey suggests that those safeguards are, well, going the way of the freak show.

The key subplot here is the rise of "nones," a category growing faster than any other religious group. Of all adults in the USA, 16% say they are religiously unaffiliated, while 7% were raised that way. Moreover, 25% of younger Americans (ages 18-29) report no religious affiliation at all.

It is important to emphasize that this march of the "nones" is by no means beating the drums for the old secularization thesis, which posited that as societies embraced modernization they would shun God. This is because many "nones" are quite religious. In fact, many Americans refuse to affiliate with any religious organization not because they do not believe in God but because they believe in God so fervently that they cannot imagine any human institution capturing the mysteries of the divine. In this study, only about a quarter of all "nones" call themselves atheists or agnostics. In other surveys, about half the unaffiliated typically affirm the Christian God.

Two related factors seem to be at play in the rise of the "nones": a decline in the stigma of being a religious free agent, and an increase in the stigma of being a church member. According to Darren Sherkat, a professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University who has written widely on religious demographics, Americans have long "overconsumed religion because of social constraints." It used to be that you were considered a bad citizen, a bad marriage prospect and a bad employee if you didn't show a little faith in faith. And plainly it is still imperative for presidential candidates to pledge their allegiance to God as well as flag. But in recent years, the moral failings of Ted Haggard, John Geoghan and other men of the cloth have been broadcast from National Public Radio to YouTube. As the almighty have fallen, atheists have felt empowered to stand up and ask whether religion really is any sort of guarantor of moral behavior. What is so moral about affiliating with gay-bashing gay evangelists or pedophilic priests?

Plainly, the Republican Party gained ground over the past quarter-century by attaching itself to family, morality and God, even as the Democratic Party lost ground by focusing on such matters as rights and reason. In the process, the Republicans became the party of God and the Democrats the party of secularism — not a good strategy for the Democratic Party in a country where 96% of voters believe in God. So Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both taking pains to pitch their party as a party of prayer and piety.

Even so, for much of the past generation, "Christian" and "conservative" have seemed to be interchangeable terms. It should not be surprising if at least some on the left who once upon a time might have described themselves as "Christians" have decided to jettison that affiliation for political reasons. Such reasons, it should be emphasized, are basically the same ones why so many Europeans have divorced themselves from their country's established churches: because the marriage of a given church with a particular political regime is never eternal, and when it ends it leaves a lot of angry children in its wake.

Customized religion

Another story buried in the data of this new survey is the power of evangelical Protestantism, and particularly non-denominational churches. Of those surveyed, 44% called themselves "born again" or "evangelical" Christians, and among religious options non-denominational Protestantism is one of the fastest growing.

The story behind the numbers of this latest survey is not that religion is in trouble. It is that religion is morphing into something new. Faith is becoming more political. But it is becoming more personal at the same time.

Stephen Prothero is the Chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University. He's also the author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — And Doesn't.

Labels: Americans, Christian, evangelicals, faith, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Stephen Prothero, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, unaffilIiated

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Saturday, March 01, 2008

Pew religion survey a fascinating read

February 28, 2008

BACKGROUND:
• The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a comprehensive study of religion in America this week.

CONCLUSION:
The survey found a sizeable number of American adults are engaged in a religion that is different than how they were raised as children.

Anyone who has spent time walking through a shopping mall of late doesn't need to be convinced that we live in a nation of shoppers – even in today's challenging economy.

The fact that a growing number of Americans also are shopping for a different religion might come as more of a surprise.

That was the conclusion of a fascinating study released earlier this week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., that studies the relationship between religion and public affairs.

The headline that emerged from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey is that 28 percent of Americans – more than one out of every four – no longer observes the faith of their childhood. If you draw a distinction among the various Protestant denominations, that figure jumps to 44 percent.

The study also found that the fastest-growing group is unaffiliated (+9 percent to 16 percent), the fastest-shrinking group is Catholic (-8 percent to 24 percent), and that Protestants make up the largest group at 51 percent (-3 percent). In the 1970s, Protestants made up nearly 70 percent of the U.S. population.

The extensive study was based on a national survey of 35,000 adults conducted between May 8 and Aug. 13 of 2007. The report also used data from a 2007 survey of American Muslims that it conducted in partnership with its sister organizations under the umbrella of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Here's how religious affiliations broke down by the numbers:

-Christian (78.4 percent): Protestant (51.3 percent), Catholic (23.9 percent), Mormon (1.7 percent), Jehovah's Witness (0.7 percent), Orthodox (0.6 percent) and other Christian religions (0.3 percent).

-Other religions (4.7 percent): Jewish (1.7 percent), Buddhist (0.7 percent), Muslim (0.6 percent), Hindu (0.4 percent) and other world religions (less than 0.3 percent).

-Unaffiliated (16.1 percent): Nothing in particular (12.1 percent), agnostic (2.4 percent) and atheist (1.6 percent). Another 0.8 percent responded "don't know/refused."

The Pew Forum's Web site (http://religions.pewforum.org) contains numerous tools that allow you to examine the religious composition of the country, a further breakdown by state and demographic characteristics of each group.

So what does this all mean?

Plenty, according to Michael Lindsay, assistant director of the Center on Race, Religion and Urban Life at Rice University.

"Religion is the single most important factor that drives American belief attitudes and behaviors," Lindsay told The New York Times. "It is a powerful indicator of where America will end up on politics, culture, family life. If you want to understand America, you have to understand religion in America."

The Pew survey goes a long way in trying to do just that.

Labels: Americans, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Many Americans switch religious denominations, study finds

In a landmark survey, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds a new religious landscape in America.

By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the February 26, 2008 edition

Page 1 of 2 - Please click on external source for complete article

Reporter Jane Lampman talks about the results of a new survey on religion in America.A panoramic snapshot of American religious life in 2008 reveals an extraordinary dynamism that is reshaping the country's major traditions in historic ways.

Almost half of Americans have moved to a different religious denomination from that in which they were raised, and 28 percent have switched to a different major tradition or to no religion (i.e., from Roman Catholic to Protestant, Jewish to unaffiliated).

The fluidity is combining with immigration to spur dramatic changes in the religious landscape. Protestantism appears on the verge of losing its majority status. The number of "unaffiliated" Americans has doubled, to 16 percent. One-third of Catholics are now Latino and the religion is depending on immigration to maintain its share of the population.

These shifts are captured in a survey released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

"The extent of change in the American religious marketplace is remarkable," says Luis Lugo, the Pew Forum's director, in an interview. "Everyone is losing, and has difficulty retaining childhood members, but everyone is also gaining."

The report is the first of three that Pew will release this year from a path-breaking survey of the US religious landscape. Based on interviews in English or Spanish with a representative sample of 35,000 adults, it describes America's religious composition and the changes under way. Later this spring, the second report will analyze Americans' beliefs and practices, and the third, their social and political values.

The movement between churches and denominations is not new, but the report documents its remarkable scope. "Religious fluidity is part of a larger picture of fluidity in American life generally," says Wade Clark Roof, author of "Spiritual Marketplace" and professor at University of California at Santa Barbara. "You can read this as 'It's what America is about – we choose.... The downside is enormous instability, lack of grounding, wandering in the wilderness."

Observers point to many reasons for the shifts. People may change churches because they relocate to a part of the country where different denominations predominate, or they may prefer another style of worship. Whatever the reasons, the survey reveals some clear winners and losers.

Protestantism, which has shaped American identity for generations, may soon become a minority faith. In the 1980s, 65 percent of Americans called themselves Protestants; today that number is down to 51 percent. Only 43 percent of those aged 18-29 say they are Protestant.

Much has been written about the declines in mainline churches. But in comparing the current religious affiliation of adults with their childhood affiliations, the survey found a net loss of 3.7 percent for Baptists (Baptists account for one-third of all Protestants and nearly two-thirds of black Protestant churches.)

Labels: Americans, Jane Lampman, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, protestants, religion, unaffilIiated

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

U.S. Religious Landscape Survey

MEDIA ADVISORY – FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008

CONTACT: Robbie Mills, rmills@pewforum.org, 202-419-4564

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life to Release
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
reli

Study shows most detailed estimates to date of the size and demographic characteristics of religious groups in the Unites States

WASHINGTON – In a noon conference call for journalists on Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life will release the first report of a landmark survey that details the religious affiliation of the American public and explores the remarkable dynamism taking place in the U.S. religious marketplace.

Based on interviews conducted in English and Spanish with a representative sample of over 35,000 adults, the survey includes detailed information on religious affiliation and provides estimates of the size of religious groups that are as small as three-tenths of 1 percent of the adult population. The report also describes changes in religious affiliation and analyzes the relationship between religious affiliation and various demographic factors, including age, ethnicity, nativity, educational and income levels, gender, family composition and regional distribution (including state breakdowns).

Subsequent releases will include analyses of the survey’s findings on Americans’ religious beliefs and practices as well as their social and political views.

TELEPHONE NEWS CONFERENCE

WHO: Luis Lugo, Director, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

John Green, Senior Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Greg Smith, Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, noon EST

RSVP: Email Robbie Mills at rmills@pewforum.org to reserve your place

HOW: To join the telephone press conference:

U.S. Participants: Dial: 800-894-5910 or 785-424-1052

Labels: Americans, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religious identity, religious practice

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Religion colors Americans' views of nanotechnology

Posted in: Science nanotechnology Religion

Is nanotechnology morally acceptable? For a significant percentage of Americans, the answer is no, according to a recent survey of Americans' attitudes about the science of the very small.

Addressing scientists here today (Feb. 15, 2008) at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dietram Scheufele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of life sciences communication, presented new survey results that show religion exerts far more influence on public views of technology in the United States than in Europe.

"Our data show a much lower percentage of people who agree that nanotechnology is morally acceptable in the U.S. than in Europe," says Scheufele, an expert on public opinion and science and technology.

Nanotechnology is a branch of science and engineering devoted to the design and production of materials, structures, devices and circuits at the smallest achievable scale, typically in the realm of individual atoms and molecules. The ability to engineer matter at that scale has the potential to produce a vast array of new technologies that could influence everything from computers to medicine. Already, dozens of products containing nanoscale materials or devices are on the market.

In a sample of 1,015 adult Americans, only 29.5 percent of respondents agreed that nanotechnology was morally acceptable.

In European surveys that posed identical questions about nanotechnology to people in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, significantly higher percentages of people accepted the moral validity of the technology. In the United Kingdom, 54.1 percent found nanotechnology to be morally acceptable. In Germany, 62.7 percent had no moral qualms about nanotechnology, and in France 72.1 percent of survey respondents saw no problems with the technology.

"There seem to be distinct differences between the United States and countries that are key players in nanotech in Europe, in terms of attitudes toward nanotechnology," says Scheufele.

Why the big difference?

The answer, Scheufele believes, is religion: "The United States is a country where religion plays an important role in peoples' lives. The importance of religion in these different countries that shows up in data set after data set parallels exactly the differences we're seeing in terms of moral views. European countries have a much more secular perspective."

The catch for Americans with strong religious convictions, Scheufele believes, is that nanotechnology, biotechnology and stem cell research are lumped together as means to enhance human qualities. In short, researchers are viewed as "playing God" when they create materials that do not occur in nature, especially where nanotechnology and biotechnology intertwine, says Scheufele.

He conducted the U.S. survey with Arizona State University (ASU) colleague Elizabeth Corley under the auspices of the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Nanotechnology in Society at ASU.

The moral qualms people of faith express about nanotechnology is not a question of ignorance of the technology, says Scheufele, explaining that survey respondents are well-informed about nanotechnology and its potential benefits.

"They still oppose it," he says. "They are rejecting it based on religious beliefs. The issue isn't about informing these people. They are informed."

The new study has critical implications for how experts explain the technology and its applications, Scheufele says. It means the scientific community needs to do a far better job of placing the technology in context and in understanding the attitudes of the American public.-University of Wisconsin-Madison

Labels: Americans, Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Dietram Scheufele, Europeans, morality, nanotechnology, religion

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Friday, February 08, 2008

Bishops Tell Christians to Give Up Some Carbon for Lent

By Alexis Madrigal February 07, 2008

Two Church of England Bishops want their followers to join them in a "Carbon Fast" for Lent, the 40 day period in which many Christians abstain from eating or imbibing some favored item.

