Some people are so damn sure of their own righteousness. Perhaps that is why they think little of the atrocities they commit...that, and the mindset that what they believe is more important than what they do.
Beliefwatch: Catch Hell
Newsweek
June 26, 2006 issue - Conservatives are more confident than liberals that they'll avoid hell—and that they know someone who won't. Liberals are less confident about their own chances of escaping hell and less sure they can identify the damned. These are a few results from an unusual online survey Beliefnet conducted this month among 10,000 of its members.
Asked to rate their "chances that you might go to hell," 46% of self-identified conservatives said "not a chance"—compared with 28% of liberals. Born-again Christians were the most upbeat about their odds: 55% said "not a chance" compared with 21% of Roman Catholics; 56% of those who filled out the survey thought they knew one or more people who were "probably" headed south, with 64% of conservatives saying yes and only 47% of liberals. Conservatives, and men, are more likely to believe in hell as a physical place with fire and demons, as opposed to a spiritual state of separation from God.
Do you know the doomed? 61% of men said they knew some hellbound folks, compared with 54% of women. (It's unclear whether the results show that men are more judgmental, better judges of character or hang out with more evil people.) Most people said the doomed are "acquaintances," but almost 25% said the hellbound are members of their own families. Women were more likely to consign family members to hell, quite possibly because they spend more time with the family. And why are these people going to fry? The answers reflect one of the oldest theological debates: which matters more, faith or good works? For instance, 60% of born-again Christians (almost all of them Protestants) said the unfortunates didn't have the "right beliefs," compared with just 19% of Catholics who said that. 80% of Catholics said it was because of the person's immoral actions, compared with 40% of born-agains. The same split persisted politically: liberals said damnation was determined by bad behavior; conservatives, by a smaller majority, thought beliefs mattered most.
In what may be a worrisome sign of the state of family relations, those who thought their family members were headed down were very likely to think of hell as a place of fire and torment. Oh, and eternal. It was unclear whether the respondents were expressing a prediction or a wish.
—Steven Waldman and Laura Sheahen
URL: msnbc.msn.com
Who's Going to Hell?
Does hell exist? Who are its occupants? Over ten thousand Beliefnet readers responded to our online survey about the down side of the afterlife. Here are selected results.
1. Do you believe in life after death?
Yes 79%
No 5%
Reincarnation 8%
Other 7%
1a. Do you believe in hell?
(Asked of those who did not reply "no" to #1)
Yes 76%
No 13%
Not sure 8%
2. What do you think are the chances you might go to hell?
(Asked of those who did not reply "no" to #1a)
Certain 0.7%
Likely 3%
Unlikely 36%
Not a chance 36%
I don't know 24%
2a. Percentage of each religious group that answered "not a chance":
Christian (Born-Again) 55%
Christian (Other) 21%
Christian (Catholic) 21%
Jewish 20%
Spiritual but not religious 26%
2b. Percentage of each political group that answered "not a chance":
Conservative 46%
Moderate 31%
Liberal 28%
3. Do you know someone you think might go to hell?
Yes 56%
No 44%
3a. How do you know the people you think might go to hell?
(Asked of those who replied "yes" to #3)
Acquaintances 54%
Coworkers 9%
Family 24%
Friends 13%
3b. What is the main reason you think they might go to hell?
(Asked of those who replied "yes" to #3)
Wrong beliefs 42%
Immoral actions 58%
3c. Percentage of each religious group that answered "wrong beliefs":
Christian (Born-Again) 60%
Christian (Other) 25%
Christian (Catholic) 19%
Jewish 1%
Spiritual but not religious 15%
3d. Percentage of each political group that answered "wrong beliefs":
Conservative 54%
Moderate 36%
Liberal 23%
Results of a self-selecting online survey of 10,567 Beliefnet readers conducted June 5-9, 2006. Beliefnet readers were invited to fill out a survey about their views on the afterlife. The invitation was placed as links in a variety of different Beliefnet newsletters, including Daily Bible Wisdom, Daily Inspiration, Daily Jewish Wisdom, and Daily Buddhist Wisdom. Data compiled by Lilit Marcus. |
