Science and Religion Today » Polls

Religious Differences Over the Death Penalty

Heather Wax — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:34:11 +0000

According to a recent survey of about 2,000 American adults conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 62 percent favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 31 percent oppose it. (Click on image for larger view.)

The report also notes that:

Majorities of major religious groups, except for black Protestants, favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder. Roughly three-quarters of white evangelical Protestants (77%) and white mainline Protestants (73%) support the death penalty. Somewhat fewer white Catholics (61%), Hispanic Catholics (57%) and the religiously unaffiliated (57%) favor capital punishment for convicted murderers.

Our Biggest Regrets

Heather Wax — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:49:53 +0000

Neal Roese, a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and Mike Morrison of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign analyzed data from 370 American adults to find the most common sources of regret. (Click on image for larger view.)

Do Very Religious Americans Lead Healthier Lives?

Heather Wax — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:21:28 +0000

Apparently so, according to a new data analysis by Gallup researchers, who controlled for age, race, and other demographic differences. They found that very religious Americans—those who say religion is an important part of daily life and who attend religious services almost every week—tend to make healthier lifestyle choices than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious. They smoke less, eat better, and exercise more regularly. (Click on image for larger view.)

This makes sense. After all, many religions have specific rules related to eating, drinking, or smoking. But does religion really cause people to lead healthier lives? Could it be that healthier people are more likely to be religious? The researchers aren’t sure, but they note that:

Healthier people may be more likely and able to attend religious services than those who are less healthy.
It may also be possible that certain types of individuals are more likely to make healthy lifestyle choices and more likely to choose to be highly religious. The most parsimonious explanation, however, may be the most intuitive: Those who capitalize on the social and moral outcomes of religious norms and acts are more likely to lead lives filled with healthier choices.

A Small Decrease in Belief in Creationism

Heather Wax — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:20:44 +0000

According to a new Gallup poll, 40 percent of Americans still believe that God created human beings in their present form about 10,000 years ago, though that number is a little lower than in past years. Among the rest, 38 percent believe in what’s called “theistic evolution,” the idea that humans developed over millions of years from less advanced life forms with God guiding the process. And 16 percent hold the “secular evolution” view that humans developed over millions of years with no involvement or influence from God—a number that has risen slightly over the years.

Still, the shifts are small, and Frank Newport, the editor in chief of Gallup, interprets the findings as showing that “the basic structure of beliefs about human beings’ origins is generally the same as it was in the early 1980s.” (Click on image for larger view.)

It should come as no surprise that:

Americans’ views on human origins vary significantly by level of education and religiosity. Those who are less educated are more likely to hold a creationist view. Those with college degrees and postgraduate education are more likely to hold one of the two viewpoints involving evolution.
Americans who attend church frequently are most likely to accept explanations for the origin of humans that involve God, not a surprising finding. Still, the creationist viewpoint, held by 60 percent of weekly churchgoers, is not universal even among the most highly religious group. Also, about a fourth of those who seldom or never attend church choose the creationist view.

Here are the survey results broken down by education:

And here are the results broken down by church attendance:

Very Religious Americans Experience Less Worry

Heather Wax — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:13:06 +0000

According to data gathered by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, very religious Americans—those who say religion is an important part of daily life and who attend services almost every week—are less likely to report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their life than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious. They are also less likely to experience daily negative emotions, such as worry, stress, sadness, and anger. (Click on image for larger view.)

So does religion cause better emotional well-being? Or is religion more attractive to those with better emotional health? It’s still an open question, but the researchers think:

The best explanation for the observed relationship between religion and more positive states of emotional health may be the most straightforward—that being religious in fact produces a salutary effect on one’s mental health. There are many possible reasons why this could be the case. This might include the interpersonal and social interaction that accompanies religious service participation, the ability of religion to provide explanations for setbacks and problems, the positive benefits of meditative states, prayer and belief in a higher power, and the focus placed on others and charitable activities by many religions.

It’s worth noting, however, that nonreligious Americans experience lower levels of negative emotions than those who are moderately religious. Why would this be? Well, one possibility, the researchers say, is that:

The greater religious ambivalence found in this latter group could be a leading and lagging factor in their more negative emotional health, as these Americans may be less prone to commit to one belief system fully because of their higher rates of depression, stress, and worry.