But really the plan is closer to a carbon diet than a fast. According to the UK's Independent, those joining the fast will, among other carbon-cutting tips, "be asked to remove one lightbulb from a prominent place in the home and live without it for 40 days."

The bishops green stance is not about protecting the environment, per se, but rather a call to lessen global warming's impact on the residents of third-world nations.

"It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change. To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching," James Jones and Dr. Richard Chartres, bishops of Liverpool and London, respectively, said in a statement. "There’s a moral imperative on those of us who emit more than our fair share of carbon to rein in our consumption."

Those words would be music to the ears of environmental folks here in the States who have long held skeptical hopes that Christians, particularly evangelicals led by Richard Cizik, would become a potent new constituency in an emerging climate change political coalition.

But pro-environmental evangelical “calls to action” in February 2006 and January 2007 haven't seemed to make much of an impact on the mass of US evangelicals, at least according to a 2007 survey released by the Christian consulting firm, The Barna Group.

One thousand random US adults were asked the question, “Think about how you would like the United States to change within the next 10 years…” and given a wide variety of areas of concern they’d like to improve including the reliability of news coverage, national security in the US, and the health of Christian churches. Among the total survey group, 60% of people felt that “investment in environmental protection” should be a top priority. But those meeting “born-again criteria” felt differently:

Evangelicals stood out regarding their views on the environment. Only 35% said that protecting the environment should be a top priority - the lowest score recorded among any of the 80 subgroups studied.

Even though the Barna survey's phrasing seems destined to draw negative reactions with the inclusion of the they’ll-raise-your-taxes codephrase “investment,” it still doesn't begin to explain evangelical distaste for environmental issues evidenced in the results.

It's clear that here in the States, we have a long way to go before mainstream Evangelicals are willing to do anything green, even if some other polls show less disheartening results (pdf).

Labels: Americans, Barna Group, carbon fast, Christian, evangelicals, global warming, Lent

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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Book Review: DO YOU BELIEVE? CONVERSATIONS ON GOD AND RELIGION

DO YOU BELIEVE?
CONVERSATIONS ON GOD AND RELIGION
By Antonio Monda;
translated from the Italian by
Ann Goldstein
Vintage Books, 178 pages, $12.95
How artists & intellectuals view God

Reviewed by Cynthia D. Bertelsen

Born from a survey conducted in 2003 for La Repubblica newspaper, Do You Believe? Conversations on God and Religion contains brief interviews with members of America’s intelligentsia about “religion’s central place in existence.” The premise is promising, if these people are indeed those who subtly and subliminally shape America’s thought processes. Antonio Monda, a cultural critic and writer for the Italian publications La Repubblica and La Revista dei Libri, teaches at the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Tisch School of the Arts, in New York City. A traditional Catholic, Mr. Monda states in his introduction that, “from the perspective of my own religion [Catholic, apostolic, Roman], I’ve always found less than convincing the position of those who recognize the existence of God and the divinity of Christ but dispute (or even have contempt for) the church.”

In Do You Believe? Mr. Monda works with a somewhat skewed sample, since he personally knows most of the final 18 interviewees. The interviews are arranged alphabetically by last name. The list includes Paul Auster, Saul Bellow, Michael Cunningham, Nathan Englander, Jane Fonda, Richard Ford, Paula Fox, Jonathan Franzen, Spike Lee, Daniel Libeskind, David Lynch, Toni Morrison, Grace Paley, Salman Rushdie, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Martin Scorsese, Derek Walcott and Elie Wiesel. Several others whom he asked to participate declined to be included in the book. Mr. Monda names no names, so the reader has no idea who self-selected themselves out of the sample.

The breakdown of religious affiliation among the interviewees is five Jews, one Catholic, five Protestants, three agnostics, three atheists and one Muslim verging on atheism.

Aside from the major question -- “Do you believe in God?” -- the questions asked of each interviewee vary widely, with a few exceptions. Mr. Monda asks most of the interviewees to comment on Dostoevsky’s statement, from The Brothers Karamazov, “If God doesn’t exist, then everything is permitted.” And several writers cite the work of Flannery O’Connor in response to another of Mr. Monda’s inquiries, “Are there writers who have confronted religious subjects whom you admire?” In response, only Mr. Rushdie mentions one of the people Mr. Monda includes in this book, Saul Bellow. Mr. Monda asks a majority of the interviewees to comment on their religious education and upbringing.

Some of the most intense interviews are those with film directors Spike Lee, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, actress Jane Fonda, and Elie Wiesel, the writer/philosopher and Holocaust survivor. Mr. Wiesel says, as does Mr. Monda at the beginning of the book, that, “In the end, the existence of God is the only true problem, in which all other problems are subsumed and minimized. At times, I think that we are always talking about God without realizing it.”

Mr. Monda reflects his personal beliefs in the question that he shoots back to Mr. Lynch, “What about that is different from St. Augustine’s ‘Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi, in interiore homine habitat veritas (‘Go not about, retire within: Truth dwells in the inner man.’)?” Mr. Lynch replies, “Transcendental meditation is a mental technique that I practice twice a day; it allows each human being to dive into his own ego and reach pure consciousness and pure happiness. In St. Augustine, on the other hand, it’s all closely tied to Christian revelation.”

The interview with the late Grace Paley makes for diverting reading. The writer, an atheist, turns the tables on Mr. Monda, quizzing him about his beliefs even as he is trying to ask her about her own. “Do you think you are happier than I am?” she asks Mr. Monda. Ms. Paley’s parents were atheistic Jews from Russia, and while the 83-year-old writer tells Mr. Monda she has no longing for religion she mentions that in the last 10 years she’s started attending a synagogue in Vermont, not for religious reasons but to connect to her community.

There are intriguing moments in these interviews. But Mr. Monda’s goal -- to illustrate how religion and spirituality, or the lack of it, permeates the work of major players in America’s cultural life -- falls short. As a European, Mr. Monda is accustomed to intellectuals shaping public opinion. But the days when books, magazines and newspapers heavily molded American political thought and public opinion seem far away. Today Internet blogs, talk radio, television, music and film generally crowd out print media in terms of the general public’s choices for information.

Do You Believe? presents a number of important questions that individuals and discussion groups could use to explore their own thoughts on the subject of belief. But the one- or two-sentence answers given to these deep questions may fail to satisfy readers looking for something more profound. The brevity of the book and the large number of interviewees precludes the depth that a topic like God and religion demands. Reading these short, tightly edited interviews is like eating a low-fat serving of fish at 6 p.m., leaving one salivating over a TV ad for greasy pizza an hour later.

Labels: Americans, Antonio Monda, book review, celebrities, Cynthia D. Bertelsen, God, religion

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

A Personal Belief System Correlates with Happiness

January 23 2008

Work life Balance is examined in American Dream Project’s Dream Life Assessment. The survey indicates that in the area of spirituality, Americans stand strong by incorporating a personal belief system in their lives and thus becoming one step closer to work life balance.

Work life Balance brings forth the question, is a personal belief system important in today’s world? According to Will Marre, founder of American Dream Project and acclaimed speaker, it is—very. “Studies across 46 countries,” states Marre, “show that people who embrace spiritual beliefs and regularly attend some type of worship service are happier, more content, more optimistic, healthier and longer living than those who don’t. Believers simply have higher life satisfaction and work life balance than those who don’t have a spiritual belief system.”

For over 3 years the American Dream Project has been conducting an online survey and has accumulated over 10,000 participants to get clarity on how people rate themselves in work life balance, spirituality being a part of the focus.

The results of the survey are actually surprising in a world that seems more and more cynical and disillusioned every day. 41% of teens, 44% of single, and 44% of married participants say they experience a constant connection to a divine source of wisdom, love and peace, are primarily motivated by love, live to a high standard of personal morality, and are tolerant and open minded to new learning, ideas and truth.

Marre explains the importance of a belief system to work life balance stating, “Cynics would argue that belief in God is simply a placebo that creates an emotional feeling of well being. Believers would say that spiritual beliefs give you a sense of meaning, call you to a moral life and motivate you to be more loving because that is what God desires of us.” Furthermore, in The Magic of Forgiveness (2003) Dr. Tian Dayton states, “Whether your faith is in God, Higher Power or nature, some sort of spiritually organizing principles help to give moral structure, spiritual purpose and meaning to our lives. They also provide us with like-minded communities to belong to.”

“Whether as part of our beliefs we choose to believe in God or not,” states Marre, “having a core belief system gives our lives meaning and purpose and does indeed make us happier. It holds us accountable to something/someone more than ourselves and helps us achieve work life balance.”

Labels: American Dream Project, Americans, belief, Dream Life Assessment, God, happiness, love, spirituality, Will Marre

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Saturday, January 12, 2008

Study: Most Americans Support School Prayers, Religious Displays

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jan. 11 2008

A majority of Americans believe religious displays, prayers at school and the Ten Commandments display in a court building should be legal in the United States, a new study showed.

While religious Americans were more likely to agree, a majority of those who are not religious also believe such religious expressions and practices should be allowed, according to Ellison Research which conducted the research on a sample of 1,007 adults. The study was released Thursday.

Survey results revealed that 98 percent of born-again Americans compared to 81 percent of those not born again believe voluntary student-led prayer at public school events, such as football games or graduation ceremonies, should be legal. Also, 97 percent of born agains believe the law should support religious groups renting public property for meetings if non-religious groups are allowed to do so while 86 percent of not born again Americans agree. And 94 percent of born agains say a teacher wearing a religious symbol, such as a Star of David or a cross, during class should be legal compared to 85 percent of not born people.

Although conservatives were more likely than liberals to believe in allowing the specific religious expressions and practices, majorities from both the groups agree with many of the issues such as allowing a nativity scene on city property, allowing a teacher to wear a religious symbol during class, and letting religious groups rent public property.

There were larger discrepancies between the two groups on other issues such as voluntary student-led prayer at public school events. While 95 percent of conservatives say that should be legal, only 73 percent of liberals agree. Moreover, 87 percent of conservatives believe it should be legal to display the Ten Commandments in a court building but only 60 percent of liberals agree.

Comparing the religious and non-religious Americans, 94 percent of born agains believe the Ten Commandments in a court building should be allowed but only 70 percent of those not born again agree.

Still overall, the survey found an overwhelming majority of Americans united on many of the issues. Ninety percent agree that religious groups renting public property if other groups are allowed to do so should be legal and 89 percent also say it should be legal for a public school teacher to permit a "moment of silence" for prayer or contemplation for all students during class time.

Although most Americans (83 percent) believe nativity displays should be allowed, 67 percent of born-again Christians say an Islam display on city property, such as a city hall, during Ramadan (a Muslim holiday) should be allowed and only 56 percent of those not born again agree.

Other findings showed that 52 percent of Americans overall believe it should be legal for a religious club in a high school or university to determine for itself who can be in their membership, even if certain types of people are excluded, and 33 percent say it should be legal for a landlord to refuse to rent an apartment to a homosexual couple.

Labels: Americans, Audrey Barrick, Ellison Research, prayer, religion

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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Why Giving Makes You Happy

By ARTHUR BROOKS
December 28, 2007

As we approach year's end, your mailbox is filling up with fundraising appeals from various charities and causes, hoping to capitalize on your holiday cheer — or at least, your effort to avoid a bit of 2007 income taxes through deductible contributions.

It is a fact that givers are happier people than non-givers. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, a survey of 30,000 American households, people who gave money to charity in 2000 were 43% more likely than non-givers to say they were "very happy" about their lives.

Similarly, volunteers were 42% more likely to be very happy than non-volunteers. It didn't matter whether gifts of money and time went to churches or symphony orchestras — givers to all types of religious and secular causes were far happier than non-givers.

People who give also are less sad and depressed than non-givers. The University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics reveals that people who gave money away in 2001 were 34% less likely than non-givers to say that they had felt "so sad that nothing could cheer them up" in the past month. They were also 68% less likely to have felt "hopeless," and 24% less likely to have said that "everything was an effort."

