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Global Religion Study Yields Unexpected Results
Washington, D.C. (October 28, 2003) - Results released last week from a global
religion poll conducted by the University of Rochester and Zogby
International found a number of similarities among different religious
groups.
The study offered a glimpse into the religious beliefs and practices of
11 religious groups in seven countries. It focused on five areas: how
religion matters, sources of religious instruction and leadership, views
on religious exclusivism, the association of religion with trouble and
unrest and the impact of a more religious society.
According to Dr. William Scott Green, professor of religion and dean of
the college at the University of Rochester, and John Zogby, president
and chief executive officer of Zogby International, the poll was
conducted to discover how religions around the world converge with and
diverge from one another in the realms of ideas, practices and values.
"Religion clearly remains a significant force in the lives of most
people, but its role varies across cultures," said Green in a statement.
"Comparing the data from religion to religion, country to country and
between different religions within the same country reveals some
intriguing commonalities and differences."
Zogby International conducted interviews of 600 people in India (Hindu,
Muslim), Peru (Roman Catholic), Russia (Russian Orthodox), Saudi Arabia
(Muslim), and South Korea (Buddhist, Christian); 593 in Israel (Jewish,
Muslim, Druze); and 795 in the United States (Catholic, Protestant). All
interviews in India, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea were
conducted face-to-face.
All interviews in Israel and the Unites States were conducted over the
phone. All interviews--face-to-face and telephone--were conducted from
January through March of 2003. A team of religion faculty from the
Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester
analyzed the data.
Among the key findings:
- A majority of those surveyed associated violence within their own
country with politics rather than religion
- A majority of all respondents, except South Korean Buddhists, say
that a more religious society would help their country
- American Catholics and mainstream Protestants closely resemble one
another on many measures and are the most religiously pluralistic of the
communities surveyed
- More than half of the respondents in nearly every religious group
cite that being actively religious is an important value
- A majority of Muslims, Hindus, American Christians and South Korean
Christians say they engage in religious practices, including worship,
once a week or more
- More than 60 percent of American born-again Christians, American
Catholics and Korean Christians, more than 80 percent of Peruvian
Catholics and Hindus, and over 95 percent of all Muslims surveyed say
they will suffer negative consequences if they disobey their religion.
In all the religious communities surveyed, parents are the most
important source of religious instruction within families.
"Everyone claims to know religion, but the truth is that we humans know
relatively little about it - our own and, especially, that of others.
This seminal study is an effort to begin to fill in this gap," said Zogby.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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