RE: Gallup Poll for 2022
June 18, 2022 at 9:21 am
(This post was last modified: June 18, 2022 at 9:22 am by Belacqua.)
(June 18, 2022 at 8:55 am)TheJefe817 Wrote: Fair points. If I'm honest, I would say I agree with you in how I feel about it - I would say most people believe in a god because they think there is a benefit of some sort - reward or avoidance of punishment. That's almost certainly what kept me personally there for so long. I know the poll is not that deep into reasoning and motivation, and I think it would be interesting to know. My evidence on this is anecdotal, but of the religious folk I know - and I know a lot of them - this is to some extent observably true. Theirs is more of the magic friend/Santa Claus in the sky theology and they probably have never heard of Kierkegaard, much less have any understanding of his views. Simple, again anecdotal, evidence - hundreds of theist facebook friends rallying to pray for whatever mass shooting happened that day - expecting the prayers to have a result of any sort.
Yes, it's always disappointing to see how many Christians settle for this magic friend version. And of course the magic friend always agrees with them on all the current political trends, as well.
Christianity is capable of being so much better. There are, within its traditions, paths which could challenge the believers far more, and make the world better for the rest of us. For example, mystical Christians from Teresa of Avila to William Blake say that Jesus only exists and acts in the world through the actions of people. Someone who agreed with this wouldn't simply pray after a school shooting -- they would feel the duty to act.
I looked at the poll data and I didn't see a breakdown of education levels for those who believe in a non-prayer-answering god. That would be interesting to see -- whether these are people who get their beliefs from Plato or Spinoza or some other respectable thinker who would also fall in the 11%.
Unlike many people, I tend not to blame Christianity itself for the naivety of its majority. I mean, they could do better, but it may not be fair to demand that in society as it is. To me, the issue is part of a larger trend of dumbing-down, of distraction and consumerism. A smarter society would have smarter Christians.
