fun with statistics
Nov. 14th, 2003 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenkfrom today's Wall Street Journal: Barna Research, a California-based marketing research company, recently conducted a nationwide poll about belief in life after death, heaven and hell, and who might end up where. (Mark Twain was famous for claiming he had friends in both places.) While Holy Writ warns that few will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, Americans are far more optimistic. Three-quarters of us believe in heaven, nearly that many believe in hell (71%) -- and only one half of 1% say that they're heading for the hot place after the closing bell.
All told, 81% of Americans firmly believe in some type of life after death, with 9% considering it a possibility and only 10% believing that death brings utter finality, the survey found. And while 43% of respondents said that Christianity is their passport to glory, 15% say that they will get to heaven because they "have tried to obey the 10 Commandments." Another 15% expect to gain admittance because "they are basically a good person." Among the others, 6% believe that God is letting everyone in, no matter what.
Verily, this optimistic and expansive spirit is prevalent among born-again Christians. Earlier Barna surveys found that 26% of born-agains believe it doesn't matter what faith a person has because religions teach pretty much the same thing. Its recent survey found that 50% believe a life of "good works" will get you through the Pearly Gates. "Many committed born-again Christians believe that people have multiple options for gaining entry to Heaven," explains firm president George Barna. "They are saying, in essence, 'Personally, I am trusting Jesus Christ as my means of gaining God's permanent favor and a place in heaven -- but someone else could get to heaven based upon living an exemplary life.'"
Besides rejecting the notion that Christianity is the only way to heaven, a large portion of born-agains (35%) do not believe that Jesus experienced a physical resurrection, according to Barna surveys. A majority (52%) reject the existence of the Holy Spirit as a living entity, and 45% deny Satan's existence. In the meantime, 33% accept the concept of same-sex unions, 10% believe in reincarnation and 29% think it's possible to communicate with the dead, a belief shared by a third of the population, which is very good news for the seance industry, if not for the keepers of the orthodox flame.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Barna's survey is that half of atheists and agnostics believe that people have souls and that there is life after death. "One out of every eight atheists and agnostics even believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior probably makes life after death possible," says Mr. Barna, who considers this to be "further evidence that many Americans adopt simplistic views of life and the afterlife based upon ideas drawn from disparate sources, such as movies, music and novels, without carefully considering those beliefs."
There's another explanation as well. Most Americans continue to cling to another old teaching: Cover Thy Bases. That's a sensible position, but hardly the stuff of which religious imperialists are made.
All told, 81% of Americans firmly believe in some type of life after death, with 9% considering it a possibility and only 10% believing that death brings utter finality, the survey found. And while 43% of respondents said that Christianity is their passport to glory, 15% say that they will get to heaven because they "have tried to obey the 10 Commandments." Another 15% expect to gain admittance because "they are basically a good person." Among the others, 6% believe that God is letting everyone in, no matter what.
Verily, this optimistic and expansive spirit is prevalent among born-again Christians. Earlier Barna surveys found that 26% of born-agains believe it doesn't matter what faith a person has because religions teach pretty much the same thing. Its recent survey found that 50% believe a life of "good works" will get you through the Pearly Gates. "Many committed born-again Christians believe that people have multiple options for gaining entry to Heaven," explains firm president George Barna. "They are saying, in essence, 'Personally, I am trusting Jesus Christ as my means of gaining God's permanent favor and a place in heaven -- but someone else could get to heaven based upon living an exemplary life.'"
Besides rejecting the notion that Christianity is the only way to heaven, a large portion of born-agains (35%) do not believe that Jesus experienced a physical resurrection, according to Barna surveys. A majority (52%) reject the existence of the Holy Spirit as a living entity, and 45% deny Satan's existence. In the meantime, 33% accept the concept of same-sex unions, 10% believe in reincarnation and 29% think it's possible to communicate with the dead, a belief shared by a third of the population, which is very good news for the seance industry, if not for the keepers of the orthodox flame.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Barna's survey is that half of atheists and agnostics believe that people have souls and that there is life after death. "One out of every eight atheists and agnostics even believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior probably makes life after death possible," says Mr. Barna, who considers this to be "further evidence that many Americans adopt simplistic views of life and the afterlife based upon ideas drawn from disparate sources, such as movies, music and novels, without carefully considering those beliefs."
There's another explanation as well. Most Americans continue to cling to another old teaching: Cover Thy Bases. That's a sensible position, but hardly the stuff of which religious imperialists are made.
