The Usual Shop

Posted by Steve on June 23rd, 2008 in Uncategorized

How certain are you that there is a god or some type of supreme spiritual being?  This study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life brings up a lot of interesting ideas.  My favorite part is this chart.

Some highlights of the study:

• Mormons are as sure as anybody except Jehovah’s Witnesses that there is a god (91% absolute certainty and 0% don’t believe in god at all).
• 73% of Atheists don’t believe in God.  Would you have actually guessed that 100% of atheists don’t believe at all in god?  I think if I had been asked, that I would have said that ideally 100% of atheists, by definition, don’t believe in god.  If you aren’t sure there isn’t a god, doesn’t that make you agnostic?
• On the other hand, 17% of Agnostics are absolutely certain there is a god.
• Religious practice has much more influence on a person’s views on homosexuality and abortion (almost always leading strongly towards the negative) than it does on the environment, foreign affairs, or economic policy (you know, the important things - things that actually affect you).
• Interestingly, most Americans, despite their church’s dogma, believe that many religions can get you to heaven (or Eternal Life).  Thank God for tolerance, anyway.

From this study, It almost seems that semantics and tradition have as much to do with religious belief as the actual information exchanged.  Of course that analysis is coming from someone who would fall under the 16%-Agnostic-Don’t know/Refused/Other category.