On the one hand, poll after poll and survey after survey show that Americans
are a religious people.
On the other hand, real questions linger about whether that
is making any difference in the way they live their lives.
Add another log to that particular fire.
On the one hand, poll after poll and survey after survey show that Americans
are a religious people.
On the other hand, real questions linger about whether that
is making any difference in the way they live their lives.
Add another log to that particular fire.
A recent Gallup poll shows that while American teenagers say
they are religious, they tend to rely more on themselves than God and religious
teachings when it comes to making decisions and how to conduct their lives.
And while they fare better on that particular question, American
adults still come across as relatively self-focused.
Studies show that most American teenagers say they believe
in God, consider themselves to be religious, pray often and attend church regularly,
the September 2000 issue of the “Emerging Trends” newsletter reports.
The newsletter is published by Princteon Religion Research Center and utilizes
Gallup polls and studies.
“Yet, when it comes right down to whether they would pay
more attention to God and religious teachers in deciding how to conduct their
lives or more attention to their own views and the views of others, as many
as six in 10 say the latter,” the recent newsletter report notes.
That conclusion is based on a Gallup Poll that asked American
teenagers:
“Which of the following statements comes closer to the
way you decide how to conduct your life: You pay more attention to God and religious
teachings , or you pay more attention to your own views and the views of others?”
A total of 61 percent of teenagers said they look to themselves
and others. Just 38 percent said they pay more attention to God.
Breakdowns show that females and younger teenagers are more
apt to look to God than males and other teenagers, the newsletter reports.
In addition, it reports “a sharp division between statements
of belief and the decision-making process is also found among the adult population.”
The split is not as wide, the newsletter points out. But it
is evident. Indeed, American adults give fairly split responses when asked the
same question as the teenagers.
Overall, 48 percent of adults say they pay more attention to
God and religious teachings when making decisions regarding the conduct of their
lives. Meanwhile, 45 percent say they look more to themselves and others to
make such life decisions.
So, what do the numbers mean?
That depends – on whether one wants to take a positive
view or not.
On the positive side, perhaps the numbers show that as persons
get older, they turn more and more to God for direction.
Or perhaps the numbers offer a conclusion that is considerably
more troubling – that more and more American teenagers are not looking
to God because too many adults simply are not demonstrating the need to do so
in their own lives.