Thoughts on the Pew 42

A couple of weeks ago, the Pew Forum showed off its latest numbers concerning what Christians are saying about what it takes to get into heaven. I was surprised by one of the statistics: 42 percent of Christians said that atheists could find their way past the pearly gates if they lead a good life.

Now, I know a lot of open-minded Christians who really do believe that Heaven or the afterlife takes all kinds--the old "there are many paths to God" idea. But I have also known some, even very good friends, who despite their affection for me, have told me that my soul is as good as barbecued lest I straighten up and hang with the J.C. Being that the "many paths" philosophy is quite a progressive one, I assumed that a vast majority of Christian Americans fell in the "barbecue" category. Not so, apparently! 42 percent is not a majority, of course, but it's damned closer than I thought atheists could get in the minds of our Christian neighbors.

(And, of course, the number 42 has its own significance, especially to atheists.)

So what's going on here?

Charles M. Blow reacts in today's New York Times to the new data, and he's taken aback as well, especially considering that Christians' good book tells them in no uncertain terms that anyone who isn't down with Jesus is out of luck. I like where Blow comes down on the question of why:

Now, there remains the possibility that some of those polled may not have understood the implications of their answers. As John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum, said, “The capacity of ignorance to influence survey outcomes should never be underestimated.” But I don’t think that they are ignorant about this most basic tenet of their faith. I think that they are choosing to ignore it ... for goodness sake.

Which, if true, is just great. But the idea that some folks just aren't sure about what it is they're supposed to believe is an important one. Harken back with me, if you will, to this past summer, when Pew gave us a curiosity: 21 percent of atheists claimed to believe in God.

Right. Makes no sense.

There was a lot of hubbub about this, as many religiously-minded folks used it to laugh and point and claim some kind of victory. Atheist groups, like the Secular Coalition for America, assumed that the "Pew 21" were simply atheists reacting to the social pressure they face. Said Lori Lipman Brown in a statement at the time, “When atheists are telling you they believe in God and Catholics are admitting they don’t, that’s evidence of the stigma our society puts on nontheists . . . Americans repeatedly tell pollsters that an atheist is the last person they’d want their children to marry, the last person they’d vote for as President. This prejudice also appears in the widespread impression that atheists lack ethics and values.”

But the best response by far came from someone simply doing the math. Once again, as I do so often, I quote Sam Harris:

Pew’s sample of 35,556 Americans included 515 respondents who identified themselves as “atheists” (1.6 percent). The margin of error for this subgroup appears to be around 5 percent – which clearly makes a hash of many of the above findings. Among 35,556 people, Pew seems to have found 40 especially confused God-fearing men and women who think they are “atheists.” Their mutterings do not offer any special insight into the nature of belief.

I cannot seem to glean from Pew's website the percentage of Christians versus non-Christians they interviewed for this latest survey, and I don't necessarily think the same phenomenon applies this time either, but it is important to note that in polls of all kinds, especially those that deal with policy or philosophy, many folks who pick up the phone have no idea what they're talking about.

A side note. Lest you now assume that atheists are soon to be in the warm, accepting embrace of even the liberal religious, I was recently reminded how alien atheists are even to those closest to them. In the midst of a conversation of some topic or other, a good friend (a progressive Christian) picked up on something I had said, and then innocently used the phrase, "That's why you turned out the way you did!"

It was utterly innocuous, obviously, but it hit me in a funny way. I realized that it landed strangely because even this person who is somewhat close to me, who probably thinks I am not going to Hell despite my nonbelief, still considers me someone who has deviated, someone who is not quite right. Most people are normal, but I "turned out" a certain way.

I always think of my atheism as a starting place, and other people "turn out" to be Christians or Buddhists or Scientologists or what have you. To me, atheism is not something one becomes, but a state of not having become anything at all (in a religious sense, of course). But not my friend. And I imagine, so too for the otherwise generous-of-spirit 42 percent in Pew's survey.

Even with that number growing, atheists have a long way to go to find truly heartfelt equal standing in the minds of our religious friends and family.

[Cross-post on Bloc Raisonneur]