Pew religion poll of 36,000 Americans

[RB TexLa]

Many findings in this, some odd, some not so odd. At the link it summarizes 10 to 15 % of voting age Americans fall in the "religious right."




Study: Most Americans say many religions can lead to eternal life

11:06 AM CDT on Monday, June 23, 2008

By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]

A majority of Americans from all major religious categories say they believe their religion is not the only path to eternal life, or that there’s only one correct version of their own faith. But an even larger majority of Americans say they believe in God and in absolute standards of right and wrong.

These are among the results reported Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The numbers emerged from a massive national poll commissioned by the organization last summer.

Pew issued its first report on the poll in February. That report was notable for suggesting that nearly half of Americans older than 18 have switched faith traditions at least once. Monday’s report drilled more deeply than the first one into what people say they believe and how they practice their faith.

The poll’s unusually large sample size — more than 36,000 people, compared with most national surveys of about 1,000 — allowed researchers to more accurately assess the entire population and to offer a snapshot of faith groups too small to show up in most other polls.

About seven in ten of those surveyed said they believed that many religions can lead to eternal life and that there is more than one true interpretation of the teachings of their own religion.

A majority of the members of almost every religious tradition agreed with those positions: More than 60 percent of those who said they were Southern Baptists said they believed that many religions can be right about how to get to the hereafter. And about eight in 10 Catholics said they believed there was more than one true interpretation of their faith.

In both of those cases, the majority seems to be at odds with official teachings. People in much smaller religious groups also expressed disagreement with some of the official teachings of their faith.

About six in 10 Buddhists say they believe in Nirvana and about the same percentage of Hindus say they believe in reincarnation. Those concepts are central to most descriptions of the two faiths, so what does that say about the other 40 percent of those groups?

Some results are just plain baffling: How to explain that one fifth of those who said they were atheists also said they believe in God, and that one in 10 said they pray at least once a week? Did some people think they were asked if they were “a theist?” The Pew researchers say probably not.



http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062408dnrelpewstudy.2f6d9020.html

[KansDem]

1. "Most Americans say many religions can lead to eternal life"

Perhaps this is a question for the "Religion" forum, but since OP put this in GD, I have to ask, "Just what is so appealing about 'eternal life?'"

[RB TexLa]

2. Certainly your question regarding the appeal of eternal life is better discussed

in a forum for theological/religious discussion, but the overall study I think is appropriate for GD.

[Arugula Latte]

4. Good question. I find it odd that so many think that's a desirable outcome.

Eternal life -- no thank you.

[Mr. Blonde]

7. I can see the benefits of

eternal life in heaven. I mean all of the things that make life shitty here would be no more. Hopefully though God would relax some of the entrance requirements or the music would probably suck something awful.

Eternal life on earth seems very problematic to me. I always wonder how they explain why they aren't getting older. You would think just once someone would say, "you know we have known each other for 30 years and you look exactly the same and have never been sick. Whats up with that?"

[Fumesucker]

9. Simak's short story "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"

Involved an immortal who has been around since the cave painting days revealing his existence to an archaeologist, apparently out of sheer loneliness.

The final line is: "It seems to me it is always time to say goodbye".

That is what being a human appearing immortal would be like on Earth.

"Grotto" won both the Hugo and Nebula that year.

http://www.nicholaswhyte.info/sf/gdd.htm

[Buzz Clik]

3. ...ooops

.

[ecstatic]

5. might some of the atheists who responded been wiccan (sp?)

or something?

[undeterred]

6. They're asking the wrong questions...

There is a real problem with religion being oriented towards a belief in the "reward" of eternal life. It devalues this life, the only life we can be sure about. Religion should be oriented toward making our earthly life the best it can be instead of a future which no one can really know for sure.

It is interesting that people are starting to see other religions as being as valid as their own.

[Javaman]

8. once people understand that man created god, the rest is easy. nt

[maxsolomon]

10. "About six in 10 Buddhists say they believe in Nirvana"?

nirvana is not the afterlife. as Jesus of Nazareth said, "Heaven is spread out before you & you do not see it".

[endarkenment]

11. A large majority of americans are stupid people. nt.