Where Does Your State Rank in Well-Being?

Heather Wax — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:07:46 +0000

According to a recent report from the American Human Development Project, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., have the highest levels of well-being in the United States, while West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi have the lowest. The report determined the rankings of the country’s states and congressional districts based on their residents’ ability to live a long and healthy life, their access to knowledge, and their capacity to maintain a decent standard of living.

To see how your state compares, check out these handy maps (click on image for larger view):

Comparing Beliefs on Evolution in Three Countries

Heather Wax — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:09:25 +0000

Angus Reid Public Opinion has just released the results of a poll conducted last year that asked Americans, Canadians, and Britons which of two statements comes closest to their views on the origins and development of human beings. (As the National Center for Science Education notes, the wording of the choices is similar but not identical to the statements Gallup uses.)
Here are the results in a handy little chart (click on image for larger view):

And here are the U.S. results broken down by region:

What Will Life Look Like in 2050?

Heather Wax — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:45:30 +0000

Pollsters at The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press called more than 1,500 Americans to ask them what life will be life 40 years from now.
Among those polled, 41 percent said they believe Jesus will have returned to earth by then (58 percent of white evangelical Christians, 32 percent of Catholics, 27 percent of mainline Protestants, and 20 percent of those who are religiously unaffiliated), while 46 percent of Americans dismiss the idea. Notably, 59 percent of those with no college education say Jesus will return, while only 35 percent of those with some college education and 19 percent of college graduates agree.
In total, almost two-thirds of Americans think religion in the United States will be about as important in 40 years as it is now, while 30 percent think religion will become less important.
In terms of scientific advancements, most Americans are optimistic, with 71 percent believing a cure for cancer will be found, 66 percent thinking artificial limbs will outperform real ones, and 63 percent expecting astronauts to have landed on Mars by 2050. Half say that there will definitely or probably be evidence that humans are not alone in the universe.
About 80 percent think computers will be able to carry on conversations like humans 40 years from now, while 42 percent say it is likely that scientists will be able to tell what people are thinking by scanning their brains. About half think scientists will have brought an animal species back from extinction through cloning, and 48 percent say humans cloning is probable.
Half of Americans, however, don’t expect improvements in the environment.
Overall, 64 percent of those surveyed said they are optimistic about their life and future—a number that’s down from 81 percent in 1999.

How the Social Values of Americans Have Changed

Heather Wax — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:01:05 +0000

In the years following 9/11 and the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, you might expect that Americans’ desire for security and a sense of belonging has gone up. But not so, discovered a team of marketing researchers from the University of Oregon. They asked people to pick their top social value and found that the craving for security has gone down. While 20.6 percent of people chose security as their most important social value in 1976, only 12.4 percent chose it in 2007 (though it is possible, the researchers admit, that the recent financial crisis has raised concerns about security once again).
The desire for self-respect, on the other hand, has become even more important to Americans, picked as the top social value by 21.1 percent of people in 1976 and 28.8 percent of people in 2007. To marketing professor Lynn Kahle, this suggests that, more than before, people are relying on themselves to solve their problems. Other values going up: “warm relationships with others” (from 16.2 percent to 20.9 percent) and “fun-enjoyment-excitement” (4.5 percent to 9.3 percent.)
What accounts for the shift? The researchers aren’t sure, but Eda Gurel-Atay, the doctoral student who led the study, thinks social networking sites may have something to do with it:

Without Facebook, for instance, we might not contact our friends from primary school or others from years ago, but now we can connect with them, talk to them, share our experiences, tell them what we have done. That phenomenon may help a lot in explaining the increase in the importance of “warm relationships with others,” but this study did not look directly at such influences.

Who Rejects Basic Big Bang Science?

Heather Wax — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:11:24 +0000

In a national poll last week, Daily Kos asked 1,200 voters:

Most astronomers believe the universe formed about 13.7 billion years ago in a massive event called the big bang. Do you think that’s about right or do think the universe was created much more recently?

The results:

As Joshua Rosenau of the National Center for Science Education points out:

The South and the Republicans are the only groups in the same neighborhood in terms of rejecting basic knowledge about the universe. Disappointing, but not entirely surprising.