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Americans Tolerant of Religions, Poll Says

By ERIC GORSKI,
AP
Posted: 2008-06-24 12:06:24
Filed Under: Nation News
(June 23) - America remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise.

The findings, revealed Monday in a survey of 35,000 adults, can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance, or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss or don't know fundamental teachings of their own faiths.


Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching.

In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

"The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.

"There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences," he said.

Earlier data from the Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, highlighted how often Americans switch religious affiliation. The newly released material looks at religious belief and practice as well as the impact of religion on society, including how faith shapes political views.

The report argues that while relatively few people — 14 percent — cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking, religion still plays a powerful indirect role.

The study confirmed some well-known political dynamics, including stark divisions over abortion and gay marriage, with the more religiously committed taking conservative views on the issues.

But it also showed support across religious lines for greater governmental aid for the poor, even if it means more debt and stricter environmental laws and regulations.

By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92 percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death and 63 percent say their respective scriptures are the word of God.

But deeper investigation found that more than one in four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God's existence, as did six in ten Jews.

Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with 8 percent "absolutely certain" of it.

"Look, this shows the limits of a survey approach to religion," said Peter Berger, a theology and sociology professor at Boston University. "What do people really mean when they say that many religions lead to eternal life? It might mean they don't believe their particular truth at all. Others might be saying, 'We believe a truth but respect other people, and they are not necessarily going to hell.'"

Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, said that more research is planned to answer those kinds of questions, but that earlier, smaller surveys found similar results.

Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).

By similar margins, people in those faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions' teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

"What most people are saying is, 'Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,'" said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

"Some people are like butterflies that go from flower to flower, going from religion to religion — and frankly they don't get that deep into any of them," he said.

Beliefs about eternal life vary greatly, even within a religious tradition.

Some Christians hold strongly to Jesus' words as described in John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Others emphasize the wideness of God's grace.

The Catholic church teaches that the "one church of Christ ... subsists in the Catholic Church" alone and that Protestant churches, while defective, can be "instruments of salvation."

Roger Oldham, a vice president with the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, bristled at using the word "tolerance" in the analysis.

"If by tolerance we mean we're willing to engage or embrace a multitude of ways to salvation, that's no longer evangelical belief," he said. "The word 'evangelical' has been stretched so broadly, it's almost an elastic term."

Others welcomed the findings.

"It shows increased religious security. People are comfortable with other traditions even if they're different," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance. "It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone."

More than most groups, Catholics break with their church, and not just on issues like abortion and homosexuality. Only six in 10 Catholics described God as "a person with whom people can have a relationship" — which the church teaches — while three in 10 described God as an "impersonal force."

"The statistics show, more than anything else, that many who describe themselves as Catholics do not know or understand the teachings of their church," said Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput. "Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing its own members."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-06-23 15:12:09
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godssalt04 05:31:21 AM Jul 10 2008

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One more thing, the reason Jesus is the only way to Heaven is that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We (including me) all have stolen, lied, lusted after some one etc. (Romans 3:23, Deuteronomy 5:7-21, Matthew 5:17-48) For God being good and a righteous judge will, just as any other good judge would, condemn us of our sin "law breaking". The thing is He sees all sins the same so if we broke one command we broke them all. Because of our sin, we deserve Hell (2 Peter 2:3-10), and since we are already unworthy of Him, we cannot by good works or any other means earn Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10, Acts 4:12). That is why God (Jesus) came and died in our place (remember Passion of the Christ) so if we turn from our sins and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we can go to Heaven (John 3:16-18). No other can offer that. Please read on.

godssalt04 03:25:12 AM Jul 10 2008

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sorry about the post goof, please read all my posts to get the full story and I posted the links separate to make it easier to read them

godssalt04 03:20:53 AM Jul 10 2008

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http://markcahill.org http://carm.org http://Biblegateway.com http://leestrobel.com http://carbonbaptistyouth.org/links.html http://chick.com

godssalt04 03:17:36 AM Jul 10 2008

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...continuedIf any one lives contrary to God's Words (The Holy Bible) and what the real Jesus talked about (the one of the Bible) and at the same time claim to be Christian, they need to question themselves on that claim (1 John 1:1-10). As a Christian, I know Jesus is the only way to heaven and as the scriptures say, He is God in the flesh (John 14:5-7 and John 1: 1-5). I do not claim to be perfect but I claim to be forgiven by my best friend, Yeshua.For more information on whether or not the Bible is trust worthy, on the real Jesus, and why we all need Him see these links:http://markcahill.orghttp://carm.orghttp://Biblegateway.comhttp://leestrobel.comhttp://carbonbaptistyouth.org/links.htmlhttp://chick.comThank you for reading my post. Please consider what has been said and the invite to research more information.

godssalt04 03:14:33 AM Jul 10 2008

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For some one to say, “I am a Christian”, but at the same time deny Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven is calling God a liar and they lie about their own beliefs (Mark 8:37-38 and 1 John 2:4). The idea that there are multiple ways to get to heaven is part of the new age movement such as Universalism, which believes that no one is wrong in their own pursuit of "truth". Again, this is the same if a self-claimed Muslim all of a sudden proclaims; “Mohamed was no prophet of Allah, but some crazy drunk who told tall tales.” We should all agree then that people who say or do such contradictory things are not whom they say they are. That goes with anything. This world is filled with black and white but the people of the world have ideals of gray, which do not exists. You are either pregnant or not, dead or alive, male or female, Christian or not, sinner or innocent. If any one lives contrary to God's Words (The Holy Bible) and what the real Jesus talked about (the one of the Bi

newjeff121 07:06:55 AM Jun 27 2008

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If Jesus did not rise from the dead then he is irrelevant.If Jesus did rise from the dead then he is the most important person in history.Either way, religion (especially the Christian religion) does not represent him in any way, shape, or form.

wkeith9494 01:26:13 AM Jun 27 2008

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If, in the beginning there was nothing, and God created the heavens and the earth! Then there was in fact not nothing, for there was God! Therefore; If in the beginning there was Nothing AND there was God, and God created the heavens and the earth, then it follows that the heavens and the earth are made of God. If on the same or other hand, the universe as we know it, is the result of the 'Big Bang' the birth of 'star stuff' then all that is, is born of 'star stuff'! Or, if you can follow this, “All that is, is GOD”! Matter decays into energy! Energy decays into matter! If all that is, is God. Why does God hate its self so much to cause all this pain in Gods name?

jeeperswally 12:45:52 AM Jun 27 2008

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liberals are religious bigots

jkentodlas 01:15:08 PM Jun 26 2008

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thats true-both george and mother Tersa will live forever except theres a vast difference between the two. Mother is in Heaven and George is headed for the Lake Of Fire after the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT which is the 2nd death and that will be forever as well. These fans of Carlin almost demanding that God change the salvation rules for humanity and make exceptions for George or Sam Kinison or Richard Ptyor. yes before I got saved and wised up to what these men were really about-I thought they were funny and great along with the rest of America-i didnt know the ways of GOD AND hOLINESS AND THE GRAVE AND SEVERE WAY THAT THE LORD LOOKS UPON SIN.

utahmomof8 12:56:30 PM Jun 26 2008

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While I absolutely believe that Jesus Christ's atonement saved all men from the grave, we have much to do with our own salvation. I don't believe that George Carlin will stand before the judgement bar with the same degree of comfortability as Mother Teresa will. Each will live forever, because of the gift given through the infinite sacrifice of the Son of God, but .................."In my Father's house are many mansions" We will be judged on the way we conducted our lives, with the greatest amount of mercy and grace possible, but still judged according to our good works, or lack thereof.

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