June 22, 2008 Sunday
Contra Costa Times
Most religious Americans believe there is more than one road to God, and more than one divine destination, a new report shows.
The report, released today by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, undercuts the image of religious Americans as a monolithic group with a predictable ideology and party affiliation. It also shows that most believers do not claim to have the sole route to salvation.
"Not only is there more than one true way, there is more than one true way to interpret their religion," said Pew research fellow Gregory Smith. "The degree to which that held true across the majority of religions, even among evangelical Protestants, that was quite striking."
A majority in only two religions, Mormons, at 57 percent, and Jehovah's Witnesses, at 80 percent, believe their faith is the single path to eternal life. The two groups also believe there is only one way to interpret the tenets of their faiths.
Muslims were among the most devout of all the religious groups queried. Eighty-two percent pray at least weekly, and 86 percent view the Quran as the word of God. But most honor other faiths, and, in the United States, 60 percent see more than one way to construe the teachings of Islam. The data on American Muslim faith practices and attitudes came from the Pew Center's exhaustive 2007 study.
A solid majority of evangelicals, too, agree that other types of believers can attain salvation.
"You might get different answers to these questions if you polled (religious) leaders," said the Rev. Brian Stein-Webber, director of the Contra Costa Interfaith Council. "There has always been a disconnect. This is a very populist survey."
Interfaith campaigns and a cultural emphasis on tolerance is bearing fruit, suggested the president of UC Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union.
"It is the result of living side by side with people of other faiths," said James Donahue. "We see they are good people, they work hard, they have integrity -- why shouldn't they get eternal salvation, too?"
The report is the second part of a landmark survey released in February. Part one documented theological fluidity among Americans: Nearly 30 percent have left the faiths of their childhood -- sometimes adopting a new religion, sometimes none at all.
Based on interviews conducted in English and Spanish with more than 35,000 adults, part two examines beliefs and practices, and attitudes about the environment, homosexuality, abortion, foreign affairs and the role of government.
Overall, Americans' faith holds strong: 88 percent are absolutely or fairly certain about their belief in God or "a universal spirit." The survey also included these findings:
- Most believers expressed dissatisfaction with the country's direction.
- Majorities of every faith group favored stricter environmental laws and regulations.
- Majorities of all faith groups but Mormons said the government should do more to help needy Americans, regardless of the cost.
- The best way to ensure peace is through good diplomacy, not military might, said majorities of Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Orthodox, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and the unaffiliated.
A majority of Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, the unaffiliated and other faiths say society should accept homosexuality, a belief rejected by evangelical Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Muslims.
"It's here we see a deep religious divide," Smith said. "Religious groups tend to line up on this issue. These are quite sharp religious distinctions."
Catholics are evenly divided on whether the church should express its views on social and political matters, and close to evenly divided on whether abortion should be illegal in all cases.
"People talk about the Catholic vote," Smith said. "To some extent, this gets to the very core of their diversity."
The survey documented a similarity of attitudes among Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and members of historically black and evangelical faiths.
Overwhelmingly, Mormons (91 percent), Jehovah's Witnesses (82 percent), and members of evangelical (79 percent) and historically black churches (71percent) see God as a person with whom they relate. A majority firmly believe in the existence of angels and demons. Their members attend services consistently, and most say they would resist adjusting their faith to modern times.
Although the prevailing wisdom may link evangelicals to Republican conservatism, 34 percent of evangelicals claim to be Democratic or leaning that way.
"The thing to keep in mind is what this illustrates," Smith said. "We talk about religion in monolithic terms. There really is a great deal of internal diversity."
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