The happiness difference between givers and non-givers is not due to differences in their personal characteristics, such as income or religion. Imagine two people who are identical in terms of income and faith — as well as age, education, politics, sex, and family circumstances — but one donates money and volunteers, while the other does not. The giver will be, on average, 11 percentage points more likely to be very happy than the non-giver.

Giving goes beyond formal gifts of money and time, of course. Much of the way we serve others is less formal, or with other resources of value in our lives. One particularly visceral kind of giving involves our blood, which a bit over 15% of Americans donate at least once each year. If anything, this kind of charity is even more strongly associated with happiness than traditional gifts.

Labels: Americans, Arthur Brooks, charities, happiness, Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics

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Civil religion quietly unifies and guides American public life

Saturday, 12/29/07
By RAY WADDLE

Opinion

Americans say they're more likely to vote for a homosexual than an atheist when choosing a president, a USA Today/Gallup survey reported in February.

This all-American wariness of unbelief suggests we want leaders to make decisions within a familiar moral tradition (biblical, more or less), with a providential deity somehow assisting.

Civil religion is not Christianity, it's not a denomination, and these days it's not fashionable. Yet it has been a unifying feature of national life for 200-plus years. Will it survive America's 21st century search for identity?

The American civil religion was spelled out 40 years ago by sociologist Robert Bellah, who found it in places small and large — on the currency ("in God we trust") and in inaugural addresses ("here on earth God's work must truly be our own": John Kennedy).

It endorses human liberty and stirs public purpose. It has its own "sacred" texts, such as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and King's Dream speech, stressing sacrifice, rebirth, rededication.

It claims holy days: Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. And hallowed ground: Arlington Cemetery and all other military burial grounds.

Imprecision is the key

Civil religion does not replace traditional religions but functions alongside. Yet it has few defenders these days.

It is too neutral and imprecise for religious partisans, not neutral enough for atheists.

But its imprecision is what makes it work. It declares a cosmic baseline for morality, but it's not overly doctrinaire or aggressive.

It's the religion that people mean when they appeal to the common good or a common moral inheritance, as Mitt Romney did recently in his religion speech.

Civil religion has hazards. It can turn into worship of the nation. But Bellah once argued that true civil religion places us under divine judgment when we stray from our principles. It should inspire self-criticism.

Can American civic life keep its civil religion in the surging face of pluralism? Is there room for non-believers, or must it be scrapped? National civil religions emerged after the demise of the divine right of kings as a way to ennoble national solidarity.

The big question persists. Can there be a public morality that rallies public purpose without reference to a creator?

Notable regimes have tried — Hitler, Mao, Stalin, all discredited. History offers no shining modern examples yet of civil religion without God. Americans, so far, are voting with history.

Labels: Americans, civil religion, Gallup Poll, morality, Ray Waddle, religion, spiritual values

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Boycotters ask, 'What Would Jesus Buy?'

Religion News Service

That's the mind-set of Americans who can't stomach exchanging holiday presents. They aren't grinches or scrooges. They just reject what they consider the wastefulness and stress of the season.

"Over the years, I have watched as the gift-exchanging part of the family Christmas slowly became more and more the reason to get together and how it eventually seemed to become the showcase event of the day," said Lora-Lee Blalock, 42, a homemaker and artist in Austin, Texas.

Blalock's childhood memories of the holiday radiate warmth: "We'd all travel from our homes and gather at my grandparents' house to spend the day eating, playing games, making music together, watching Christmas specials on the TV and just spending time talking and being a family." Gifts were secondary.

Blalock said that in recent years she pestered her family to drop the gifts. This year, they're trying it.

Pam Frese, an anthropologist at the College of Wooster in Ohio, said the practice seems to be a dismissal of commercial obsession. "The consumer culture doesn't mean anything to them," Frese said.

That's the Rev. Billy's message. No, beneath the blond pompadour and white suit, he's not a real pastor, but he does preach with a Jimmy Swaggart lilt about what he calls the "Shopocalypse." The New York-based performer-activist travels the country with his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir — evangelizing uninvited at chain stores — and is the subject of the new film, What Would Jesus Buy?

Rev. Billy (aka Bill Talen) says corporate gluttony has whipped holiday sentiment into an obligation to spend on gifts recipients might not even want, generating "the opposite of excitement, which is dread."

"This year, we need to take Christmas back," the self-proclaimed minister said. "Let's have a creative Christmas."

The Parsons family has made that a goal.

Last year, Noah and Sabrina Parsons of Eugene, Ore., were disgusted by the mounds of wrapping paper and packaging encasing their two young sons' gifts, which required a trip to the dump. The Parsonses, who run a software company for small businesses, decided no presents this year.

"At the end of the day, you really don't feel you've gained anything with all this stuff," said Sabrina Parsons, 34.

This Christmas, the couple and their children, Timmy, 3, and Leo, 15 months, will funnel what they would have spent on gifts into a family trip to Mexico. It's the kickoff to what they hope becomes a holiday tradition.

The parents figure they'll start now, so when their sons are old enough to start asking questions, Mom and Dad can respond: "You're not going to get gifts, but you're getting to go to the beach or getting to go skiing or you're going to this really cool place you've never been to before," said Noah Parsons, 33.

Besides, the Parsons boys would be hard-pressed to recall what they got last year.

Gift amnesia strikes adults, too. Online polling may not be scientific, but consider this: 41% of Americans 18 and older polled via the Web said they couldn't remember their best holiday gift from last year. San Francisco-based Zoomerang conducted the survey in November for Excitations, a Sterling, Va., company specializing in experience-oriented gifts, including hang gliding.

From a religious standpoint, some are put off by how gift-heavy the holidays have become.

Sister Mary Louise Foley, campus minister at the University of Dayton, said worshippers should reflect: What is your perfect Christmas? Then try to come as close as possible. If that means no gifts, so be it.

If you wake up stressed about Christmas preparations, Foley said, think about "what does a woman in Iraq feel like as she gets up this morning? It makes some of our worrying so small in comparison."

With Hanukkah so close to Christmas, the Jewish holiday has become subject to the same purchasing pressures.

"Hanukkah was a very minor celebration in terms of gifts and hoopla," said Rabbi David Fass of Temple Beth Sholom in New City, N.Y.

It's OK for families to exchange gifts during Hanukkah, Fass said, as long as the children know the genesis of the holiday — it marks the victory of Jewish rebels over the Syrian-Greeks and the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem — and do not regard it as just a time for presents.

Professing appreciation for a sense of community during the holidays, some have shaped their aversion to frenzied gift-giving into a tongue-in-cheek crusade.

Nina Paley, 39, an animator in New York, said her no-gifts awakening happened about 15 years ago, when she produced a comic strip called "Nina's Adventures" for alternative weekly papers. One holiday season, she based one of her strips on a friend who plunged further into debt buying presents.

From this, Paley's Christmas Resistance Movement arose. Its website —www.xmasresistance.org— proclaims, "No Shopping — No Presents — No Guilt!" The campaign is equal opportunity, applying to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any holiday when people might feel compelled to give gifts.

Paley herself grew up in a secular Jewish home, though her family did exchange presents for Hanukkah. Whatever the occasion, mandatory offerings cheapen the moment, she said.

Obligatory "material gifts often function as a distraction from love — or lack thereof — rather than a conduit," Paley said. "By making material gifts representations of love, love itself becomes a commodity. How can that not make one feel empty and hollow?"

Labels: Americans, Christmas, commercialism, gift, Hanukkah, Jesus, presents, religion, stress

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Survey: 7 of 10 Americans Prefer 'Merry Christmas' Over 'Happy Holidays'

By Lawrence Jones
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Nov. 26 2007

When Americans go Christmas shopping, many prefer to see stores use the traditional phrase “Merry Christmas” in their seasonal advertising rather than “Happy Holidays,” a new poll found.

The survey released by Rasmussen Reports after the Thanksgiving holiday showed that 67 percent of Americans favor “Merry Christmas” while only 26 percent would choose “Happy Holidays.”

The poll results were the same for men and women and presented few demographic differences.

But a comparison between responses from Republicans and Democrats, however, revealed a sharp contrast.

While 88 percent of Republicans prefer “Merry Christmas,” just 57 percent of Democrats favor the greeting.

Meanwhile, 57 percent of Americans say they will attend a Christian service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day this year, with women more likely to attend a Christmas service than men.

Nearly 30 percent of respondents say they won’t go to a special service.

In an attempt to encourage stores to retain references to the Dec. 25 holiday, a Christian legal group has released a “Naughty or Nice” list that advises Christians where to shop for Christmas.

Businesses and retailers are placed on the “Nice” list if they recognize Christmas and on the “Naughty” list if they censor such references.

The list was released as part of Fla.-based Liberty Counsel’s fifth annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign, in which the legal group is pledging to be a "Friend" to those entities which do not censor Christmas and a "Foe" to those that do.

The Rasmussen survey was based on a national telephone survey of 1,000 Adults, conducted from November 18-19, 2007. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.

Labels: Americans, Christian, Christmas, holidays, Lawrence Jones, Rasmussen Reports, shopping

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

New Survey Refutes Claim that Taking Kids to Church is Harmful

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Nov. 14 2007

Most Americans, even those who no longer attend religious services, say their childhood experiences of attending worship has had a positive impact on them, a new study showed.

The latest Ellison Research study, released Tuesday, found that 66 percent of Americans believe their religious attendance before age 18 gave them a good moral foundation and 62 percent say it's something they are glad they did. Even among those who have currently abandoned regular worship attendance (once a month or more), a majority says childhood attendance has been more positive than negative.

Fifty-six percent of Americans who no longer attend services say their attendance as a child has had a positive influence on their life; 55 percent feel their childhood attendance gave them a good moral foundation; 51 percent say they are glad they attended as a child; 48 percent say it gave them important religious knowledge; 35 percent believe it helped them grow spiritually; 34 percent feel it helped them prepare for life as an adult; and 27 percent say it deepened their spiritual faith.

On the negative side, 31 percent of adults currently not attending services say their childhood attendance turned them off to organized religion; 24 percent believe that past experience is not relevant to their life today; and 13 percent believe it sent them down a different spiritual path than the one they were on at that time.

Only 9 percent of adults who currently attend worship say childhood attendance turned them off on organized religion and 19 percent of all surveyed adults say the same. Fifteen percent of all adults say it is not relevant to their life today and 13 percent feel it helped send them down a different spiritual path than the one they were taking at that time.

The vast majority of Americans have attended religious worship services regularly at some point in their lives. Only 7 percent have not had any point in their lives when they regularly attended. Currently, 51 percent of adults say they attend religious worship services of some kind once a month or more.

However, attending worship services as a child is becoming less common, according to the study. Among Americans who do not regularly attend worship services today, 24 percent of those under age 35 also did not attend as a child, compared to 13 percent of people age 35 to 54 and 9 percent of those 55 or older.

Still, most Americans who look back on their childhood attendance view it in a positive way. Fifty-seven percent of all adults believe it gave them important religious knowledge; 50 percent believe it helped them grow spiritually; 47 percent feel it helped them prepare for life as an adult; and 44 percent say it deepened their spiritual faith.

Seventy-eight percent of those who currently attend religious services feel their childhood attendance has made them more interested in religion as an adult compared to 30 percent of adults who do not currently attend services. Also, only 8 percent of those who currently regularly attend say childhood religious involvement decreased their interest in religion as an adult compared to 30 percent of adults who do not currently attend services regularly.

Only 8 percent of all adults and 13 percent of adults currently not attending services said childhood attendance has had a negative influence on their life. Also, 18 percent of all adults and 30 percent of those who have stopped attending services feel it has had no real influence.

Sellers noted that the survey findings should have some influence on parents.

The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, among a representative sample of 1,007 American adults. The sample was balanced by gender, age, income, race, and geography.

Labels: adults, Americans, Audrey Barrick, children, church, Ellison Research, religion, spirituality

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Giving Makes You Rich

by Arthur C. Brooks
November 2007 Issue

(Page one of two - as always, click on "external link" for full article)

New proof that it pays to be charitable.

