Details of Religions Findings since Spring 2000

Spring 2003

Strong support for gay job and housing rights, but not marriage

Fully 82% of Tennesseans believe that gay men and lesbians should be guaranteed equal housing rights, and nearly as many (78%) support equal employment rights. But Tennesseans seem to draw the line firmly between civil rights and marital rights, with the accompanying religious associations. Thus, under one-third (29%) think that gays should have full marital rights.

Religious attendance is an important predictor of attitudes. But even among those who attend services weekly, support is solid, with 72% opting for gay job rights – compared to 85% among those who attend less frequently or not at all. Political affiliation also plays an important role in support for housing rights, though support across party identification is solid: 88% for Democrats, 87% for independents, and 74% for Republicans.

For gay marital rights, the split is between those who never attend services or gave no answer (58% favorable), those who attend seldom or about once a month (32% favorable) and those who attend services at least once a week (19% favorable). Given a list of groups considered a threat to the social order, 9% identified homosexuals, second lowest to welfare recipients (4%).

Majority of believers think Columbia astronauts in heaven

Though President Bush implied that the astronauts on the ill-fated Columbia space shuttle flight are now in heaven – regardless of their religion – fewer than half of Tennesseans (42%) agree. In fact, 16% of Tennesseans say they do not believe in life after death, and another 6% are not sure, for a total of 20%.

But, among the heavy majority who do believe in an afterlife (74%), more than half (53%) believe that some or all of the astronauts are in heaven. However, about one-third of those who believe say they do not know the eternal fate of the astronauts, and 12% say no.

When asked about the fate of individual astronauts as identified by religion, state respondents gave higher levels of support for those astronauts with beliefs similar to those you would expect among Tennesseans. Eighty-five percent of respondents said that the Baptist astronaut was now in heaven, while the Charismatic and Episcopalian received 81 each, the Jew 73%, the Unitarian 72%, and the Hindu 65%.

When believers in the after life were asked if they think that President Bush has special knowledge regarding the eternal fate of the astronauts, 93% said that he did not. Interestingly, a majority seemed to think that they knew the fate of each astronaut.

During a memorial service for the Columbia astronauts President Bush requested prayers of hope that the flyers made it “home.”

Most respondents believe in life after death, but this belief varied by political perspective. Though politically strange bedfellows, 91 percent of those calling themselves either far left or conservative believe in life after death, while just 60 percent of those calling themselves liberal or far right did. Those who saw themselves in the political middle were in the center on this as well, with 70 percent expressing belief in an afterlife.

Fall 2002

“God bless America” no cliché, but meaning more patriotic than religious

Is the phrase “God bless America” a cliché? Not for most Tennesseans. Two-thirds (68%) say the phrase is “very meaningful.” This was especially true for those calling themselves born-again Christians or Evangelicals (77%). However, less than one-third (29%) use the phrase “often” (22%) or “all the time” (8%).  Born again evangelicals are more likely to use it (37%)—especially those older than 50 years of age (50%).

Among those who use the phrase “God bless America,” most (85%) say they began using it before Sept. 11, 2001. Those in East Tennessee were even more likely (96%) to report a long history with the phrase.

Ever wonder who buys those car flags and stickers with “God bless America” written on them? One-fourth (27%) of Tennesseans say they have purchased products with the phrase on it. Lower and middle income residents of Middle and East Tennessee were more likely (40%) to buy such items, as were those with less education (52%).

But the phrase is interpreted more in a patriotic than a religious sense. When President George W. Bush ends a speech with “God bless America,” most Tennesseans believe he means something patriotic (42%), while fewer think it is a religious statement (19%).

Spring 2002

“God bless America” means … lots of things

The phrase “God bless America” has no single meaning for Tennesseans despite its frequent use in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Focusing perhaps on the “God” in “God bless America,” 28 percent of Tennesseans say the phrase has a mainly religious meaning. But another 38 percent – emphasizing, presumably, the “America” in “God bless America” – see a chiefly patriotic meaning in the phrase. And still another 24 percent ascribe some entirely different meaning to the phrase, such as one related to protection and safety. Ten percent say they have no idea what the phrase means.

