God's country

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Wojtek wrote:
>No need to worry, Carl.  This is an example of a  so-called "motherhood"
>item (i.e. topic that everyone feels good about it) - people giving a
>standard culturally expected answer which in no way reflects their own
>attitudes, and even less so behavior.  For example, studies have
>demonstrated that the actual church attendance is at best at the 50% level
>of that reported in surveys - in other words, at least half of the people
>who answered "yes" to the church attendance question lied.

I agree with you on the church attendance question.  All of my local
leftist friends who actually go to church complain of spotty attendance,
aging membership, absence of active ethical life on the part of their
congregations, etc.  That said, why should belief in "the relevance of
religion for today's problems," regular church attendance, etc. be
"culturally expected answers" at this point in history, though?  Hypocrisy
(especially of outward American piety) which you point out can be abolished
if folks have the courage to say that they don't actually set store by
religion.  Surely such honesty would improve the morals of the people.

Yoshie