SFGate: Study finds contradictions among Americans' religious beliefs

[Kadie]

Study finds contradictions among Americans' religious beliefs
Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer

Monday, June 23, 2008

(06-23) 10:03 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - -- Americans remain heavily religious, but their views rarely conform to dogma, according to a massive new survey released this morning.

Seventy percent of religious adherents in the United States believe multiple religions can lead a person to salvation, while 68 percent say there is more than one way to interpret the teachings of their religion.

Those views are at the centerpiece of a survey of 36,000 people released today by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The survey - unprecedented in its combination of survey pool and breadth of questions - reveals that religious beliefs and practices in America defy doctrine.

- 57 percent of evangelical Christians say that multiple religions can lead to salvation, though nary an evangelical theologian or minister would say that.

- 58 percent of Catholics believe society should accept homosexuality, a view that is greatly at odds with U.S. Catholic bishops, including the Bay Area.

- 12 percent of Eastern Orthodox Christians say they speak in tongues once a week, even though it is a Pentecostal practice that is not in Orthodox liturgy.

- 21 percent of self-defined atheists believe in God.

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/23/BATE11AKBJ.DTL&tsp=1

[melody]

1. Finally, someone publishes a study with the facts

Whenever I see those idiotic "seventy percent believe in God" declarations, I always wish they'd look at the details.

[damntexdem]

2. "21 percent of self-defined atheists believe in God"?

Many questions could be asked about this, but I will limit myself to the following: "Is God numbered among them?"

[Ian David]

4. That sounds like a miracle to me!

"We put the numbers into the Excel spreadsheet... and then a miracle happened...

The numbers say 21% of Atheists believe in god!"

Is it possible that 21% of the people taking the survey were Theists trying to make Atheists looks stoopid?

[unpossibles]

3. "21 percent of self-defined atheists believe in God"

I wish they went into that - I'd love to see how that works, why they reached that conclusion, etc. I can understand how people could be religious but not follow all of the rules but it makes no sense to me to be an atheist who believes in God.