In John Bunyan’s 1684 classic The Pilgrim’s Progress, the character Old Honest poses this riddle to the innkeeper Gaius: “A man there was, tho’ some did count him mad, / The more he cast away, the more he had.” Gaius solves the riddle thus: “He that bestows his Goods upon the Poor / Shall have as much again, and ten times more.”

Less poetically, the idea is this: Giving makes you rich. A lovely sentiment, to be sure, but quite backward-sounding to an economist. You obviously have to have money before you can give it away, right? Or in the pithy words of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions—he had money too.”

Well, it turns out that Gaius was right, and new economic research backs him up. Emerging evidence—crunchy statistics from real data, not the mushy self-help stuff—supports the contention that giving stimulates prosperity, for both individuals and nations. Charity, it appears, can really make you rich.

The United States is a remarkably charitable nation. The Giving U.S.A. Foundation estimates that Americans donated nearly $300 billion to charity in 2006—more than the gross domestic product (the annualized value of goods and services produced within a nation) of all but 33 countries in the world. More than three-quarters of this came from private individuals. Additional research suggests that between 65 and 85 percent of Americans give to charities each year.

How does all this generosity relate to our high average levels of prosperity? Let’s begin with individuals and families. The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, completed in 2000, is a survey of about 30,000 people in more than 40 communities across the U.S. and is the best single source of data available on the civic participation of Americans. The S.C.C.B.S., which takes into account differences in education, age, race, religion, and other personal characteristics, shows that people who give charitably make significantly more money than those who don’t. While that seems like common sense, it turns out that the link in the data between giving and earning is not just one-way. People do give more when they become richer—research has shown that a 10 percent increase in income stimulates giving by about 7 percent—but people also grow wealthier when they give more.

How do we know this? When two variables like giving and income are interrelated, economists use something called an instrumental variable to see which is pushing and which is pulling. In a nutshell, that means selecting something that’s closely related to donations but not directly to income, like volunteering. Volunteers tend to be money givers and vice versa because of the same charitable impulse. But income doesn’t always directly affect volunteering. (While people have differing amounts of money, they all have the same amount of time.)

We start by predicting how much money people would donate based on how much they volunteer, regardless of income. This projection essentially strips out the role of income in giving. Next, see if that predicted donation level correlates with income. If it does and the correlation is positive, it means that giving pushes up income and not just vice versa.

Labels: Americans, Arthur C. Brooks, charity, generosity, Giving U.S.A. Foundation, income, Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, wealth

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Knowledge of Islam, Mormonism lacking

Most Americans know little about the faiths but say their own beliefs have little in common with them, a poll shows.

By Theo Milonopoulos, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 26, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Most Americans say they know little to nothing about the practices of Islam and Mormonism but say their own religious beliefs have little in common with either of these faiths, according to a national survey released Tuesday.

Forty-five percent of those polled said Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers. Nearly 1 in 3 respondents say Mormonism is not a Christian religion, the report said.

The survey of 3,002 Americans was conducted last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Although 58% of respondents said they knew little or nothing about Islamic practices, 70% of non-Muslims said Islam was very different from their own religious beliefs.

Pew Forum senior fellow John Green said that respondents' knowledge of Islam might be even lower than the survey results suggested. Respondents "tend to overestimate their own knowledge, so these figures may well underestimate their lack of knowledge," he said.

The survey found that public attitudes toward Muslims have grown more negative in recent years, with 35% of respondents expressing an unfavorable view. In 2002, the figure was 29%. Respondents who knew a Muslim or who were college graduates were more likely to express positive views about Islam.

But the belief that Islam encourages violence has increased even among groups that have relatively favorable views of Muslims. According to the survey, college graduates are just as likely as those with no college experience to associate violence with Islam.

The survey said Americans were similarly uninformed about Mormonism. Although 53% of those surveyed expressed a favorable view of Mormons, nearly the same amount, 51%, said they knew very little about the faith.

As in the case of Islam, respondents with higher educational backgrounds and those who knew a Mormon tended to view Mormonism more favorably. But even more important in respondents' assessment of Mormons was whether they believe Mormonism to be a Christian religion, according to the survey.

Of the 31% of respondents who said Mormons are not Christians, 49% view Mormonism unfavorably, and 42% said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon for president.

Green said the results suggested that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon and GOP presidential hopeful, could face difficulty persuading white evangelical Protestants to vote for him because nearly 40% of those surveyed viewed Mormons unfavorably.

The survey also reported that 73% of respondents familiar with Pope Benedict XVI have a favorable opinion of him; 75% reflected favorably on evangelist Billy Graham.

Labels: Americans, Islam, Mormonism, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

Americans Not Concerned About Their Spiritual Condition

by Dr. George Barna

While most Americans value their faith and regularly engage in faith practices, surprisingly few say they have specific challenges related to the development of their faith. A national survey of Christian parents commissioned by Good News Holdings and conducted by The Barna Group discovered that four out of every 10 Christian parents of children between the ages of three and 18 said they do not face any spiritual challenges in their life. Among those who identified the presence of any spiritual challenges, the most common issues related to the spiritual development of their children.

Wide Range of Concerns

When asked to identify their biggest personal challenges related to faith or spirituality, the most common response related to raising moral children or youngsters with a strong faith. In total, one out of every seven parents (14 percent) who identified themselves as Christian listed this as their spiritual challenge. Only one other response – the need to personally invest more time in religious activities, such as reading the Bible or praying – was mentioned by at least one out of every 10 parents (10 percent).

More than 100 different responses were provided by survey respondents, reflecting the breadth of spiritual issues that Americans struggle with. Other categories of concerns mentioned included the desire to more consistently exhibit faith-driven behavior (eight percent); the need to be more involved in a church (seven percent); effectively dealing with the declining moral values and inappropriate media content in our society (six percent); handling various lifestyle challenges that weaken their faith (five percent); confidently coping with health matters (four percent); and having a deeper or more substantive faith (four percent).

Specific Challenges Posed

Parents were also asked to rate the significance of each of eight specific challenges related to their faith. Overall, the responses suggest that most Christian parents do not perceive themselves to face major challenges regarding their faith.

One out of every three parents (34 percent) said having enough time to devote to their faith was a major challenge. Almost as many (30 percent) said helping their children to become more spiritual was a major challenge.

About two out of every 10 parents listed each of the other six possibilities as major challenges. Those included enabling their spouse to be more spiritual (23 percent); growing spiritually, personally (21 percent); understanding what’s in the Bible (20 percent); finding a church or faith community that’s right for them (19 percent); getting a sense of direction from God (18 percent); and practicing the faith principles they had learned (18 percent).

George Barna is an author, pastor and the founder of The Barna Group in Ventura, Calif., a firm specializing in conducting research for Christian ministries and non-profits.

Labels: Americans, Barna Group, children, faith, George Barna, spirituality, survey

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Friday, August 24, 2007

Poll: For Christians' identity, it's faith first, U.S. second

Editor's note: This is part of a series of reports CNN.com is featuring for "God's Warriors," a documentary hosted by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

(CNN) -- Most Christians are more likely to describe themselves as Christian first and American second, according to a new CNN poll examining religious views in the United States.

A new poll finds that Christian respondents would describe themselves as "Christian" before "American."

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that of the 750 Christians in the survey, 59 percent identify themselves first by their faith, then as Americans, while 36 percent described themselves in the reverse.

CNN's findings are not that different from those in a recent Pew Research Center poll on Muslim-American attitudes. In that poll, 47 percent of Muslims in America say they are Muslim first, American second. Younger Muslims were especially likely to feel that way: 60 percent of them responded they were Muslim first.

CNN's research also found that Americans are now less likely to see the possibility for peace between Islam and Christianity. Of the total 1,029 adult Americans polled, 53 percent say conflict is inevitable between the two religions, up from 45 percent in 2003. Explore Americans' views on religions »

Those polled also said Islam was the religion most likely to use violence. Sixty-eight percent believe Islam is the religion most likely to have followers who would use violence to spread their religion, compared to 11 percent for Christianity and 4 percent for Judaism.

When asked about religion-related violence in the United States, about nine in 10 said they personally would not be willing to kill another person to uphold a religious belief or advance a religious cause. But asked how many other Americans would do so, more than a third responded "many" and "some;" a third said "few" and a quarter said "almost no Americans."

The CNN poll also found that 62 percent say that American society has strayed too far from its religious foundation in the past 50 years, while answers were split almost evenly on religion as a factor in government policy. Forty-five percent said religion should have no influence on government decisions, while 36 percent say it should have some influence, but not the major factor.

When it comes to the Bible, CNN's poll found that 57 percent say they believe the Book of Revelations' description of the violent end of the world, where all but Christians perish. Nearly one in five believes it will happen in their lifetime.

But of the 750 Christians in the poll, nearly eight in 10 said that people of other beliefs could get into heaven, while only 17 percent believe that only Christians can.

The poll was conducted between June 22-24, 2007, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Labels: "God's Warriors", Americans, Christian, CNN, Islam, Judaism, Muslims, Pew Research Center survey

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AP Poll: God Vital to Young Amercians

Friday August 24, 2007 5:16 AM
By ERIC GORSKI and TREVOR TOMPSON

Associated Press Writers

Among America's young people, godliness contributes to happiness.

An extensive survey by The Associated Press and MTV found that people aged 13 to 24 who describe themselves as very spiritual or religious tend to be happier than those who don't.

When it comes to spirituality, American young people also are remarkably tolerant - nearly 7 in 10 say that while they follow their own religious or spiritual beliefs, others might be true as well.

On the whole, the poll found religion is a vital part of the lives of many American young people, although with significant pockets that attach little or no importance to faith.

Forty-four percent say religion and spirituality is at least very important to them, 21 percent responded it is somewhat important, 20 percent say it plays a small part in their lives and 14 percent say it doesn't play any role.

Among races, African-Americans are most likely to describe religion as being the single most important thing in their lives. Females are slightly more religious than males, and the South is the most religious region, the survey said.

Eighty percent of those who call religion or spirituality the most important thing in their lives say they're happy, while 60 percent of those who say faith isn't important to them consider themselves happy.

Sociologists have long drawn a connection between happiness and the sense of community inherent to most religious practice. Lisa Pearce, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, said religion can indeed contribute to happiness, but she cautioned that the converse also can hold true.

``It's easier for kids who are happy and have things going well in their life to find the time and energy to participate in religion,'' said Pearce, co-principal investigator for the National Study of Youth and Religion. ``It could be kids who have bad experiences in church end up leaving and being unhappy with religion.''

The poll also asked young people to choose between two statements about their views of other faiths.

Sixty-eight percent agree with the statement, ``I follow my own religious and spiritual beliefs, but I think that other religious beliefs could be true as well.'' Thirty-one percent choose, ``I strongly believe that my religious beliefs are true and universal, and that other religious beliefs are not right.''

The latter statement is more likely to be the position of young teens - 13 to 17 - and those who attend religious services weekly.

However, tolerance is the rule overall. That doesn't surprise the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, associate dean for religious life at Princeton University and author of ``Teen Spirit: One World, Many Faiths.''

Young people eat lunch and play soccer with peers from other belief backgrounds, while adults tend to self-segregate with others of like mind, he said. Sweeping immigration reform in 1965 transformed America into the world's most religiously diverse nation, and young people grew up with the second generation of the immigrant wave, he noted.

``This shows that it doesn't require a lack of conviction in your own faith tradition to think someone else might have a similar type of conviction in their own,'' Raushenbush said. ``There is no sense of, 'This diminishes my faith.'''

About 75 percent of those surveyed say God or a higher power has some impact on their happiness. At the same time, 90 percent believe happiness is at least partly under their own control.

``I think you do have control over how you are going to feel on a particular day,'' said David Mueller of Lockport, N.Y., a 20-year-old college student who attends an evangelical Christian megachurch called The Chapel.

``When it comes to events in your whole life, it's already somewhat laid out for you,'' he said. ``You can stray off to another path. But where God wants you to go, you are going to get there.''

