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>Interesting study on how American religious attitudes.....
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>Truth Is Relative, Say Americans
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>In two national surveys conducted by Barna Research, one among adults and
>one among teenagers, people were asked if they believe that there are moral
>absolutes that are unchanging or that moral truth is relative to the
>circumstances. By a 3-to-1 margin (64% vs. 22%) adults said truth is always
>relative to the person and their situation. The perspective was even more
>lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends on the
>circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is absolute.
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>
Why does these views of moral truth have anything to do with religious attitudes? Btw, I think people are not using the term "relative" in a strict philosophical sense. I suspect they are rejecting the existence of Kantian abolutes, like "It's alwys wrong to lie." Lying may be generally wromg, but it depends on the circumstances. I can believe this and still be a moral realist and non-realtivist in the philosophical sense. I suspect the answers don't tell us whether people thing that morality is relative in the sense that whether it's right for me to lie in the same circumstances as you depends on arbitrary choices of values, for example.
jks
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