A religious interpretation of the phrase appears more popular among people who describe themselves as politically conservative or far right. People who call themselves politically far left, liberal, or middle of the road tend toward a patriotic meaning.  And whatever the phrase means, 91 percent of Tennesseans say God has done it in the past, and 75 percent believe God will continue to do it in the future. Those from the political left and center appear less convinced than those on the right that God has blessed America in the past. Interestingly, residents of Metro Nashville/Davidson County are less likely than Tennesseans living elsewhere to assert either that God has blessed America in the past or that God will bless America in the future.

Fall 2001

“Turn other cheek” not applicable to terrorism; Muslims may worship different God

When those who identified themselves as Christians are reminded that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, tells followers not to resist evildoers but turn the other cheek, just over one fourth (28%) say Jesus' words mean that the U.S. should not retaliate against terrorists. But fully 85% believe that Christians should pray for their enemies, again following the Sermon on the Mount.

Religious practice, affiliation, and attendance, however, did not emerge as major predictors of other issues in the campaign against terrorism, including approval of the current policy or support for a military invasion of Afghanistan that might kill innocent citizens. These findings indicate that religious convictions are seen as private values that do not extend to military, criminal, and perhaps other political matters.

A full 85% of our respondents believe that Jews and Christians pray to the same God, a conviction that stretches across all Christian subgroups. However, just over half (55%) believe that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. And a similar majority (56%) believe that Jews and Muslims pray to the same God.

Less than a majority of Pentecostals, fundamentalists, and evangelicals (43%), however, believe that the Christian and Muslim deities are the same, compared with nearly two thirds (71%) of mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics and others. Once again, religious convictions appear polarized by theology and ideology.

America not God’s chosen nation, but God backs U.S. terrorism campaign

Despite Tennessee’s Bible Belt reputation, more than three fourths (76%) do not believe that God regards the United States as a special nation chosen above others. However, nearly one third (31%) of those who identify themselves as Pentecostals, fundamentalists, or evangelicals do support the “chosen nation” theory, as opposed to only 10% of mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics, and others.

Still, a majority (55%) say God will support the U.S. in its current campaign against terrorism. This figure rises to more than two thirds (69%) among those who attend religious ceremonies every week, compared with 45% of those who attend less frequently or never.

Only about 11% regard the Sept. 11 attack as divine punishment for the sins of the United States, following the lead of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who later recanted the assertion. But nearly one in five (19%) who attend services every week see the event as punishment, compared with only 5% of those who attend less often. Among those who endorse the punishment theory, America's tolerance of abortion (72%) and homosexuality (70%) were leading reasons for God's wrath, followed at a distance by failure to feed America’s poor (48%) and tolerance of feminism (41%).

Spring 2002

“Bible Belt” may buckle elsewhere

Despite its reputation as the “buckle” of the Bible Belt, Middle Tennessee looks surprisingly like the rest of the country on several common measures of religious belief and practice. Although many Middle Tennesseans are religious, the region’s population in many ways is no more so than the nation’s population at large.

Nine out of 10 Middle Tennessee residents say they believe in God, and another 7% say they believe in a “universal spirit.” Only about 3% believe in neither, and less than 1% don’t know. More than three in four (84%) of those age 18 and older would describe themselves as “Christian.” By comparison, according to a December 1999 Gallup Poll, 86% of all American adults believe in God, and another 8% believe in a universal spirit.

A full 86% of all Middle Tennesseans report that they pray at least once a week. A 1998 Harris poll reported that 83% of American adults consider themselves to be Christians, a figure similar to ours.

Dedication to other religious practices appears substantially lower, however. More than a third (41%) read the Bible less often than once a week. As for the rest, though, 18% read the Bible weekly, 17% read several times a week, 17% read once a day, and 5% read several times a day.

About 70% belong to a church or other place of worship, but only about a third (32%) attend services weekly. Another third (35%) never or seldom attend worship services, and the remaining third attend either “about once a month” (13%) or “almost every week” (19%). Nationally, a December 1999 Gallup poll estimated that 68% of all Americans belong to a church or other place of worship, and a January 2000 Gallup poll found that 32% of Americans attend worship services weekly.