---

The AP-MTV poll was conducted by Knowledge Networks Inc. from April 16 to 23, and involved online interviews with 1,280 people aged 13 to 24. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

Labels: Americans, Associated Press, Eric Gorski, God, MTV, religion, spirituality, teenagers, Trevor Tompson

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Why has pentecostalism grown so big, so fast?

by Joseph Serwadda

With 500 million followers, Pentecostalism has grown to be the second largest Christian denomination, after Roman Catholicism. With a distinctive worship style, a literal biblical interpretation and energetic preaching, this sect of the Christian faith has attracted large numbers searching for meaningful spiritual purpose.

The term “Pentecostal” alludes to the day when first-century Christians were given the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of the Church. Multi-million dollar church complexes are sprouting up around the world. Why and how has this faith grown so big, so fast?

From the day of Pentecost, history has recorded empirical evidence that for over 1,500 years, the church has eluded obliteration and braved persecution including Nero and other Roman emperors’ madness that competed for worship as gods.

In the late 1870s, Charles Parham preached revival in the face of a Protestant world that had lost its zeal. Parham encouraged disciples to seek God through prayer, fasting and studying the Bible, awaiting His blessings of the Spirit. Many who accepted the message were thrown out of the traditional churches, which forced the movement to start its own churches.

Pentecostalism’s influence around the world is phenomenal. It is estimated (Encyclopaedia Britannica) that over 100 million Americans are Pentecostals. According to the World Christian Database, 147 million Africans are either Pentecostals or Charismatics (Reuters). The Charismatics are believers in Protestant and Catholic churches (Bazuukufu) who believe that the Pentecostal worship style should be incorporated into their churches.

A 2006 survey conducted by the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 70 percent of Protestants in Kenya are Pentecostal or Charismatic. The same survey also found that 60 percent of Nigeria is Pentecostal and one-third of South Africans are.
The Red Pepper recently reported that Uganda has seven million Pentecostals leaving 23 million to be shared by the rest. This faith is also making gains in predominantly Protestant Europe and multi-religious Asia.

The survey revealed that 75 percent of Protestants in Latin America are Pentecostals. The churches have adopted music-driven, concert-style services to reinvigorate their worship, and confront flagging enthusiasm among its membership. This is not an isolated case. The Catholic priest, Fr. Musaala, has introduced a new sound in the papal domain raising eyebrows for his music and dance style.

Pentecostalism’s popularity is attributed to its leaders, missionaries who travel the world conducting mass healing campaigns. From the late fifties, T.L. Osborn was a household name. Reinhard Bonnkhe became famous for tent crusades. When T.D. Jakes visited Nairobi, the service attracted 250,000. In Uganda, Benny Hinn’s recent visit saw 40,000 flocking the Mandela Stadium crusade. Several local events, such as the Passover Festival at every close of year, pull crowds in their thousands.

Pentecostalism is the ultimate “people’s faith” providing something for everyone, all encouraged to “come as they are.” Pentecostal messages speak to the needs of the disenfranchised and the poor. Many come to these services seeking hope, and view this denomination as a return to the roots of early and original Christianity.

Allan Anderson, Professor of Global Pentecostal Studies at England’s Birmingham University, put it this way: “The success of Pentecostalism is the focus on people’s problems. In countries where people are living on the breadline, Pentecostalism gives hope” (Reuters). Healing occupied two-thirds of Jesus earthly ministry. With healings, speaking in tongues, energetic services, and a focus on prophecy, many see the fruits of Pentecostal teaching and rightly conclude, “God must be here.”

Luis Lugo, Director of the Pew Forum, said he initially questioned some of the survey results, but came to realise the numbers were valid. “I don’t think it's too far-fetched to imagine that Christianity is close to "being pentecostalised. These folks are as engaged as they come, not only talking the talk, but walking the walk," Lugo said.

Labels: Africans, Americans, Christianity, Holy Spirit, Joseph Serwadda, Pentecostalism, Pew Forum

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

Survey: Muslim Americans, White Evangelicals Similar in Religious Fervor

By
Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Jul. 10 2007 04:37 PM ET

The religious intensity of Muslim Americans is most similar to white evangelicals and black Protestants, according to a recent analysis of a landmark survey.

Although believers of Islam and Christianity are often portrayed as polar opposites or even antagonists, the new study on how Muslims compare to mainstream Americans showed that in many aspects Muslims and white evangelicals in America share many commonalities.

The Pew Research Center found that 72 percent of Muslim Americans, 80 percent of white evangelicals, and 87 percent of black Protestants say religion is “very important” in their lives.
These high percentages stand in contrasts to Catholics, only 49 percent of which said religion was “very important” in their life, and white mainline Protestants, only 36 percent of which responded likewise.

Moreover, Muslim Americans are similar to white evangelicals and black Protestants in their tendency to personally identify themselves first by their religion before their nationality.

Sixty-two percent of evangelicals, 55 percent of black Protestants and 47 percent of Muslims think of themselves first as a follower of their religion before describing themselves as an American.

In comparison, only 31 percent of Catholics and 22 percent of white mainline Protestants said they foremost consider themselves Christian before an American.

Religious holy books are also regarded highly by Muslims and the two Christian groups. They are more likely to regard their holy book as the word of God to be taken literally, word-for-word than Catholics and white mainline Protestants.

The majority of white evangelicals (66 percent) and black Protestants (68 percent) said they take a literal view of the Bible, while half of Muslim Americans consider the Koran as the literal word of God.

The percentage of those believing the Bible should be taken literally as the Word of God dropped under 30 percent for both Catholics and white mainline Protestants.

“None of this is to suggest that Muslims and Christians do not have distinctly different religious beliefs and practices,” commented the analysis’ authors Robert Ruby and Greg Smith.

“Nevertheless, the resemblance in religious intensity of Muslims to many groups that might think of themselves as wholly unlike Muslims is striking.”

However, Muslims and white evangelicals are markedly different when it comes to their political orientation. Muslim Americas are more politically liberal than evangelicals and are similar to black Protestants, secular Americans and white mainline Protestants.

Only 11 percent of Muslims say they are Republicans or lean Republican - a figure similar to black Protestants (10 percent). In contrast, 57 percent of white evangelicals responded that they are Republicans or lean politically right.

Muslim American’s left-leaning political stance was displayed during the 2004 presidential election where eight of ten Muslim voters (85 percent) supported John Kerry – a value similar to black Protestants (86 percent) and secular voters (67 percent).

Yet on the issue of homosexuality, Muslims take a similar position to white evangelicals with 61 percent saying the lifestyle should be discouraged by society. Similarly, 63 percent of white evangelical are oppose to homosexuality, according to Pew Forum.

“In many ways, Muslim Americans seem like a mosaic of many other American groups, sharing certain traits with these other groups while not being identical to any of them,” concluded the study’s authors. “They are anything but wholly apart; indeed, in important respects, Muslim Americans reflect the religious and political values held by most other Americans.”

Labels: Americans, evangelicals, God, Jennifer Riley, Muslims, Pew Research Center survey, protestants, religion

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Founders and religion: Is this what they had in mind?

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The strength of any nation is found in its heritage. America is fast becoming a nation without a heritage.

According to Donald Lutz in "The Origins of American Constitutionalism," during the two decades of our nation's founding, there was one book quoted by our founders more than any other. This book states a very important principle: "Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set."

The book is the Bible, and the quote is Proverbs 22:28.

America has been working overtime this last half century to expunge from the public sphere as many of the ancient landmarks it can get its hands on, i.e., our country's Christian heritage.

See if you can answer the following questions.

1. Shortly after signing the Declaration of Independence, which committee member proposed that the official seal of our brand-new nation should be a depiction of the children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night?

2. Which president, acting as chairman of the school board, authored the first plan of education adopted by the city of Washington, D.C., which used the Bible and Isaac Watts' "Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs" as the primary books for teaching reading?

3. Which of our Founding Fathers, who also became a president, said, "Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to me so pure as that of Jesus"?

Answers: If you answered Thomas Jefferson to any of the above questions, you are correct in every instance. I asked questions about Jefferson because he is often considered the least religious of all our Founding Fathers.

The debate as to whether Jefferson was a Christian, deist, or atheist misses the point that Jefferson, in his own writings and official acts as president, supported the teachings of the Bible.

Why are these facts about Jefferson and similar facts about other Founding Fathers no longer taught in public schools? Is it because we are kowtowing to Big Brother? In the public school district where I teach second grade, my students often tattle on one another by saying, "So-and-so said the s' word"— the "s" word being "stupid."

Sadly, as a teacher, I feel I should always be looking over my shoulder for tattlers before I say the "g" word in class. The "g" word is God.

It wasn't always this way in America. It wasn't until 1962 that our Supreme Court decided voluntary student participation in reciting a school-board-sponsored prayer was "unconstitutional." A little arithmetic tells us that for nearly the first 200 years of our nation's history, neither most people nor the Supreme Court saw conflict between our nation's Christian heritage and our Constitution.

Remember, the same man who penned the phrase "wall of separation between Church and State" in a personal letter to reassure a group of Baptists that its religious liberties would not be trampled upon by the Congress, is the same man who, while president, installed the Bible and a book of Psalms and hymns to teach reading in a public school system.

Could it be that Jefferson never intended his phrase to be used as a substitute for the First Amendment, which does not contain the words "wall," "church," "separation" or "state"? In speaking of the Supreme Court, Jefferson wrote to William Jarvis in 1820, "The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots."

Our country's roots are seeped in the Christian religion. To erase this fact from our nation's heritage is to erase the very character of our nation itself. And a nation without a heritage, without a genuine history, is a faceless nation, a weak nation, a nation that places itself in grave danger of losing the very freedoms and liberties our Founding Fathers fought for.

It is further a nation that can only lose in confrontations with other nations and peoples who cling tenaciously to their own heritage, whatever it may be.

— Christina Wilson lives in Westlake Village.

Labels: Americans, Christianity, Christina Wilson, God, heritage, public school, Thomas Jefferson

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Friday, June 29, 2007

Talkin’ ’Bout My Transpersonal Generation

By Jeff Davis

“Woodstock is where the consciousness revolution began, man,” Michael, the lanky guy next to me, said to the group, “and I was right here when it happened in 1969.” The actor’s voice, along with the two lavender plumes tucked in his headband, quivered as he spoke

Twenty-six writers and artists had packed into a small bookstore’s “sacred space” for a workshop. Lloyd, the middle-aged contractor who sat arms folded on my other side, shook his head and rolled his eyes as Michael spoke.

“I’m of the school that we’ll be judged in the end,” Lloyd said, “not for our groovy visions but for our good acts. What good are all of these visions if we’re not doing something to help others?”

Although the workshop description promised we’d explore how to communicate transpersonal experiences in stories and paintings, the workshop leader forfeited trying to espouse any wisdom for writers and artists and instead opted to let a dialogue unfold.

The dialogue made me, gray-haired and bespectacled, wonder where I sit — between Michael, the zealous optimist of all-things visionary, and Lloyd, the practical skeptic who sees promise in taking action to help the poor and destitute. Where do the Michaels and Lloyds converge?

There’s a growing number of us — in our 20s to 50s and even older — who recognize the value of such extraordinary experiences, not just for ourselves, but also for our families, our communities, the planet. Call us the transpersonal poly-generation. Forewarned by the ’60s’ dangers of visionaries’ self-delusion and self-indulgence, we sense, I think, that mysticism doesn’t have to be something “other,” outside of our everyday waking experience or apart from social activism.

Is there room for a respectable, dare I say, middle-aged and mainstream mysticism or spirituality that is integrative, that includes the ecstatic as well as the everyday, that includes beatific vision and progressive action? If so, what holds back some of the Lloyds among us from understanding and embracing such a way?

Poets and mystics from St. Francis to Blake describe those moments when, if for three-and-a-half seconds or four hours, the ego self vanishes and physical boundaries seem to dissolve, allowing for a glimpse into something more, something grander. Unity with all that is. Call it Godhead. Jack Kerouac’s It. Higher Self. Wakan-Tanka.

Whatever you name it, two-thirds of Americans in 1993 claimed to have had at least one such experience. That, according to The University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center’s national survey.

