c. 2003 Religion News Service
Survey: About Three-Fourths of Americans Believe in Heaven, Hell
(RNS) About three-fourths of Americans believe in heaven and hell but almost one-fourth say they have “no idea” what will happen after they die, a study by the Barna Research Group shows.
Researchers with the Ventura, Calif.-based firm found that 76 percent of respondents believe that heaven exists and 71 percent believe there is a hell.
Forty-six percent of respondents said they would describe heaven as “a state of eternal existence in God’s presence” while 30 percent said it is “an actual place of rest and reward where souls go after death.” Fourteen percent said heaven is “symbolic,” 5 percent said they did not believe in life after death, and 5 percent were uncertain.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents said hell is “a state of eternal separation from God’s presence” while 32 percent said it is “an actual place of torment and suffering where people’s souls go after death.” Thirteen percent said hell is “just a symbol of an unknown bad outcome after death.” Sixteen percent said they were uncertain or did not believe in an afterlife.
Just half of 1 percent of U.S. adults said they expect to go to hell when they die, while 64 percent predicted they will end up in heaven.
But researchers found that many were not so sure of their post-death destination. Twenty-four percent said they have “no idea” what will happen after they die.
The research was based on telephone surveys among random samples of 1,000 or more adults ages 18 or older in September 2003, October 2002 and October 2001 with margins of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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Following material suitable for graphic:
American Views on the Afterlife
Believe in heaven: 76 percent
Believe in hell: 71 percent
Believe there is an afterlife: 81 percent
Believe life after death may exist but not sure: 9 percent
Believe there is no afterlife: 10 percent
Source: Barna Research Group
_ Adelle M. Banks
Opponents to Gay Bishop Unveil Plans for Conservatives’ `Safe Haven’
WASHINGTON (RNS) A week before the scheduled consecration of an openly gay Episcopal bishop, opponents unveiled plans for a “safe haven” to isolate conservatives from the church’s policies on homosexuality.
The Rev. V. Gene Robinson is scheduled to be consecrated the next bishop of New Hampshire on Sunday, Nov. 2. Leaders of the global Anglican Communion have warned that his installation threatens to “tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level.”
The American Anglican Council, which is leading the opposition to Robinson, released guidelines Thursday (Oct. 23) that would allow conservative parishes to seek supervision from like-minded bishops beyond their dioceses.
During an emergency summit last week in London, the Anglican leaders, or primates, called on their 38 member churches to provide “adequate episcopal oversight” for dissenting minorities.
“We are beginning the process of realignment of Anglicanism in North America that the primates laid out for us in their statement,” said the Rev. David Anderson, president of the AAC.
Under the AAC plan, a parish that wants to sever ties with the national church but not leave it altogether would submit an application to a panel of three bishops appointed by the AAC. The parish would not need to notify the local bishop of their plans.
Anderson said the leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, gave his “encouragement” to the AAC to coordinate the process of establishing a “network of confessing dioceses and parishes.”
The Rev. Kendall Harmon, a conservative leader from South Carolina, told The New York Times that at least seven dioceses would associate themselves with the new network.
Robinson, meanwhile, says he plans to go forward with the consecration unless God tells him otherwise.
“If in my own prayer life I were to discern that God were asking me to stop, then I would do so,” he told The Times. “But I must say I’ve been praying about his long and hard … and God wants me to move forward with this.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Catholic Bishop Hints at Support for Limited Domestic Partner Benefits
(RNS) A Roman Catholic bishop in Massachusetts said Thursday (Oct. 23) the church could support limited domestic partner benefits for gay couples with children.
Bishop Daniel Reilly of Worcester, speaking at a legislative committee hearing, said the debate over gay marriage should be separate from a discussion of legal benefits for nonmarried couples.
“If a bill alters marriage’s definition or changes the meaning of spouse, we cannot support it,” he said on behalf of the state’s four Catholic bishops. “If the goal is to look at individual benefits and determine who should be eligible beyond spouses, then we will join the discussion.”
That would include issues such as hospital visitation rights, survivors benefits, custody and education. The state legislature is considering a bill that would allow gay marriage, and the state’s Supreme Judicial Court is expected to rule soon on the issue.
“To redefine marriage itself, or to change the meaning of a spouse, as the civil union bill would do, is to deny the unique public value of the spousal bond between a man and a woman,” Reilly said.
The nation’s Catholic bishops have endorsed a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. Officials at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have signaled they would support limited domestic partner benefits that would apply to both straight and gay couples.
Bay State Catholic leaders have been firm on their opposition to civil marriage for gay couples. Archbishop Sean O’Malley of Boston said on Oct. 2 that “the concerted campaign of Hollywood and TV to reshape public opinion into accepting same-sex marriages has been a great disservice to the American people.”
In a letter that was to be read in all parishes in early June, the bishops urged Catholics to oppose gay marriage. “Marriage as we know it will be irreparably harmed if we don’t respond quickly,” the bishops said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Youth With Religiously Involved Families Report Better Parent Relations
(RNS) A study of youth and religion finds that early adolescents whose families are very involved in matters of faith report that their parents have good relationships.
The report, “Family Religious Involvement and the Quality of Parental Relationships for Families With Early Adolescents,” was released Wednesday (Oct. 22) by sociologists involved with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers looked at three dimensions of religious involvement for parents and their families, including family religious activity, parental worship service attendance and parental prayer.
They found that 11 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds are part of families that are heavily involved in religious activity during the week, taking part in activities such as praying, attending church or reading Scriptures together five to seven times a week.
An analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that these youngsters are much more likely than youth whose families do not engage in religious activities throughout the week to report better relationships between their fathers and mothers.
Researchers also discovered that the 40 percent of youth with a parent attending worship at least once a week are much more likely than those with parents not attending such services to report that their mothers encourage their fathers and avoid screaming at them when angry.
An executive summary of the study stated that the reasons for the results could relate to three different factors: religion influencing parental relationships; parents who already have strong relationships choosing to become more religiously involved; or, reduction of family religious practices as parental relationships fall apart.
“What is clear in this report’s findings, however, is that, for whatever reasons, early adolescents living in religiously involved families in the United States are more likely to report stronger, more positive relationships between their parents than do adolescents in families that are not religiously active,” the summary stated.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Update: Settlement Forces Non-Discrimination in Ga. Social Services
(RNS) Social service agencies in Georgia that accept state funds may no longer discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion or sexual orientation under a settlement reached Oct. 9.
The agreement came after a lesbian counselor was fired and a Jewish psychologist was refused a job in 2001 by the United Methodist Children’s Home in Decatur.
The 70-bed facility receives about 40 percent of its income _ more than $1 million a year _ from the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Gay groups who filed suit in July 2002 claimed victory.
“A private social service agency subject to the Department of Human Resources can’t take government funds and use them to engage in religious programming or to fund positions where there is a religious hiring criteria,” Susan Sommer, an attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, told the Associated Press.
Sommer said the agreement does not mean “a Baptist church can’t still require that a Baptist minister be Baptist” but instead that “there can’t be a sign on the door that says, `No Jews Allowed”’ at state-funded agencies.
On Oct. 7, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue proposed amending the state constitution to make it easier for faith-based groups to receive state money. The constitution currently bans any “direct or indirect” taxpayer funds from going to any “church, sect, cult or religious denomination.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Quote of the Day: Author Richard Swenson
(RNS) “I look at the life of Jesus. He never hurried; he never ran. Now, for all of us, the person who is standing in front of us is an obstacle.”
_ Dr. Richard Swenson, author of “The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits,” who was quoted in a Washington Times article marking “Take Back Your Time Day” on Friday (Oct. 24).
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