Good Heavens!

I came across this article a few weeks ago. It's based on a much larger and--once you delve into it-- statistical study of religion in the US by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Lots and lots of interesting data there. Here are some fascinating tidbits:

• 21 % of atheists believe in God(!!)
• 49% of men say religion is very important in their lives; 63% women
• 70 % of Protestants think religion is "very important" in their lives, but only 49% of Catholics (wonder why this is?)
• Evangelicals, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Muslims are least tolerant of homosexuality (Are you surprised?)
• On the other hand, 57% of Evangelicals say that more than one religion can lead to eternal life (Whoa! I thought these guys said Christ is the only way.)
• 71% are dead convinced about the existence of God, but only 39% go to church weekly. (Pretty big gap here. What does this tell you about churches?)
• On many questions, Evangelicals are the group most similar to Muslims. (Hmmm.)

Not in the same place, but in another cranny of the Pew website dealing with religion and politics, comes the astonishing intelligence that as of September 25th, 46 percent of Americans could not identify Barack Obama as a Christian. Holy cow! <==no pun intended, but are we really that ignorant? It's scary.