Two-thirds? 66 percent is a marked jump from the consistent 40-55 percent reported by Gallup polls since the 1960s. Dr. Jeff Levin, who writes about faith’s role in physical healing, suggests that with every generation, we Americans become increasingly more interested in such matters.

In 1902, William James rallied for his fellow psychologists to take seriously what he called “religious experiences.” Thanks to Abraham Maslow’s later humanistic focus on “peak experiences” and Stanislav Grof’s founding of transpersonal psychology, by the 1960s, kissing God or death merited study as much as, say, dreams about cigars in Fidel Castro’s mouth or obsessively cleaning the kitchen sink.

In 2007, college students now can become transpersonal psychologists who study subjective experiences, biogenetic structuralists who examine how genetics and environment shape altered states of consciousness, or transpersonal anthropologists who explore the ways in which cultural signs and norms influence our mystical flashes. They can even join the new wave of “neurotheologists” who try to find the “God spot” in the brain.

Yet many of us — whether inside or outside that “two-thirds” statistic — either don’t value such experiences or may not recognize how mystical our lives might already be. Part of the hang-up may lie in how we define “transpersonal” and “mystical” experiences.

This ecstatic otherworld tenor may be part of mysticism’s bad rap. Those vision-seekers lured by nirvana’s song can grow attached to the ecstasy and suffer miserably otherwise as the rest of life just doesn’t measure up. We can become spiritually arrogant, imagining we have a high priest’s access to the spirit world among minions. Practical skeptics such as Lloyd, then, might think that transpersonal experiences are reserved for raving poets, beachside ravers and privileged gray-haired adolescents chasing after glimpses of God on the peaks of Tibet. Mystics drop out of society, we may think, and skeptics check out of mysticism.

“Ecstasy” means to “step out of what is.” Hence, one common definition of a transpersonal experience is one in which you feel “out” of yourself, “out” of the world, “out” of conventional time and space. But there’s more to mysticism than ecstasis. Gary Snyder’s poem “What a Poet Needs” suggests we need “the wild freedom of the dance extasy” and the “silent solitary illumination enstasy.” Enstasy moves us deep within the subtle body instead of out of it. What a poet needs, perhaps, so too an active visionary.

Labels similarly limit our perception. Psychologist Rhea White suggests that since we in Western culture typically view these experiences as “anomalous” or “non-ordinary,” then many of us won’t take them seriously in our daily lives. Instead White refers to them as “exceptional human experiences,” in order not to marginalize them.

Maybe these tastes of deep connection are simply another variety of potentially ordinary experiences. Transpersonal might refer to, then, not moving out of one’s self but rather expanding one’s sense of self.

Bliss is not exclusive. According to transpersonal psychologist William Braud, repeated and consistent evidence bears out that these experiences cut across class, race, as well as religious beliefs and practices.

Perhaps a sustainable mysticism or spirituality of visionary be-ers and doers is integrative and inclusive. Some of us may continue to seek peak experience after peak experience, while others may cultivate a continuous, integrated feeling of joy, well-being and connectedness, what Abraham Maslow described as a “plateau experience.”

A transpersonal life might focus less on getting “out” of one’s self and perhaps more on expanding one’s sense of self. Encounters with those we regard as others — the disgruntled neighbor with opposing political views, the manager of Office Depot, or your lover — become opportunities for connection. We might find ways to connect with food, with plants, with animals.

I think of the poet Lucille Clifton, who while cutting collards and kale in her kitchen, suddenly and unexpectedly tastes in her “natural appetite/the bond of live things everywhere.” I think of autistic author Temple Grandin’s heightened sensory perceptions that allow her to feel what cows and sheep feel.

A transpersonal life might consist of translating visions into action. Huichol shaman and author of Plant Spirit Medicine Elliot Cowan hears how plants vibrate and sing, and he communicates with their spirits; his experiences have helped uncover ancient ways to heal people’s maladies.

Grandin’s intuitive experiences with farm animals led her to design special handling facilities enjoyed now by a third of U.S. cattle. Long-time business consultant Gay Hendricks suggests that many CEOs are “corporate mystics” who approach business solutions with states of consciousness radically different from the consciousness that created the problems.

Aware of what ails the planet — from suffering local economies to dying bees and frogs to strained human relationships — these transpersonal visionaries, I suspect, hunger to tune in, turn on, and drop deeply, actively, consciously in.

Living this way, as with any practice, is not easy. There are no 7 steps or 9 principles that will guarantee that this transpersonal momentum will continue or manifest into any kind of quantum global awakening by 2012 — or 2112.

After all, of the 79 percent (256 participants) in one study who said they had had a peak experience, half of them said they had been reluctant to tell anyone. The reason? Fear (of course) muted these daily mystics, according to the study published in The Journal of Humanistic Psychology in 1991. These days, discussing such experiences may not get us branded as an exiled heretic, as happened to 18th-century scientist-turned-prophetic mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. But you might be safer, after all, to bore your friends with your weirdest dream than to divulge that you actually saw Joan of Arc this morning on your subway commute.

The Woodstock group at times did feel like a “Mystics Anonymous Meeting.” Hi, I’m Ivan. I’ve been talking with spirits for thirty years in my bathroom. On the other hand, I felt at home in this room of odd ducks who talked about everything from embodying Christ in the Garden of Gethsamene to seeing angels in tall grasses.

We conversed. And to “converse,” after all, suggests a “turning with.” One turns with the other. Although conversation likely once referred to a monastic mode of life devoted to conversations with God, out of the monastery our daily conversations can let us hear how “all that is” speaks through strangers and lovers. “The yogi’s everyday speech becomes a mantra,” so claims a passage from the Shiva-Sutras, a text that describes ways to be with all that is.

To further our journey toward a life that couples vision and progressive action, some of us can practice hearing the languages of pizza twirlers and grandfathers, of stones and sidewalks, and letting these multiple tongues enfold into us, and us into them.

“Voices. Voices,” Rilke writes, “Listen, my heart, as only/saints have listened” (trans. Stephen Mitchell). The wandering poet spent a lifetime trying to do so. Maybe some active visionaries have a head start.

Jeff Davis, author of The Journey from the Center to the Page (Penguin), teaches the discipline of yoga with writing around the U.S. He is converting his farmhouse and barn near Woodstock, NY, into a simple place where active visionaries can gather.

Labels: Americans, bliss, God gene, Jeff Davis, mystical experience, neurotheology, skeptic, spirituality, Temple Grandin, transpersonal, visionary, Woodstock

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Poll Says Americans Looking For Religious President

FAIRFIELD, Conn.— A nationwide telephone survey has found that nearly 61 percent of Americans offering an opinion believe that a presidential candidate should be a religious person. Just over 39 percent disagree with the concept.

The telephone survey, released June 14, was conducted by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute, which polled 958.

In addition, 48.4 percent of the respondents said their own religious faith always or sometimes guides their views toward politics. An equal percent, however, (48.4 percent), said their own faith seldom or never guides their views.

When choosing a presidential candidate, 27.8 percent consider a candidate's specific religious affiliation relevant to their decisions. Another 66 percent do not and 6.3 percent are unsure.

Dr. June-Ann Greeley, assistant professor of Religious Studies and director of SHU's Center for Catholic Thought, Ethics and Culture, said that even though some voters consider a candidate's religious affiliation relevant, Greeley said it could either mean that they would vote for a candidate because of the candidate's religious affiliation or they would not support a candidate on that basis.

Either way, Greeley said, the poll shows that for most Americans, religion is important in selecting a candidate.

"We think we can understand something meaningful about a person, a politician, if we have a sense of his/her religious beliefs because, clearly, religious belief is still esteemed by a majority of Americans," she said.

The poll also shows Democrats emerging as the party of choice in the November 2008 presidential election.

Despite how survey respondents planned to vote themselves, 60.3 percent expect the Democrats to regain the White House while just 14.5 percent believe Republicans would retain the White House. One quarter, 25.2 percent, are undecided.

Labels: Americans, candidates, election, faith, politics, religion, Sacred Heart University

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Happy for the Work

By Arthur C. Brooks

Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
ARTICLES Wall Street Journal

It is vacation season once again, giving occasion for the usual homilies about how Europeans are having a much better and healthier time of it than we are when it comes to work. You've heard it a thousand times: Americans "live to work," while Europeans "work to live."

By almost every measure, Europeans do work less and relax more than Americans. According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Americans work 25% more hours each year than the Norwegians or the Dutch. The average retirement age for European men is 60.5, and it's even lower for European women. Our vacations are pathetically short by comparison: The average U.S. worker takes 16 days of vacation each year, less than half that typically taken by the Germans (35 days), the French (37 days) or the Italians (42 days).

Why these differences? There are two standard explanations, neither of which casts Americans in a particularly good light. First, we are emotionally stunted. According to Time magazine, "In the puritanical version of Christianity that has always appealed to Americans, religion comes packaged with the stern message that hard work is good for the soul. Modern Europe has avoided so melancholy a lesson."

Obviously, there is a point beyond which work is excessive and lowers life quality. But within reasonable bounds, if happiness is our goal, the American formula of hard work appears to function pretty well. Second, we are under the yoke of hard-bitten capitalism. London's Daily Telegraph reports that the heavy U.S. work effort does not result from a special affinity Americans have for work; rather, it is because we are "terrified of losing [our] jobs" in a labor environment in which workers have few of the protections Europeans enjoy.

The truth is that most Americans don't feel particularly shackled. To begin with, an amazingly high percentage of us like our jobs. Among adults who worked 10 hours a week or more in 2002, the General Social Survey (GSS) found that 89% said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their jobs. Only 11% said they were not too satisfied or not at all satisfied.

Of course, some would argue this statistic must be hiding big differences between people with "good" jobs and those with "bad" jobs. Presidential candidate John Edwards, in an argument fit for the French, tells us that we are two nations: "One America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward."

No doubt there is great job dissatisfaction among people with low incomes and little education--the folks working in factories and on farms; the people who sell you socks and serve you lunch--right? Wrong. There is no difference at all between those with above- and below-average incomes: nine in 10 are satisfied, as are people without college degrees. 87% of people who call themselves "working class" are satisfied.

But even if we are satisfied with our jobs, might we still be happier at the beach? Imagine asking people something like this: "If you were to get enough money to live as comfortably as you would like for the rest of your life, would you continue to work or would you stop working?"

Certainly a high percentage would answer in the affirmative? Wrong again: In 2002, the GSS found that number to be less than a third of all workers. And once again, there is no difference between those at different levels of income or education. 69% of working class folks say they would keep working even if they didn't have to.

For most Americans, work is a rock-solid source of life happiness. Happy people work more hours each week than unhappy people, and work more in their free time as well. Even more tellingly, people with more hours per day to relax outside their jobs are not any happier than those who have less non-work time. In short, the idea that our heavy workloads are lowering our happiness is twaddle.

Obviously, there is a point beyond which work is excessive and lowers life quality. But within reasonable bounds, if happiness is our goal, the American formula of hard work appears to function pretty well.

This may be one reason why Americans tend to score better than Europeans on most happiness surveys. For example, according to the 2002 International Social Survey Programme across 35 countries, 56% of Americans are "completely happy" or "very happy" with their lives, versus 44% of Danes (often cited in surveys as the happiest Europeans), 35% of the French and 31% of Germans. Those sweet five-week vacations and 35-hour workweeks don't seem to be stimulating all that much félicité. A good old-fashioned 50-hour week might be a better option.

Arthur C. Brooks is a visiting scholar at AEI. http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.26371/pub_detail.asp

Labels: Americans, capitalism, happiness, religion, retirement, vacation, work

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How Well are Americans 'Loving Thy Neighbor'?

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Jun. 21 2007 10:11 AM ET

A new survey recently measured how well Americans follow the biblical mandate to "love thy neighbor."

And nearly two thirds of survey respondents said they received at least one selfless act of kindness in the past year, according to the June survey conducted by Gimundo, a "good news" supplement. One third said they couldn't recall receiving any selfless good deeds.

Survey results showed that in the past year, 41 percent of respondents report they were given a shoulder to cry or were comforted in a time of need; 21 percent were helped with car trouble; 21 percent said someone bought something they needed but couldn't afford; 1 percent report someone saved their life; and more than 38 percent said they were surprised with a good deed not mentioned in the survey.

