Tag: pew foundation

Will Podcasting Change the Way we Think?

Posted on September 1, 2008

Nearly one in five internet users (19%) has downloaded a podcast to listen to or view later — up from 12% in 2006. But podcasting has yet to become a fixture in the everyday lives of internet users, as very few download podcasts on a typical day. Yet, podcasting is on the rise among all ages under 50. See Pew Foundation research here.

How will podcast proliferation change the way we think? Podcasters pull down audio from reliable and unreliable sources. Will this medium, coupled with the internet, actually decrease reliable, accurate knowledge? Or will it increase specialty understanding? Do you podcast? What kinds of programs?

Universalized-Not So Evangelical Faith

Posted on June 27, 2008

In recent news, the Pew Foundation released figures that reflect a highly tolerant, pluralistic Christianity in the U.S. However, these figures are being disputed by the Lifeway Research Group based on the wording of the Pew Foundation’s question regarding the exclusive claims of Christianity: “My religion is the one, true faith leading to eternal life.” Pew concluded that 70 percent of Protestants are universalist in faith.

Though Lifeway researchers agree that universalism is widespread, they argue that the “religion” in the Pew question is easily interpreted as “denomination” by many Chrsitians, which would skew survey results. As a result, they published thier own research:

“In total, 31 percent of Protestant churchgoers agreed (strongly or somewhat) with this universalistic statement compared to Pew’s 70 percent. This makes for a difference of 39 percent between the universalism in the LifeWay Research study and the Pew Study.”

Despite the numerical differences, it is clear that Christian and Evangelical belief has increasingly become less Christian and less evangelical. Ed Stetzer comments:

The Pew research is helpful even though this question needs clarification. However, the bigger issue here is why there are so many self-identified evangelicals who sit in evangelical pews but do not evidence evangelical beliefs, particularly in regard to universalism.”

The Middle Class Bottoms Out?

Posted on April 9, 2008

A study from the Pew Foundation reveals that most middle-class Americans believe they are not “moving forward in life.” The article notes: “For decades, middle-income Americans had been making absolute progress while enduring relative decline. But since 1999, they have not made economic gains.” Part of the reason for “bad times” is the borrow/spend habit that middle class Americans have developed. Again, “For the past two decades middle-income Americans have been spending more and borrowing more. Housing has been the key driver of both trends.” However, despite current feelings about personal progress, many of “the American middle class are optimistic about the future. Most are confident that their quality of life in five years will be better than it is now. And, gazing farther ahead, most expect their children to do better in life than they themselves have done.”

Philosophical Secularism vs. Political Secularism

Posted on January 11, 2008

In an interesting session at the Pew Foundation’s Conference on religion and public life, professor Wilfred McClay addresses the role of secularism in the U.S. He notes that we possess a unique blend of secularism and religion. He clarifies the difference between philosophical secuarlism and political secularism by expoloring the notion that “If you know only your own religion, you don’t even know your own religion.”

He comments: Also, there’s a problem with the word “secularism.” It means so many different things. [But] the distinction I want to make is between philosophical secularism, which is secularism as a kind of godless system of the world, a system of beliefs about ultimate things, and secularism in a political sense: that is, secularism as recognizing politics as an autonomous sphere, one that’s not subject to ecclesiastical governance, to the governance of a church or religion or the church’s expression of that religion. A secular political order may be one in which religious practice or religious exercise, as we say, can flourish.

Read the rest.