Why has America kept her faith while many of the Western Europeans have lost theirs? Religion is filled with contradictions as someone has to be right and some others must be wrong. Or is that not true? Why are the coasts of the US more secular than the mid section and the south or is that a myth? An interesting poll from Newsweek:
God’s Numbers
By Brian Braiker
Newsweek
Updated: 3:04 p.m. ET March 31, 2007
March 30, 2007 -
A belief in God and an identification with an organized religion are widespread throughout the country, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Nine in 10 (91 percent) of American adults say they believe in God and almost as many (87 percent) say they identify with a specific religion. Christians far outnumber members of any other faith in the country, with 82 percent of the poll’s respondents identifying themselves as such. Another 5 percent say they follow a non-Christian faith, such as Judaism or Islam. Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution; one-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact. Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years; 39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view.
Although one in ten (10 percent) of Americans identify themselves as having "no religion," only six percent said they don’t believe in a God at all. Just 3 percent of the public self-identifies as atheist, suggesting that the term may carry some stigma. Still, the poll suggests that the public’s tolerance of this small minority has increased in recent years. Nearly half (47 percent) of the respondents felt the country is more accepting of atheists today that it used to be and slightly more (49 percent) reported personally knowing an atheist. Those numbers are higher among respondents under 30 years old, 62 percent of whom report knowing an atheist (compared to just 43 percent of those 50 and older). Sixty-one percent of the under-30 cohort view society as more accepting of atheists (compared to 40 percent of the Americans 50 and older).
Still, it is unlikely that a political candidate would serve him or herself well by declaring their atheism. Six in ten (62 percent) registered voters say they would not vote for a candidate who is an atheist. Majorities of each major party — 78 percent of Repulicans and 60 percent of Democrats — rule out such an option. Just under half (45 percent) of registered independents would not vote for an atheist. Still more than a third (36 percent) of Americans think the influence of organized religion on American politics has increased in recent years. But the public is still split over whether religion has too much (32 percent) or too little (31 percent) influence on American politics. Democrats tend to fall in the "too much" camp (42 percent of them, as opposed to 29 percent who see too little influence) as Republicans take the opposite view (42 percent too little; 14 percent too much). In the poll, 68 percent of respondents said they believed someone could be moral and an atheist, compared to 26 percent who said it was not possible.
Interesting 2164th -
ReplyDelete...The concept of a religious state is foreign to me. It is to ...most Americans. My biggest criticism of Islam is the religious primacy. The very Iranians that the US seems to favor are the secularists.
The religious states throughout the ME are burdened with the consequences of being religious states first and secular nations second.
The United States has gone to war in Iraq on the premise that religious beliefs should be subordinate to the secular state. That same evolution has been a constant constriant on civil law and practice in the United States for fifty years in practice and two hundred plus years in theory.
Communities in the US practice a high degree of cultural, ethnic, and religious identity. The Amish are an obvious example. They can sustain themselves within the nation. It seems to work.
Fri Feb 23, 06:05:00 PM EST
Elijah: The United States has gone to war in Iraq on the premise that religious beliefs should be subordinate to the secular state.
ReplyDeleteOh really, is that why we replaced the most secular regime on the Persian Gulf with constitution that says:
Article (2):
1st — Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation:
(a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam.
Smooth move, Dubya.
hi teresita-
ReplyDeleteperhaps you should address your question to the author of the citation
What I find interesting is how it is possible that a country where so many people are religious can be so tolerant and respectful of each other.
ReplyDelete