Women were most likely to receive good deeds than men. Fifty-two percent said they received comfort and 46 percent said they were surprised with a selfless act not mentioned in the survey compared to 30 percent of men in both categories. Forty-four percent of men said they couldn't recall receiving any specific good deeds.

Although the majority of people were on the receiving end of a selfless act, Keith Cohn, CEO of Gimundo, noted there's still a need to encourage more acts of goodness.

"It's great to be reminded that people are indeed committing selfless acts of kindness and generosity," he said in the report. "But there's still that fairly large group of people who either don't remember – or truly did not receive – a specific act of thoughtfulness. To me, that points out the need for us to share our stories of goodness with each other – either to inspire others to action, or simply to celebrate the good."

Among other key survey findings: those in the oldest age group were most likely to say they can't recall any good deed over the past year (52 percent) while only 17 percent of those who are 18-24 years of age said the same. Married respondents were also more likely than single adults to say they can't recall receiving selfless good deeds (42 percent vs. 25 percent).

The nationwide survey of 1,000 adults was conducted to mark National Good News Day on Thursday. Gimundo made the declaration for June 21, the first day of summer, to draw attention to the good news stories that exist amid constant media reports that focus on "the most salacious, violent, and awful aspects of human behavior," according to Gimundo founders Keith Cohn and Chris Chase.

Gimundo was founded less than two months ago not to replace the news but to celebrate positive events and human achievement and provide the public with a break from the negativity conveyed in news reports.

Labels: Americans, Gimundo, good deeds, good news

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Monday, June 11, 2007

Back of the Book

Back of the Book
by Dr. George Barna

Barna's Annual Tracking Study Shows Americans Stay Spiritually Active, But Biblical Views Wane

It is hard to miss Americans’ comfort with and interest in spirituality. Most adults say that their religious faith is very important in their life. Two-thirds of the nation’s adult population firmly embraces the idea that their most important purpose is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. However, a deeper look at people’s full array of spiritual beliefs and behavior calls into question the sincerity of their commitment.

Every year, The Barna Group explores the state of America’s faith, examining various facets of people’s spiritual activity, faith identity, commitment and religious perspective. According to the 2007 survey, while their spiritual activities and religious identity have changed little compared to recent years, the area undergoing the most change is what Americans believe.

How Beliefs Have Changed

The 2007 study of the nation’s core beliefs found that five out of six theological perspectives have shifted in recent years away from traditional biblical views. This includes perspectives about three spiritual figures: God, Jesus, and Satan.

Most Americans still embrace a traditional view of God. Currently two-thirds of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today (66 percent). However, this proportion is lower than it was a year ago (71 percent) and represents the lowest percentage in more than twenty years of similar surveys.

Few adults possess orthodox views about Jesus and the Devil. Currently, just one-third of Americans strongly disagree that Jesus sinned (37 percent) and just one-quarter strongly reject the idea that Satan is not a real spiritual being (24 percent). Each of these beliefs is lower than last year and among the lowest points in nearly two decades of tracking these views.

The other changes in beliefs include greater reluctance to explain their faith to other people (just 29 percent strongly endorse this view) and the willingness to reject good works as a means to personal salvation (down to 27 percent from 31 percent).

Given these shifts, it is ironic that the only religious belief that was unchanged from previous years was the belief that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. Not quite half of Americans (45 percent) strongly assert this perspective.

The 2007 study showed that among the ten activities studied, Americans are most likely to pray. More than four out of every five Americans (83 percent) said they had prayed in the last week. This was followed by attending a church service (43 percent) and reading the Bible outside of church worship services (41 percent). Notably, just one-quarter of adults possess an active faith, meaning they engage in all three of these activities (pray, attend church, and read the Bible) in a typical week.

Perspectives on the Research

David Kinnaman, who directed the study, indicated that "most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs, largely because they do not possess a coherent biblical worldview."

This report is based upon telephone interviews with a nationwide survey by The Barna Group with a random sample of 1006 adults, age 18 and older, conducted in January 2007. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables.

George Barna is an author, pastor and the founder of The Barna Group in Ventura, Calif., a firm specializing in conducting research for Christian ministries and non-profits

Labels: Americans, Barna Group, belief, Bible, faith, God, Jesus, prayer, religion, Satan

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New Book Provides Unprecedented Look At Role Of Religion Over A Lifetime

Newswise — A new book by University of New Hampshire Professor Michele Dillon provides an unprecedented portrait of the dynamic role religion plays in the everyday experiences of Americans over the course of their lifetime.

“In the Course of a Lifetime” (University of California Press) relies on a unique 60-year study of close to 200 mostly Protestant and Catholic men and women born in the 1920s. The participants were interviewed first in adolescence and then again in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and late 1990s. Drawing on these extensive first-person interviews, the researchers paint a picture of the place of religion in people’s lives and how it intertwines with their everyday experiences over time as well as with broader cultural changes, aging, and transitions in the life course.

Most longitudinal studies compare the responses of different groups people interviewed at different times about the same topics. The two studies used by Dillon and co-author Paul Wink of Wellesley College -- the Berkeley Guidance and Oakland Growth studies established by the Institute of Human Development at UC Berkeley -- provide rare, detailed data from interviews with the same group of people over their lifetime.

In looking at the ebb and flow of religiousness over a lifetime, Dillon and Wink found that adolescence is a high point of religiousness for most people. This discovery was exciting considering only a few studies worldwide have the necessary survey data to trace religious change from adolescence to late adulthood.

Religiousness dips slightly but remains high through early adulthood (people in their thirties) but then drops through middle adulthood (forties). It plateaus between middle and late-middle adulthood (people in their mid-fifties and early sixties) and then increases as people move into late adulthood (people in their late sixties and seventies).

Adolescents were attracted to church for many reasons, including the social network it provided. Many reported switching churches – and even denominations – because of a particularly endearing pastor, exciting social activities and friendship opportunities. They all also were part of the pre-World War II civic generation of Americans who were highly involved in community activities.

The researchers attribute the drop-off in religiousness in middle-adulthood to parents feeling less pressure to socialize their growing children in religious circles as well as parents encountering increase career responsibilities.

Throughout their lives, women consistently were more religious than men. And conservative Protestants (evangelicals) had the highest levels of religiousness when compared to mainline Protestants and Catholics.

One of the most interesting discoveries of Dillon and Wink’s research is a more in-depth understanding of spiritual-seeking Americans, those who do not participate in regular traditional religious services but who would be incorrectly labeled as secular. The majority of surveys about religious behavior rely on the frequency of church attendance as a measure of a person’s level of religiousness. Those who do not attend church frequently or at all usually are considered to be less religious or not religious at all. These types of results are partially responsible for the debate about whether Americans are becoming more secular.

What Dillon and Wink found is that the vast majority of those interviewed were either religious or spiritual seeking. Instead of relying on traditional measure such as church attendance, the researchers took cues from those interviewed about how they lived their lives and whether they engaged in regular spiritual seeking behaviors, such as meditation. Simply saying they were interested in spiritual endeavors was not enough to be classified as a spiritual seeking person.

Discovering and measuring this spiritual seeking behavior was important, as Dillon and Wink found that people who were spiritual were just as concerned about the well-being of others as more religious people. “Our study suggests that there is more than one pathway to the development of an ethic of care for others,” they said.

And as people age, those who were highly religious fared much better than most. The authors found that people in the twilight years who were dealing with physical ailments but who had high levels of religiousness did not experience the same levels of depression as their less religious peers.

In particular, among those who were in poor health, religiousness emerged as a strong buffer against depression and the loss of life satisfaction and personal control,” the authors said. “These findings strongly support the common assumption that religious involvement helps individuals cope with adversity.”

Labels: Americans, lifetime study, religion, secular, spiritual seeking

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

Parsing the Polls: Religion in Public Life

Sifting through the transcript of last week's Republican presidential debate, we came across this exchange between former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.) about the role of religion in the public square.

Romney: "We have a separation of church and state. It's served us well in this country. This is a nation, after all, that wants a leader that's a person of faith, but we don't choose our leader based on which church they go to."

Huckabee: "I said, in general -- and I would say this tonight to any of us -- when a person says, 'My faith doesn't affect my decision- making,' I would say that the person is saying their faith is not significant to impact their decision process. I tell people up front, 'My faith does affect my decision process.' It explains me. No apology for that."

The candidates' comments got us thinking about how much or little the American public wants to hear about religion from their elected officials. Conventional wisdom says that most voters want a person of faith in the White House but are simultaneously wary of religion encroaching upon affairs of state.

Is that conventional wisdom right? Let's Parse the Polls!

First of all, it's important to set the backdrop on which the debate over how much religion we want in our public policy takes place. According to exit polling in 2004 and 2005, roughly nine in ten voters say they have a religious beleif system of some sort ("Protestant/other Christian" is by far the largest group), while 85 percent said they went to church at least a few times a year.

Looking at those numbers it's clear that the vast majority of Americans not only see themselves as religious but also seek out the communal setting of a church, synagogue, mosque, etc. at least a few times a year.

But, when it comes to whether religion should play a larger role in public life, people are far more divided.

In a January 2007 survey, Gallup asked people whether they would like to see "organized religion have more influence in this nation, less influence, or keep its influence as it is now." Twenty seven percent said they would like to see religion play a larger role, 32 percent said they'd prefer a smaller role and 39 percent said they would like to keep the status quo.

Those numbers are remarkably consistent with an April 2005 Washington Post/ABC News poll. In that survey, 27 percent said they preferred religion have "greater" influence in public life, 35 percent said "less" while 36 percent chose "the same."

Compare those numbers to a Gallup poll conducted in January 2001 -- at the start of the Bush Administration. In that poll 22 percent said they wanted less religion in the public sphere. In 2007, 32 percent said the same thing, a jump of ten percent in six years. Some have speculated that President Bush's willingness to talk publicly about his faith -- combined with his growing disapproval ratings -- may be responsible for the rise in the percentage of people who are put off by politics influenced by religion.

A May 2004 CBS News poll asked what worried people more: "Public officials who don't pay enough attention to religion and religious leaders or public officials who are too close to religion and religious leaders?"

Overalll 35 percent said they worried more about politicians not paying enough attention to religion, while 51 percent said they fretted about politicians paying too much attention. Isolate Republicans, however, and the numbers were nearly reversed with 53 percent saying politicians don't pay enough attention and 30 percent choosing the "too close" option. Compare that with just 25 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of Independents who wanted public officials to pay more attention to religion and religious leaders. The partisan gap is obvious.

While the American public is closely divided over the role religion should play in public life, there is a less of a chasm when it comes to several religion-related policy fights like prayer in school or displaying the Ten Commandments on government property.

An August 2005 Gallup poll showed 76 percent of the sample favored a constitutional amendment to allow voluntary prayer in schools, while just 23 percent opposed it. In that same survey 60 percent said that religion had "too little of a presence" in public schools while 27 percent said the amount of religion in schools was about right and 11 percent said it was too much.

The American public also tends to favor the display of the Ten Commandments on government property with 75 percent of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup sample in June 2005 saying the Supreme Court should allow that sort of display and just 23 percent saying it should not.

What to make of this raft of numbers? That we are a country divided -- sometimes even within ourselves -- when it comes to the proper role of religion in public life. On the one hand most Americans see themselves as a religious people; on the other, they remain generally wary about religion seeping into politics.

Because no obvious consensus exists, it's likely that the politicians running for president in 2008 will seek to find a balance between making clear to voters that they believe in a higher power while also making clear they won't be taking their marching orders from the church they attend.

It's a complicated position but reflects the divided mind most Americans have when it comes to religion's role in everday life.

The Fix owes a big debt of gratitude to The Washington Post polling team of Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta. As they so often do, the two provided essential help in making sense of all these numbers.

Labels: Americans, faith, Gallup, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, politics, religion, separation of church and state, Ten Commandments, voters

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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Hispanics Leaving Imprint On Religion In Dallas, Across U.S.

