Skip to main content

Religion and American Life survey from MSNBC

check out this survery from MSNBC: Results of NBC survey on religion and American life

It covers a variety of questions, many on whether churches should be involved in different social issues or not. The responses are intriguing. Note, for example, how many people don't think that churches should be involved in civil rights. Or the percentage of people that subscribe to a "total biblical" view of creation. That one really surprised me, I must say.

Comments

John said…
Some of the questions are oddly phrased. "Do you believe churches and other religious groups and organizations should or should not be raising awareness and involved in gay marriage?" That could inspire people to answer 'very involved' because they support gay marriage or because they oppose gay marriage.

57% for creationism? That is surprising. I wonder how they comprised their polling sample.
I believe in God; I accept evolution as a currently reasonable explanation. If other evidence came along in the future, I could be persuaded that something else was a better explanation. Evolution is, after all, a falsifiable hypothesis. To be scientific, it pretty much has to be; That's the point.

My belief in "God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth..." isn't falsifiable. So which either/or alternative should I pick? People on both sides present this as a false choice: Jesus or Darwin - Pick one.

I see that there are more democrats than republicans, that more people than I supposed pray regularly, and that fewer than I thought volunteer. It's a very interesting survey; I'm glad you linked to it.
i found it interesting there wasn't a percentage on their web poll. does this mean that those who are spiritual don't give any creedance to msnbc's reporting on spiritual life matters that they don't visit their website?
Beth Quick said…
I agree, sanctimonious - setting up Jesus v. Darwin is the false choice that sets people up for confusion. Well-stated. Yes, I too wished I had more information about the poll. I'm assuming somewhere on the site there must be more statistics and info about gathering, etc., but I didn't find it. Maybe a story that went with it, or something...

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent, "Hope: A Thrill of Hope," Mark 1:1-8

Sermon 11/26/17 Mark 1:1-8 Hope: A Thrill of Hope             Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Is the glass of life half empty, or half full? My mom and I have gone back and forth about this a bit over the years. She’s wildly optimistic about most things, and sometimes I would say her optimism, her hopefulness borders on the irrational. If the weather forecast says there’s a 70% chance of a snowstorm coming, my mom will focus very seriously on that 30% chance that it is going to be a nice day after all. I, meanwhile, will begin adjusting my travel plans and making a backup plan for the day. My mom says I’m a pessimist, but I would argue that I’m simply a realist , trying to prepare for the thing that is most likely to happen, whether I like that thing or not. My mom, however, says she doesn’t want to be disappointed twice, both by thinking something bad is going to happen, and then by having the bad thing actually happen. She’d rather be hopeful, and enjoy her state of

Sermon for First Sunday in Lent, Year B, "Jesus in the Wilderness," Mark 1:1-4, 9-15

Sermon 2/18/18 Mark 1:1-4, 9-15 Jesus in the Wilderness             You’ve heard me say before that the gospel of Mark is my favorite gospel. Part of the reason I love it is because of Mark’s brevity. I don’t love that he’s short on details, exactly. I love that he seems practically breathless in getting the good news of Jesus to us, and that he seems to believe that the news is so good it isn’t even going to take very many words to convince you of his message! His frantic style strikes me as showing both how important and how convincing he believes Jesus’s message to be.             But, then we arrive at a Sunday like today, and I find myself a little frustrated perhaps, or at least a little challenged by Mark. In the lectionary, the series of the first Sunday in the season of Lent always focuses on the temptation of Jesus – his time in the wilderness, where he confronts Satan, and commits to God’s path rather than the flashy alternative Satan presents. This is the fo

Sermon for Second Sunday in Advent, "Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright," Isaiah 11:1-10, Mark 13:24-37

Sermon 12/3/17 Mark 13:24-37, Isaiah 11:1-10 Peace: All Is Calm, All Is Bright             “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon’ virgin mother and child. Holy infant, so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”             This week, I read news stories about North Korea testing a missile that perhaps could reach across the whole of the United States.             This week, I spoke with a colleague in ministry who had, like all churches in our conference, received from our church insurance company information about how to respond in an active shooter situation. She was trying to figure out how to respond to anxious parishioners and yet not get caught up in spending all of their ministry time on creating safety plans.             This week, we’ve continued to hear stories from people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment, as the actions, sometimes over decades, of men in positions of power have been