Encouraging others to become Christians – often called “witnessing” or “evangelizing” – is the least popular practice. Among those who identify themselves as Christians, about a quarter (26%) never witness. Most of the rest (29%) witness less than weekly. The remainder witness once a week (15%), several times a week (12%), once a day (8%), or several times a day (4%).

Concerning two touchstone political issues for the religious right, better than two-thirds (77%) of Middle Tennesseans favor prayer in public schools, and 46% favor outlawing abortion. Just under half (49%) would like to see the religious beliefs of presidential candidates publicly discussed. About a third (33%) think it’s OK for religious leaders to try to influence how people vote in elections, and over half (61%) think the country would be better off if more Christians held office.

Again, though, several national measures are more or less equivalent. In a 1999 CNN/Time poll, 43% of all Americans indicated they were “pro-life,” and Gallup reported the same year that 70% of all Americans favor prayer in the classroom. Meanwhile, 45% of all Americans favor publicly discussing presidential candidates’ religious beliefs, according to an ABC News.com poll in January 2000.

Majority hold beliefs that might be considered “conservative”

Still, a majority of Middle Tennesseans do hold beliefs that might be considered conservative. About half (53%) of Middle Tennesseans believe non-Christians will be excluded from heaven after death, and 59% say Hell is a real place where non-Christians will live in torment after death. About the same proportion (56%) say they believe God created the universe in six, 24-hour days, and 56% say that it’s never OK to tell a lie. Not surprisingly, given the region’s Baptist influence, more than half (57%) believe one should be baptized only after becoming a Christian.

Despite conservatism on some issues, 64% of Middle Tennesseans believe that women should be ordained as clergy. Even a majority of Southern Baptists – who have historically not ordained women – favor permitting female clergy. But under a third (29%) of all area residents believe that gay men or women should be ordained, and fully 75% oppose gay marriage.

More female (91%) than male (79%) Middle Tennesseans call themselves Christians. Religion also appears closely related to politics, with more Republicans (94%) than Democrats (82%) defining themselves as Christians, a trend that holds true across both genders. Among women, age becomes a factor as well, with women age 35 and older more likely to profess Christianity than younger women. Surprisingly, perhaps, proportions of Christians were nearly identical among Middle Tennesseans living inside (86%) and outside (85%) Metro Nashville-Davidson County.

About a quarter (24%) of Middle Tennesseans identify with the Southern Baptist denomination. Another 14% consider themselves some other kind of Baptist. The Church of Christ and United Methodist denominations are the next two largest Protestant groupings, each attracting 13% of the region’s population. Roman Catholics represent roughly 5% of the population.

Among Middle Tennesseans who call themselves Christians, a majority (57%) consider themselves “born again” Christians. Fewer (32%) would describe themselves as “fundamentalist” Christians, and even fewer (26%) see themselves as “evangelical” Christians. Interestingly, about 17% of Christians aren’t familiar enough with either of the latter two terms to decide whether the terms describe them. Furthermore, these terms are not mutually exclusive. Some Midstate Christians consider themselves to be all three.

Some insights into the nature of each group, however, can be obtained by comparing the groups on an index of religious devotion formed by summing the poll’s measures of church attendance, prayer, Bible reading, and “witnessing.” For example, Christians who consider themselves “born again” are more likely (56%) to be above average on devotion than Christians who don’t (31%). Similarly, “fundamentalist” Christians are more likely to be above average on devotion (53%) than Christians who don’t consider themselves fundamentalists (38%). However, “Evangelical” Christians appear to be the most devout of all, with 80% ranking above the region’s average level of devotion compared to 30% of non-evangelicals.

Also, more females (51%) than males (39%) rank above the average on devotion. Older Middle Tennesseans, as well as Middle Tennesseans who have lived in the state longer, also tend to be more religiously devout.

Religious devotion also is related to Midstate attitudes concerning gender roles, sexual orientation, and marriage and ordination. Middle Tennesseans with an above-average level of devotion are more likely (46%) to oppose ordaining women as clergy than are Middle Tennesseans with average-or-below levels of devotion (19%). Devout Middle Tennesseans also are more likely to oppose ordaining gay clergy (84%) compared to those with less devotion (59%), and are more likely to oppose gay marriages (94%) than the less devout (79%).