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 26, 2007
By JEFFREY WEISS and DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News

A major study released Wednesday offers a close look at how Hispanics are changing the way religion is practiced in the United States – and how American culture is affecting the faith of Hispanics.

There may be no city in the country where Hispanic influence is felt greater than in Dallas. Among the American cities with the 10 largest Hispanic populations, Dallas is second only to New York in its percentage of Hispanic immigrants, according to census figures.

Since most Hispanics are Catholic, the local diocese may be the most transformed. The Dallas Diocese has swelled from about 200,000 in 1990 to about a million members today. And most of the newcomers are Hispanic.

But Catholic leaders are hardly the only religious officials concerned with Hispanics. About 20 percent of Hispanics nationwide are Protestant, according to the survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. And 18 percent of American Hispanics have changed their religion – mostly from Catholicism.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, the two largest state Baptist groups, each have significant Hispanic outreach programs. And myriad nondenominational Hispanic churches can be found in storefronts and larger sanctuaries.

The Hispanic population of this country grew by 28 percent from 2000 to 2005. So sheer numbers mean that American church leaders want to integrate the newcomers into existing traditions. But the Pew survey identifies some ways that Hispanics do not fold smoothly into the non-Hispanic religious culture.

Many Hispanics bring a different approach to religion than can be found in many Anglo or black American churches, the survey indicated. They generally are more religious than non-Hispanics, are rooted in a more mystical, experience-driven understanding of their faith, and have powerful links to the language and customs of their homelands.

Hispanic identity is more tied up in community than the Anglo tradition that emphasizes the individual, said Mr. Reyes, president of Buckner Children and Family Services. An American church that wants to reach out to Hispanics must provide some link to that community identity, he said.

The Pew study, based on bilingual interviews of about 4,000 Hispanics nationwide, identified some broad differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics:

• Denominations – About 68 percent of Hispanic adults identify themselves as Catholic, compared with 22 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 4 percent of non-Hispanic blacks.

• How they experience their faith – About 29 percent of Hispanics who attend worship services say they speak in tongues – a hallmark of Pentecostal or charismatic worship – compared with only 11 percent of non-Hispanics. About 45 percent of Hispanic Catholics say they have seen or received divine healing, compared with 21 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics.

• Where they choose to worship – About 66 percent of Hispanics who attend church say their church has a Spanish-speaking priest or pastor, a Spanish-language service, and a predominantly Hispanic congregation. Even for Hispanics who are third-generation or higher, about 42 percent report attending a church with all three characteristics.

That preference for Spanish language and culture fits the experience of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The convention counts more than 1,200 Hispanic churches as members. Just over half are Spanish-only and most of the rest are bilingual, with only a tiny fraction offering English-only services, said Rolando Rodriguez, the convention's director of Hispanic ministries.

The depth of the Mexican immigrant influence on Dallas religion can be seen and heard in the festivities around the Dec. 12 feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The night before, Ross Avenue frequently fills with Mexican immigrants who begin the pilgrimage carrying the Guadalupe banner to the Dallas shrine, much as they sojourn to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe on a hill named Tepeyac in Mexico City.

According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared repeatedly to a Mexican Indian named Juan Diego in 1531 on Tepeyac Hill. Processions and other celebrations celebrating the tradition are annual affairs in Mexico – and now in Dallas.

Elizabeth Villafranca is a Guadalupe parishioner whose favorite piece of jewelry is a gold necklace with the Virgin of Guadalupe's image. Her preference for a Spanish language-friendly church matches the Pew survey results.

A visiting priest from Morelia, a central Mexican town, told her last year, "Siento que es un sucursal de Mexico," ("I feel like this is a branch of Mexico.")

The cultural connection is particularly important to Ms. Villafranca as she raises her 7-year-old daughter Natalie, a singer in the cathedral choir, she said.

"Every generation born in the United States starts to lose some tradition, but for our family it is important that she always have that connection to the roots," Ms. Villafranca said.

That search for connection can also be found in non-Catholic Hispanic churches.

When Vincent Gonzales, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, started his North Dallas Family Church, he made bilingual services his specialty.

He uses a PowerPoint presentation when reciting the Scriptures, preaching a bit in English with Spanish translations on the big screen, then preaching in Spanish while flashing the English translation. Songs of praise such as "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" carry an echoing line of "Sí, Cristo, me ama."

"The older Hispanics still prefer Spanish, but their children speak English and sometimes only English," the pastor said. "We have to speak to two worlds. We have to minister to two cultures."

Labels: Americans, Baptist, bilingual, Catholic, community, Dallas, Dianne Solis, Guadalupe, Hispanics, Jeffrey Weiss, Pentecostal, Pew survey, religion

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Poll: More Americans Prefer Focus on Personal Faith Over Changing Society

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Feb. 23 2007 10:07 AM ET

Highly religious Americans are almost evenly split on whether it is best to live the best possible personally religious life or it is also necessary to spread their beliefs, a recent Gallup Poll found.

Polls conducted last fall found that the largest percentage of Americans label themselves as "somewhat religious" (39 percent). Those who classify themselves as "extremely" or "very religious" constituted 37 percent of polled Americans. And 23 percent say they are "not too religious" or "not religious at all."

Among the highly religious people, 48 percent say it is sufficient to live the best possible personal life based on their religious beliefs and principles without having to spread their faith. An earlier study by the Barna Research Group had found similar figures with 46 percent of those who claim to be evangelicals being less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others.

Still, the Gallup Poll found that 49 percent believe it is necessary to attempt to spread their beliefs and principles to other people.

More than half of highly religious Americans who believe it is necessary to spread beliefs to others say this is best accomplished by converting others to one's religion, which the Gallup report labeled as the traditional evangelical view. Only 31 percent say the best way to spread their religion is by changing aspects of society. The latter portion makes up only 6 percent of all American adults.

The bottom line, the report stated, is that the majority of highly religious Americans believe that they do not need to change the society around them to conform to their religious beliefs, but instead can live the best possible personal religious life, or focus on one-on-one conversion.

The poll comes amid the 2008 presidential campaigns. A key to Republican successes, the Gallup Poll noted, was the highly religious voters, who were particularly concerned for and focused on changing societal elements in such areas as abortion, same-sex "marriage," and stem cell research using embryos. The recent poll, however, indicated little interest in changing society on the basis of their religious beliefs.

Data is based on telephone interviews with 2,013 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted in September and November 2006.

Labels: Americans, Audrey Barrick, Gallup Poll, religious practice

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Study: Americans See Link Between Economic, Spiritual Health

By Melissa Stee
Religion News Service

A majority of U.S. adults say that the overall health of the nation's economy is dependent on how spiritual Americans are, a survey by the Gallup Organization shows.
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents said the nation's economic health depends a "great deal" or "some" degree on its spiritual health.

The survey, called "The Spiritual State of the Union," was conducted for the Spiritual Enterprise Institute, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based center that focuses on building understanding of how spiritual values affect economic life.

"This in-depth study, which examined the role of spiritual commitment on many facets of life, as well as society as a whole, makes it abundantly clear that one can't understand America, unless one has an awareness and understanding of her spiritual underpinnings," wrote Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, the institute's founder, and pollster George Gallup of the Gallup Organization, in a joint analysis of the study that was released Jan. 30.

Of those surveyed, more than half say their religious beliefs greatly affect their feelings about the future, and more than one-third say they affect their relationships at work and how involved they are in volunteer activities.

Fourteen percent of those surveyed said they consider a decline in society -- ethically, morally, or religiously -- to be among the top problems facing America today.

Other findings show that 79 percent of people believe that there are clear guidelines about what is good or evil that apply to everyone.

Seventy-two percent say that their faith is what gives their life meaning, but a smaller percentage, 65 percent, consider themselves spiritually committed.

The Gallup Organization compiled the results from a survey of 1,004 adults during February and early March of 2006 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Commissioned by the institute, the study was partially funded by The Templeton Foundation.

Labels: Americans, economics, faith, Melissa Stee, Spiritual Enterprise Institute, spiritual values, the future

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Survey Finds Link Between Decline in Values, Waning Belief

Payton Hoegh
Correspondent

(CNSNews.com) - A majority of Americans believe the nation's moral values are declining, according to a survey gauging the state of American culture. It also found a correlation between the shift in values and a reduced emphasis on religion.

In the survey by the Culture and Media Institute, 74 percent of respondents, including a majority in each major demographic, said moral values in America are weaker than they were 20 years ago.

Forty-eight percent felt moral values were much weaker than two decades ago.

Using the data, the CMI classified American adults into one of three value groups -- Orthodox, Progressive, and Independent.

"Orthodox" Americans, comprising one-third of the adult public, are those who believe in God, think religious values should be reflected in government, and see moral issues in black and white, the survey said.

"Progressives" represent the one-sixth of adults who are fundamentally secular, opposed to religious values in government, and see moral issues in shades of gray.

"Independents" -- about half the adult population -- did not fully accept the values of the other two categories.

Ninety-one percent of the "Independent" respondents were found to believe in God and to be more "Orthodox" in questions of politics and sexual morality. But they also tend to be more "situational" in viewing moral issues and to side with "Progressives" in questions of right and wrong.

__At a press conference Wednesday launching the survey, CMI Director Bob Knight said the organization "wanted to take a snapshot of America and show [the culture] for what it is - good or bad."

The results showed that religion played a large role in the morality of the nation, he said.

Knight noted that although 87 percent of all respondents said they believe in God and a significant majority showed a commitment to classical virtues such as integrity and honesty, their actual decisions in particular situations did not always reflect it.

"In reality, there are three groups out there. The group we call the Orthodox believes in obeying God above all ... the Progressives want to write their own moral rules [and] ... the Independents respect God and tradition, but still like to do things their own way."

Using the results of its survey, CMI argues that "attitudes toward God and religion" is the crux of the conflict over culture in America.

CMI argued that if more Americans adopt "Progressive" values, the country could "expect to experience even greater moral confusion."

"The battlefield in America's culture war is the hearts and the minds of the Independents ... reversing America's moral decline will require a renewed acceptance of Orthodox values which implies increased acceptance of God's authority."

CMI said Americans should demand that the media "strive to more fairly represent all views, including those of the Orthodox."

CMI is a division of the Media Research Center, the parent organization of Cybercast News Service. Its mission is to "preserve and help restore America's culture, character, traditional values, and morals against the assault of the liberal media elite."

'No worse than any other time'

Lori Brown of the Atheist Coalition for America challenged the conclusions of the study, saying it incorrectly implied that if two things happen at the same time, then one must have caused the other.

"This shows how much misunderstanding there is of the morality of those of us who don't hold a God belief," Brown told Cybercast News Service . "If a person believes that this is the only life we have and this is the only world there is, than there will be great impetus to make it the best world possible.

"Those of us who don't believe in those concepts [of God] feel a tremendous obligation to live moral, ethical lives and to help people less fortunate then ourselves," she said.

Brown noted that when Christians gather on May 3 for the National Day of Prayer, atheists plan to observe a "Gift of Life Day," when they will donate blood rather than pray.

She also argued that the idea of a nation in moral decline is nothing new and could probably be said of any decade.

"I find people all over the country who are loving, kind, generous, and help each other, so I don't think the nation is in any worse of a decline than at other times ... people just notice this particular moment and don't put it into perspective," Brown said.

Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family welcomed the report, saying, "I don't think any American could look at the culture today and not agree with the conclusion of this study."

"Whether it is abortion, out-of-wedlock birth, the divorce rate, sexuality in media, or destructive embryo research it is across the board, and I agree with their conclusion," she said.

"If you don't have -- as they are phrasing it -- God's morality then all you have is man's opinion and that is leading us into death and destruction."

Earll conceded, however, that Christians could cooperate with people of other faiths, or no faith, when there is agreement on "core principals of morality."

"There are some basics that we can agree without having to quote a scripture verse."

Ultimately, however, she said the country does need to return to God. "Morality is based in recognizing that there is a God that created the universe and that we are subject to him ... God's standard is supreme and as humans we are held accountable to that," Earll said.

Labels: Americans, Culture and Media Institute, God, government, independent, morality, orthodoxy, Payton Hoegh, progressive, religion