[lbo-talk] evangelicals: how many walk the walk?

Yoshie Furuhashi critical.montages at gmail.com
Sat Apr 7 07:37:18 PDT 2007


On 4/7/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> [Note this guys affiliation: Gallup has a division that consults with
> "faith communities." It's not an organization that's hostile to
> religion.]
>
> <http://www.galluppoll.com:/content/Default.aspx?ci=16519>
>
> May 31, 2005
> U.S. Evangelicals: How Many Walk the Walk?
> Fewer fit description than claim to be evangelicals
>
> by Albert L. Winseman, D. Min.
> Religion and Social Trends Editor
<snip>
> Americans appear to be particularly willing to share their faith; a
> majority of Americans do not seem to think religion should be a
> "private matter," at least when it comes to encouraging others to
> believe in Jesus Christ. Fifty-two percent of Americans say they have
> "tried to encourage someone to believe in Jesus Christ, or to accept
> him as his or her savior." From 1976 to 1984, an average of 46% said
> they had tried to encourage others to believe.

In contrast, secular leftists seldom try to encourage someone to believe in socialism or anarchism, or to accept either or any other way as the way to go, aside from anachronistic ML groups perfunctorily selling (or giving away) their papers at this or that demonstration, sometimes to the annoyance of other demonstrators and clean-up workers. The evangelical spirit is lacking on the Left. Or perhaps we on the Left are unsure of our faith to begin with, so we don't recommend it to others, or we fear rejections, repercussions, etc., still victims of the legacy of the Red Purge. For most on the Left, our secular religion is a "private matter" in much of our lives.


> The percentage of Americans who say they have had a born-again
> experience, leading to a commitment to Jesus Christ, has increased
> significantly now compared to when this question was last asked in
> the late 1970s and early 1980s. From 1976 to 1984, an average of 37%
> of Americans claimed to have had such an experience. In 2005, 48% of
> adults -- nearly half the population -- say they have been born again.

How many Americans would say that they have had a born-again experience, leading to a commitment to socialism or anarchism, through their participation in strikes, union organizing, pro-choice rallies, anti-war demonstrations, environmentalist organizing, etc.? -- Yoshie



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