For better or worse, religious beliefs and politics tend to go hand in hand in the US. And because 2008 is a presidential election year, religion has been the subject of much debate surrounding the candidates, and the viewpoints of individual Americans. But in spite of attempts by pundits and politicos to use religion to divide the nation, a recent survey shows that American citizens are, in general, quite tolerant of other religions and viewpoints — including atheism.
In a report titled “US Religious Landscape Survey,” the Pew Forum On Religion and Public Life questioned over 35,000 Americans during the summer of 2007 about a broad range of religious issues and personal viewpoints.
The results of the survey showed that religious tolerance is the rule in the United States, not the exception. For example, a full 70% of those questioned agreed that other religions (besides their own) could lead to eternal life. Of the Catholics questioned, 79% agreed with this statement, and among the Jews, Hindus and Buddhists the numbers were even higher.
Even the majority of those who were self identified as evangelical Christians held the same viewpoint, with 57% agreeing with the above statement. Not surprisingly, a majority of Muslims who took part in the survey also agreed with this point of view.
Overall, the Pew survey paints a very different picture of religious life in America than the 24-hour news channels (and many politicians) often present. Americans in general are tolerant of other religions, and even see value in religious beliefs very different from their own.
One thing that came through loud and clear in the survey was that as a group, Americans believe in God. Amazingly, even 20% of Americans who call themselves atheists believe in some type of God (perhaps they are just confused about what the word “atheist” means), and among agnostics the numbers are even higher — more than half of all agnostics questioned reported a believe in God, though they often defined “God” quite differently than most organized religions.
Perhaps the most surprising outcome of the survey was the finding that most Americans believe that people of other faiths can find salvation through their religion — even if their religious beliefs were very different. The survey also showed that most Americans believe a large majority of their fellow citizens will go to heaven, regardless of their religion; and this view is even held among many members of evangelical Christian churches and devout Roman Catholics.
Unfortunately, the Pew survey did not ask those participating about the possible salvation of people in other countries — it would have been interesting to see how average Americans responded to that question, particularly as it relates to nations that are critical of US policies, including Iran, North Korea, and let’s face it, much of the rest of the world.
Some people say sectarian groups are religions that haven’t made it to the “big leagues” but from what I,ve seen, most people feel very uneasy with sects that preach things that are contrary to generally admitted moral and ethics.
Comment by Claude Gelinas — July 3, 2008 @ 11:44 pm