"Survey Shows U.S. Religious Tolerance"

here's a direct link to the survey web page

Most people in the US don't like organized religion ... there's a reason George Carlin was so friggin popular. It's only a few freakazoids with inordinate amounts of power over the federal government who skew things. Of course to Europeans America will always be = GODZ N GUNS KILL ALL THE MUSLURMS AND STEAL THURR URLL.

from the report summary on the Pew page:

Most Americans agree with the statement that many religions – not just their own – can lead to eternal life. Among those who are affiliated with a religious tradition, seven-in-ten say many religions can lead to eternal life. This view is shared by a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including more than half of members of evangelical Protestant churches (57%). Only among Mormons (57%) and Jehovah’s Witnesses (80%) do majorities say that their own religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life.

Most Americans also have a non-dogmatic approach when it comes to interpreting the tenets of their own religion. For instance, more than two-thirds of adults affiliated with a religious tradition agree that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith, a pattern that occurs in nearly all traditions. The exceptions are Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, 54% and 77% of whom, respectively, say there is only one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion.

Most people in the US don't like organized religion

PS this is pretty much the exact opposite of what this report is saying

Organized religion means things are not open to interpretation, you follow orthodoxy (hence the "organized" part). "For instance, more than two-thrids of adults affiliated with a religious tradition agree that there s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith..."

orthodoxy does not mean the same thing as organized

Organized religion means things are not open to interpretation, you follow orthodoxy (hence the "organized" part).

basically this sentence is completely wrong, sorry

That's true, but in the organization lies orthodoxy for the most part. Take Catholicism ... the flexibility people have in the US is not the way it is in the rest of the world, and the pope has even criticized Americans for their lenient religious ways. Though it seems like he was just glad people were still Catholic here.

Anyway, the US isn't as fundamentalist as people think, it's just that those freakazoids who have way too much power in the federal government.

I'm wondering more about the one in five self-described atheists who appear to not actually know the meaning of the word "atheist"

basically all that means is that atheists are just as ambiguous in defining their beliefs as everybody else

but in the area of foreign policy, 6 of 10 said that diplomacy, not military strength, was the best way to ensure peace.

4 out 10 said that military strength was the best way to insure peace?

Not necessarily, it all depends on how the question was phrased. "Neither" is a viable option here.

No burt. "Organized Religion" just means you have some sort of church or temple and/or some relatively fixed set of traditions and/or beliefs. Quakers are very much an organized religion and there is very little orthodoxy.

so no one wants to talk about the actual report? i think it's really interesting, goes against the stereotypes of religious people being closed-minded and dogmatic. relevant for ILX because these stereotypes are among the stereotypes that it seems like it's still acceptable for liberally-minded people to perpetuate

Those survey findings reflect pretty much what I've witnessed, and always thought Americans basically felt about 'lijin. Most people won't begrudge one another their tenets. Zealots are often just the loudest, and if it screeds, it leads.

Most people in the US don't like organized religion

ladies and gentlemen

I'm wondering more about the one in five self-described atheists who appear to not actually know the meaning of the word "atheist"

-- Stone Monkey, Tuesday, 24 June 2008 12:06

basically all that means is that atheists are just as ambiguous in defining their beliefs as everybody else

-- n/a, Tuesday, 24 June 2008 12:14

I think there are a lot of people who don't really believe, but have some vague pre-conscious fear of being punished for openly admitting it, so they hedge. Plus the whole afraid-of-death/meaningless-of-existence thing.

</cynical>

(Punished, that is, by some weird unconscious fusion of God and their parents.)

Every organized religion formed as an orthodoxy - orthos meaning "correct" and doxa meaning "belief or opinion". Methodists had theirs, Baptists had theirs, etc. etc. Catholicism considers everything but Catholicism a heresy technically, and some sects of US Christianity consider Catholicism a form of paganism. Don't mistake orthodoxy with how its used in, say, an Orthodox Jew.

The fact that people don't follow these orthodoxies is encouraging.

So don't get all righteous on me about defining these words, I gots me a degree in ancient Greek. xairete, muthafucka.

"eternal life" is an odd way to gauge perceptions of other religions.

Those survey findings reflect pretty much what I've witnessed, and always thought Americans basically felt about 'lijin. Most people won't begrudge one another their tenets. Zealots are often just the loudest, and if it screeds, it leads.

yep yep Abbott otm yet again

Still a lot of across-the-board hostility toward atheists, though, right?

the article about evangelism rejecting conservative republicanism in this week's new yorker is really relevant to this too, but unfortunately it is not online

I saw an article suggesting that Obama should poach from evangelicals using social justice type issues recently – anyone have a good link on it?

For example, 70 percent of Americans affiliated with a religion or denomination said they agreed that “many religions can lead to eternal life,”

70 percent of Americans etc. etc. believe you can live forever.

I wouldn't necessarily interpret that statistic as a blow against orthodoxy. For instance, I think that even most fundamentalist Christians make some exceptions to the rule that only Christians can go to heaven - including newborn infants, members of remote tribes who've never been exposed to Christian teachings but have lived good lives.

"most fundamentalist Christians"

Wait, sorry, I got up too early in a fit of undue excitement, which has vexed my reading skills.

Though the way the question was worded, with other religions "leading to" eternal life, does put a more New Age spin on it. I guess I am surprised that 57% of evangelicals would agree with that.

Dem-Rep party identification including leaners (plus Lib-Con distribution)

Historically-Black Churches 78-10 (21-35)
Buddhists 67-18 (50-12)
Other Faiths 66-13 (47-12)
Jews 65-23 (38-21)
Hindus 63-13 (35-12)
Muslims 63-11 (24-19)
Unaffiliated 56-23 (34-20)
Other Christians 55-25 (40-20)
Orthodox 50-35 (20-30)
Catholics 48-33 (18-36)
Mainline Protestants 43-41 (18-36)
Evangelicals 34-50 (11-52)
Mormons 22-65 (10-60)

we like teh gays

Other Faiths 84
Buddhists 82
Jews 79
Unaffiliated 71
Other Christian 69
Catholics 58
Mainline 56
Hindus 48
Orthodox 48
Historically Black 39
Muslims 27
Evangelicals 26
Mormons 24

we like "the environment"
Other Faiths 77
Jews 77
Buddhists 75
Unaffiliated 69
Muslim 69
Hindus 67
Other Christians 66
Orthodox 60
Catholic 60
Mormons 55
Evangelicals 54
Historically Black 52

we like the welfare state
Historically Black 72
Muslims 70
Hindus 59
Buddhists 51
Catholics 51
Unaffiliated 48
Other Faiths 46
Jews 46
Orthodox 46
Other Christians 42
Evangelicals 41
Mainline 37
Mormons 36

whoops, 64% of mainliners like the trees

historically black : religion :: jews : ethnicity?

0.3% are 'Other Christian's