31% of American adults believe the Bible is Literal Word of God - Belief strongest among those without college degrees

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

About one-third of the American adult population believes the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally word for word, a new Gallup poll reveals. This percentage is only slightly lower than several decades ago.

[...]

There is also a strong relationship between education and belief in a literal Bible, Gallup explains, with such belief becoming much less prevalent as schooling continues.

Those who believe in the literal Bible amount to 31% of adult Americans.

[...]

Believe in the literal word of the Bible is strongest among those whose schooling stopped with high school and declines steadily with educational level, with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/ne...t_id=1003590603

[homesick_american 1]

Thank god I'm atheist.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

Liberal professors poisoned the well.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

...with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

Liberal professors poisoned the well.

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

Of course - we've seen a few of the people who dogmatically in the "literal truth of the bible" - remember that guy from a few months back who tried to "prove it" with all sorts of wild "new-age" theories - about mathematical patterns in the text. I read up on one of the authors he quoted - and apparently the guy made some claim about extra-terrestrials burying secret texts in the Mojave desert. Unsurprisingly, the expedition he mounted didn't find anything...

[Scott & Lai 12]

I'm in the 20%, and many of the people I know are as well, including some very respected college professors.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Scott & Lai

[homesick_american 1]

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

The religious were not widely mocked at my university, at least not by the professors I had.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

Liberal professors poisoned the well.

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

Of course - we've seen a few of the people who dogmatically in the "literal truth of the bible" - remember that guy from a few months back who tried to "prove it" with all sorts of wild "new-age" theories - about mathematical patterns in the text. I read up on one of the authors he quoted - and apparently the guy made some claim about extra-terrestrials burying secret texts in the Mojave desert. Unsurprisingly, the expedition he mounted didn't find anything...

It's hard to get a Biblical literalist to embrace any wisdom or moral truths from Buddha, or Mohammed, Vishnu, or any other resource outside of their limited understanding of faith. They consider it secularist...outside of faith. It either comes from the Bible or doesn't come from God.

Edited May 26, 2007 by Steven_and_Jinky

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I'm in the 20%, and many of the people I know are as well, including some very respected college professors.

Converts from Hinduism, and among the 11% (I have an MSCS, Pras an MBBS).

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

The religious were not widely mocked at my university, at least not by the professors I had.

Nor in mine - which makes me think those claims simply aren't true.

[homesick_american 1]

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

The religious were not widely mocked at my university, at least not by the professors I had.

Nor in mine - which makes me think those claims simply aren't true.

They're not. Some professors are savage to the religious, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I had a professor who worshiped Greenspan. Once told us he was God.

I had another professor who was a gay hippie type, he thought marriage was officially sanctioned rape.

But those were the exceptions, most of my professors simply taught and kept the sermonizing to a minimum.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

...with only 20% of college graduates holding that view and 11% of those with an advanced degree.

Liberal professors poisoned the well.

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

Of course - we've seen a few of the people who dogmatically in the "literal truth of the bible" - remember that guy from a few months back who tried to "prove it" with all sorts of wild "new-age" theories - about mathematical patterns in the text. I read up on one of the authors he quoted - and apparently the guy made some claim about extra-terrestrials burying secret texts in the Mojave desert. Unsurprisingly, the expedition he mounted didn't find anything...

It's hard to get a Biblical literalist to embrace any wisdom or moral truths from Buddha, or Mohammed, Vishnu, or any other resource outside of their limited understanding of faith. They consider it secularist...outside of faith. It either comes from the Bible or doesn't come from God.

There certainly is a fundamentalist element like that in most religions. Some of those people are pretty out there - especially when we start talking about finding ways to "prove it". Always seemed contradictory to me - as faith doesn't require proof, nor should faith be threatened by things that question the "literal truth" of the text. That whole debate over the science of creationism is completely bogus IMO. Science used for political purposes is just propaganda.

[homesick_american 1]

I had a professor who worshiped Greenspan. Once told us he was God.

I had another professor who was a gay hippie type, he thought marriage was officially sanctioned rape.

But those were the exceptions, most of my professors simply taught and kept the sermonizing to a minimum.

One of my professors had a stripper go all the way down to a g-string and pasties in front of the entire class, which was about 90% female. He had a giant ####### too.

He was tenured, so they just put him on research for a few years.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I've heard that before - and its really not surprising. Though there have been allegations that the education system somehow 'discourages' people from pursuing a religious faith. I'm not sure I agree with that. More likely that a lot of people are simply naive. After all, if your faith is really that strong - there's no reason that you can't be religious and educated. I mean... many people are...

The religious were not widely mocked at my university, at least not by the professors I had.

Nor in mine - which makes me think those claims simply aren't true.

They're not. Some professors are savage to the religious, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

But again if a person's faith is really that strong then it shouldn't be a problem.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

But again if a person's faith is really that strong then it shouldn't be a problem.

Well that goes to the old argument of balancing respect for peoples feelings with the right to freely express oneself. Yes, they should be able to handle criticism of their faith, but if they're being repeatedly singled out by a professor (I'm not saying that's commonplace), I'd consider that a problem that needs addressing.