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

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Author: New forms of religion take shape

By Peter Smith
March 17, 2009

This is the first of a two-page article - interesting...since institutional religion seems to be on the wane, what might take its place? Please click on "external source article" for page two.

Three authors offered an unapologetically radical vision of Christianity at a conference yesterday, saying that churches may actually be able to return to their core principles now that they have lost the cultural dominance they enjoyed in past generations.

And their view of core principles, they contended, is not to focus on personal salvation or getting people into heaven but rather to build communities, fight social injustice and try to solve the urgent problems of the day.

"One of the reasons people get nervous about evangelism is … they don't want to be the marketing department for a narcissistic message," author Brian McLaren said last night at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. "When we discover God is recruiting people to join in the healing of the world, that's a whole different deal. I bet a lot of us … (would) get up and knock on doors for that."

McLaren and authors Diana Butler Bass and Marcus Borg brought those views -- which for years have drawn conservative criticism -- to the seminary's annual Festival of Theology. The festival, which brought an overflow crowd to the seminary's chapel, drew on the theme, "New Ways of Being Church."

The speakers agreed that churches -- particularly historically Protestant denominations that once dominated the social establishment -- face an identity crisis now that their numbers are declining.

A major survey released last week by Trinity College in Connecticut indicated that self-identified Christians have declined from 86 to 76 percent of Americans since 1990, while people with no religion have nearly doubled to 15 percent.

McLaren, author of such books as "Everything Must Change" and "A Generous Orthodoxy," is a leading voice in the "emerging church" movement of church leaders seeking to get past traditional labels of liberal and conservative. The movement seeks to reach a world that has shed many of the institutions and other cultural forms that dominated the 20th century.

McLaren's evangelical critics say his focus on solving social problems undercuts the need to proclaim the gospel.

Labels: Brian McLaren, Christianity, church, Emergent church, intentional community, Peter Smith, social issues

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Monday, November 03, 2008

Morality or economy?

BY JOE RODRIGUEZ
The Wichita Eagle

ECONOMIC ISSUES ARE TRUMPING VALUES ISSUES FOR SOME RELIGIOUS VOTERS, A NEW POLL SHOWS

A recent poll showed that economic issues were the top concern among more people of faith this year than they were four years ago.

The poll, "The Fifth National Survey of Religion and Politics: A Baseline for the 2008 Presidential Election," was conducted in June and August and led by John C. Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, in Ohio.

The survey of more than 4,000 Americans found that 51.3 percent -- of various religious backgrounds -- said economic issues were their top priority. The 2004 survey, also led by Green, found that just more than 27 percent considered economic issues their top priority.

By comparison, social issues -- such as abortion and same-sex marriage -- were cited as the top priority among 11 percent of those surveyed, compared with 19 percent four years ago.

In addition to the 11 percent who said social issues were their top priority, more than 27 percent said such issues were "very important." In 2004, those numbers were 19 percent (top priority) and 28 percent (very important).

Labels: economics, Joe Rodriguez, morality, social issues, The Fifth National Survey of Religion and Politics: A Baseline for the 2008 Presidential Election

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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, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, prayer, religion, social issues