In a study to be unveiled just hours from now, brilliantly titled “I Know What You Did Last Sunday,” the Public Religion Research Institute shows that Americans are lying their asses off when it comes to admitting how often they go to church.
Check this out from the study:
The degree to which Americans over-report their religious participation varies considerably by religious affiliation. Among religious groups, Catholics and white mainline Protestants are more likely than white evangelical Protestants to over-report their levels of religious participation. When interviewed by telephone, fewer than 3-in-10 (28%) white mainline Protestants report that they seldom or never attend religious services, compared to 45% in the self-administered online survey.
Catholics are less than half as likely to report seldom or never attending religious services when responding to a telephone versus online survey (15% vs. 33%). Among white evangelical Protestants, the differences between modes are less stark: 9% report they seldom or never attend religious services when speaking with a live interviewer, compared to 17% who report the same in a self-administered survey. Among black Protestants, the differences between modes are also not as glaring. Only 14% of black Protestants report seldom or never attending on a telephone survey, compared to nearly one-quarter (24%) on the online survey.
It seems that the respondents had more difficult time being honest when the request came from an actual human being on the other end of the phone line, and less of an issue when it as simply a computer survey.
Interestingly enough it is not only the religious who lie, but the non-religious as well. With 73% admitting they do not attend church by phone, and 91% fessing up online.
Which just goes to prove that even those who don't believe in God, still believe in the potential ramifications of not believing in God.
Maybe I'm the exception, but I would answer truthfully on the phone, on the internet, and in person.
But then again, I'm kind of a troublemaker.
"But then again, I'm kind of a troublemaker."
ReplyDeleteDITTO!
So "Christians" sin( lie) when even talking about church? Oh the irony!!
ReplyDeleteWe need more like you.
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of weddings and funerals, I haven’t been to church in decades. I remember the sermons, if you could call them that, being about money, money and more money. There was financial shaming. I suspect it’s worse now if attendance is down.
O/T When Good Guys With Guns Give Guns To Bad Guys
ReplyDeleteThe showdown that almost happened at Bundy's ranch.
http://aattp.org/oathkeepers-we-distributed-ammo-to-mentally-imbalanced-bundy-supporters/
I think this shows the influence of the hypercritical, fundamentalist sector and those who hype them. If someone called me on the phone and asked how often I attended church, a response of infrequent might bring a guilt-inducing diatribe from the other end. Better to say, "I am late for church just talking to you," and hang up.
ReplyDeleteThey probably won't have to lie about going to church if they could discard the burden of feeling guilty for not living up to ridiculous religious dogma.... there is no afterlife so quit giving the church so much power over your lives.
ReplyDeleteIt is just an ancient text wrote by peoples trying to explain the earth around them, nothing more.
It seems the Caucasians lie more the Blacks when speaking directly to in person interviewer.
ReplyDeleteSo why do people in general trust Caucasians more than Blacks?
I have a niece who insists that she is a devout Christian. She doesn't go to church, doesn't pray and doesn't know anything about the New Testament. But she is very devout.
ReplyDeleteShe's not devout, just stupid and afraid. I hope she gets help.
DeleteI went to someone's funeral once and was inside for a wedding one time since I was married at city hall over 50 years ago.
ReplyDelete"even those who don't believe in God, still believe in the potential ramifications of not believing in God".
ReplyDeleteIt's called FEAR, and it's the weapon that all religions (and certain political parties) use to great advantage. FDR was saying much more than he probably meant when he said "All we have to fear is fear itself" during WWII.
Aside from weddings and funerals, it's been over 30 years since I attended a Christian service. But apparently they are only concerned with Christians and atheists. I consider myself particularly devout and commune regularly with the gods- just not the Christian one. But it can't be a surprise to anyone that Christians lie.
ReplyDelete$100 Reward to anyone that can post a picture of Sarah in a church during the last six months.
ReplyDeleteBING-FUCKING-O!!! I'll go so far as to wager anyone a million of what they like that those who lie the most are self-professed disciples of god.
DeleteI'll never forget the clip of "Wretchin'" Carlson asking the "FOX & Fuck-ups" viewers if they were keeping track of how many times Mr. Obama attended church. I'm betting that she's busy taking it up the ass from the pool boy every Sunday as a form of, ahem, "worship.
Also Gryph, you are correct in noting the potential for what is known as "social desirability bias" in the survey, especially when the survey concerns asking provocative questions by a human who--consciously or not--may be giving off body language that might encourage the utterance of an answer the respondent thinks that the experimenter wants to hear.
I have had a mental vision of someone saying that the poor should pull up their own bootstraps and stop being lazy and bothering other people, as they are on their way to CHURCH.
ReplyDeleteNow I suspect they just SAY they're going to church, when its probably more like returning the porno DVD they rented, for Saturday night "worship."
My own personal observations lead me to believe poor people attend church more than middle-class folks. And poor people attend non-denominational churches more than middle-class folks. The tiny, store-front churches run by lay preachers who are basically con men is where poor folks congregate most often.
ReplyDeleteProbably because stupid people judge Christians who may not attend church every Sunday. You can be a good Christian and believe in Jesus and not sit in a pew weekly.
ReplyDeleteLook at all the people here who mock believers in general, for no reason. Sure there are abusers, but there are equally "abusive" atheists.
Live, let live. The world is your God.
I can't recall (other than weddings, baptisms, funerals and one christmas) the last time I went to any religious service, and my answer would be the same to a person, a priest, nun, rabbi, or computer. Nature is my preferred place of worship.
ReplyDeleteI can think of much worse reasons to go to hell (if I believed in one) than not going to church.