This week we pause our look at the Beatitudes to check out the results of two recent surveys. One comes from Lifeway Research and the other from Pew Research. The Lifeway survey was taken in September 2020, roughly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and the questions were given to 1200 Americans balancing gender, age, region, ethnicity, education, and religion.
Here is a snapshot of survey results of the Lifeway study:
Most Americans (57%) said that at least once a month they wonder how they can find more meaning and purpose in life. 21% said they ask this question daily. A similar Lifeway study from 2011 showed that only 51% said they wondered about this question monthly, with 18% daily. Experiencing a pandemic led more people to think about their purpose in life and how life could have more meaning.
A vast majority of those responding (81%) stated they believe there is an ultimate purpose and plan for every person’s life. Well over half of the people surveyed said they have already found a higher purpose and meaning in their life (59%). Those who have no religious affiliation were most likely to disagree with that statement (37%), while Americans who belong to a religion other than Christianity were most likely to agree (80%) that they had found a higher purpose.
For Christians, it made a big difference how often they attend church. Those who attend church less than once a month agreed with the statement that they had found meaning in their life at a 51% rate. Christians who attend church one to three times a month came in at 69%, while those who attend four times a month were at 76%.
Almost half of Americans (45%) stated that they wonder, “If I were to die today, do I know for sure that I would go to heaven?” 37% said that they never think about that. Looking back at the 2011 survey, more Americans today wonder daily if they’ll go to heaven (15% to 8%), and fewer people said that they never think about it (18% to 12%).
The Pew study was conducted among thirteen- to seventeen-year-old teenagers and one parent from each household surveyed. Of the teenagers who responded, 45%, almost half, believe that many religions may be true, while 31% believe that only one religion is true.
Here’s how the survey breaks down by religious affiliation:
- Evangelical Protestants: 66% believe in one religion, 28% believe that many religions may be true.
- Mainline Protestants: 28% one religion, 57% many religions
- Catholics: 31% one religion, 54% many religions
Here are the results by region:
- Northeast: 16% one religion, 61% many religions
- South: 36% one religion, 41% many religions
- Midwest: 28% one religion, 51% many religions
- West: 34% one religion, 37% many religions
What conclusions do you draw from these surveys?