daily devotionals online logo Thursday, March 28, 2024 6:18 PM GMT+1
       Reset Password        Click here to sign up.
 
daily devotionals online
Home
       our daily bread
Our Daily Bread
       the good seed
The Good Seed
       the LORD is near
The LORD is near
       andrew wommack
Andrew Wommack
       billy graham
Billy Graham
 
christian topics
Christian
       general topics
General
       interesting topics
Interesting
 

Most Catholics, mainline Protestants say faith in God not required to enter Heaven: study
Posted by Temmy
Thu, December 02, 2021 10:52am




More than three years after Pope Francis sparked a firestorm of religious debate by telling a young boy that his deceased atheist father might still end up in Heaven, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows a majority of Catholic and mainline Christians also believe people who don't believe in God will go to Heaven.

Data for the study, conducted Sept. 20-26, was collected from a nationally representative sample of 6,485 U.S. adults.

Pew researchers decided for the first time to tackle deep philosophical questions like the meaning of life, the purpose of suffering and why bad things happen to people. The national study was released amid a backdrop of major life-changing events for many, most notably the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed millions of lives globally.

In discussing American views on the afterlife, the study showed that majorities of U.S. adults believe in both Heaven and Hell, but significantly more believe in Heaven. Some 73% of respondents reported belief in Heaven, while 62% of respondents reported belief in Hell.

When it comes to Christians as a group, the study showed that the overwhelming majority of all Christian groups supported belief in Heaven. Protestants from historically black and evangelical churches were more likely than mainline Protestant Christians or Catholics to express belief in Hell.

And while 39% of all American adults, in general, believe people who don't believe in God can still go to Heaven, 68% of Catholics and 56% of mainline Protestant Christians were found to hold this belief compared to 21% of evangelicals and 31% of Christians from historically black churches.

When it comes to suffering in the world, few respondents in the study blamed God. In general, most agreed that suffering is due primarily to the actions of people. For majorities of black and evangelical Christians, though, Satan is believed to have a hand in human suffering, too, the study shows.

Some 86% of American adults say suffering is at least due in part to random chance. Overall, 44% of respondents said the phrase "sometimes bad things just happen" captured their perspective very well. Another 42% said the statement reflected their views somewhat well.

Despite this widely held view on the reason for suffering, however, most people didn't also see suffering as something negative. Some 68% believed "everything in life happens for a reason" and suffering exists "to provide an opportunity for people to come out stronger."

For many respondents in the study, the way they view suffering was also connected to their ideas about God.

The study found that 91% of Americans believe in God or a higher power, and 80% of this group say that most of the suffering in the world comes from people rather than from God. Some 70% of this group also believe that humans are free to go against God's plans or that of a higher power.

While just 44% of all U.S. adults polled for the study said Satan is responsible for most of the suffering in the world, this view had much stronger support among black and evangelical Protestants.

Some 69% of respondents in the study who attend historically black churches blamed Satan for most of the human suffering in the world, while 73% of evangelicals were found to believe the same. Less than half of mainline Protestant Christians and Catholics blamed Satan for suffering in the world.





 

More From Christian Chat Room Archives


In Billy Graham: The Man I Knew,' Greg Laurie paints a human portrait of famed evangelist
In Billy Graham: The Man I Knew,' Greg Laurie paints a human portrait of famed evangelist
Posted on Fri, April 09, 2021 11:28am


Though he was embraced as a saint by many who loved him, Billy Graham was still a man who was "no stranger to mischief or sin" in his youth and "dated and kissed several girls" while showing "uncommon restraint" to avoid compromising his Christian standards says bestselling author and pastor, Greg...More
Mother of Seven Wounded, Loses Family for Becoming Christian
Mother of Seven Wounded, Loses Family for Becoming Christian
Posted on Wed, April 14, 2021 2:28pm


A mother of seven children in eastern Uganda suffered serious wounds and is cut off from her family after her husband and other Muslim relatives attacked her on Easter Sunday for putting her faith in Christ, sources said.

Salimati Naibira, 37, of Bukoba B village, Mayuge District, lost...More
India: Christians celebrate first Indian Christian Day, feast of St. Thomas
India: Christians celebrate first Indian Christian Day, feast of St. Thomas
Posted on Sun, July 04, 2021 4:26pm


As it was Apostle Thomas who brought the Gospel to India and was martyred near the southern city of Chennai in 72 AD, Christians from all major denominations in the country celebrated July 3, the day he was killed, as the first Indian Christian Day amid rising persecution which is premised on the...More



 



For enquiries, notifications and ad placement send mail to [email protected]
Copyright 2012 - 2024 All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy || Terms & Conditions