Americans overwhelmingly believe in the concept of sin whether they are religiously involved or not, according to a new Ellison Research study released Tuesday.
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(Photo: AP Images)File photo dated April 25, 2007, of two females drinking wine in a central London pub.
“Sin,” as defined by the research organization, is “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” The study questioned more than 1,000 American adult respondents whether they believe in such a thing as “sin” and then asked them whether 30 different behaviors were sinful.
Out the list of 30 behaviors, adultery was most often described as a sinful behavior by American respondents (81 percent).
Following adultery was racism (74 percent); using “hard” drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. (65 percent); not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change (63 percent); abortion (56 percent); and homosexual activity or sex (52 percent) rounded out the top five behaviors most often considered sinful by Americans.
Other behaviors with significant moral objections included reading or watching pornography (50 percent); swearing (46 percent); sex before marriage (45 percent); harming the environment as a consumer (41 percent); smoking marijuana (41 percent); getting drunk (41 percent); and not taking proper care of your body (35 percent).
Not surprisingly, religious people are much more likely to believe in sin, with 94 percent of Americans who regularly attend religious worship services saying they believe in the concept of sin. The number drops to 80 percent among those who do not attend service, although the percentage is still a large majority.
But perhaps more surprising is the differences in the belief of sin between political divides. Political conservatives (94 percent) believe there is such a thing as sin. The number remains high among moderates (89 percent) but then drops to 77 percent among political liberals.
Among Christian traditions, Protestants are more likely than Roman Catholics to include most of the 30 different behaviors as sin. The biggest differences included gambling (50 percent of Protestants compared to 15 percent of Catholics); failing to tithe 10 percent or more of one’s income (32 percent to 9 percent); getting drunk (63 percent to 28 percent); gossip (70 percent to 45 percent); and homosexual activity or sex (72 percent to 42 percent).
However, Catholics are more likely than Protestants to believe that not attending church is a sin (39 percent to 23 percent).
The percentage gap widens when evangelical Christians are stacked against the general American population. Ninety percent of evangelicals believe getting drunk is a sin, compared to 35 percent of all other Americans. Likewise, 92 percent of evangelicals believe sex before marriage is sinful, compared to 39 percent of the general U.S. population.
But only a minority of evangelicals believes it is sin to work on the Sabbath, not attend church, drink alcohol, dance, play the lottery, watch an R-rated movie, or not tithe 10 percent of their income to church or charity, according to Ellison Research.
Furthermore, the study reveals how Americans weigh sinful behaviors differently. While 81 percent feel adultery is sinful, only 43 percent say that having sexual thoughts about someone to whom they are not married is sinful. Continue >>
Comments
Only God, our creator, can define what "sin" is. His definition is freely available to anyone who can read His Word. What He calls sin IS sin. That way HE is the standard by which all activities are measured. His definitions are neither arguable nor debatable by human beings. His way IS the high way! Just read for yourself his list of things that are offensive to Him and to your fellow man.
Hey mikehow,
Re-read the article. it is not limited to Christians Pastors, and tele-evangelists. Atheists, agnostics and unbelievers have moral values that they also violate. How about commenting on some of these folks as well.
to mr harper
so why don't you specify the sin. just bec. a believer decided for himself, it is a sin; just bec. a believer stood up for himself it is a sin; just bec. a believer is working & earning money it is a sin? and this flesh you talk about, just bec. a belieiver is a attracted to a woman, is it a sin, lust, or want more something in life, is it selifish, greed arrogance, or lust? the very issues christians especially pastors, tele evangelist judge or criticize, they too break their rules or do not practice what they preach.
MONEY, SELF CONFIDENCE, deciding for yourself, standing up for yourself, attraction to the opposite sex, & all other things are considered SIN. but those who say that these are SINFUL, christians will break their own rules & grab everything for themselves & then justify it by saying 'YE NOT JUDGE ME'! OH THE HYPOCRISY!
i had a roomate once who was an agnostic, dyslexic insomniac. he annoyed me. he stayed up all night wondering if there really was a dog.
chris
"agnostics do not hedge bets on everything...
Rather they simply say 1) It is impossible to know whether God exists or not, or 2) that even if God exists they do not have sufficient evidence."
Yeap, thats pretty much says it I think.....
"That being said, many people call themselves atheist out of practicallity, with the full understanding that they are agnostic, they prefer rather to say that they believe there is no God"
I think I would agree with this too.
"this[atheism] is a belief system and is exactly the same as Christianity, Islam, etc. "
I wouldn't call atheism a belief system. To say for example, I dont believe in santa clause would not be based on a system of belief. However, if one were to believe in santa clause, then I suppose one would have a system of belief to rationalize it.
"but nobody claims to know for certain that there is not a God, they simply believe in it"
One could also say in paraphrasing your statement: nobody claims to know for certain that there is a God, they simply believe in it.
Sin, by definition is simply "missing the mark", and the same things we once found pleasure in are now our main source of temptation. The things that we interpret as sinful will depend how we interpret the scriptures. The nature of man is opposition to the Spirit, this does not change once you get saved, it only heightens your awareness to wisdom thats not sensual.
Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are Justified (just as if you had never sinned) freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." If you are a believer that Jesus is the only Son of God and was sent here to take your place on the cross, and admit that you are a sinner, then you are saved from your sins. After that, it is your responsibility to walk in the path that Jesus walked and reject sin whenever it comes knocking on your door.
I THINK 1MAN IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
SALVATION IS THE KEY. PEOPLE WANT TO BE SAVED. PEOPLE WANT TO WALK THE CHRISTIAN WALK. PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE THEIR LIVES AS CLOSE TO JESUS AS THEY CAN, TO BE LIKE HIM. THE THING IS, THAT PEOPLE FIND SIN PLEASENT. IT;S FUN. IT MAKES THE FLESH HAPPY . AN IN THAT IS THE PROBLEM. A LOT OF PEOPLE, CHRISTIANS TOO ,HAVE TROUBLE PUTTING THERE FLESH UNDER SUBMISSION. THE BIBLE SAYS SIN IS GOOD FOR A SEASON. SIN IS "GOOD" NOT SIN IS BAD FOR A SEASON. WE ALL HAVE TO PUT SIN UNRER SUBMISSION. IF ITS SEX,DRUGS,NOT THITHING, NOT LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OUR SELF. OR EVEN ANGER PROBLEMS. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN WORK ON. NO ONE IS SINLESS EXCEPT CHRIST JESUS. AND I THINK THATS THE PROBLEM ITS NOT WHAT DO WE CALL SIN ITS HOW CAN WE KEEP THAT OLD MAN IN US (THE FLESH) UNDER CONTROL. AN JUST THINK HOW HARD IT MUST BE FOR PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW CHRIST JESUS AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOR IF CHRISTIANS WHO DO KNOW ARE HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THAT OLD FLESH. NEVER JUDGE. FOR OUR OWN RIGHESNESS IS LIKE FILTHYRAGS TO GOD IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE BLOOD OF CHRIST JESUS.
This is a little bit to read but I read this last night and it is the best description between the laws and sin that I've ever seen. I particularly like how he describes the law as something you can handle, taste, & touch and how he says sin is something within yourself. That is EXACTLY what all the scriptures mean when they describe Christ abolishing the law. Things such as sacraments and tithes are worldly but things such as lust and malice are your own!
Colossians 2:20-23
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Colossians 3:2-3
Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:5-9
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
When people sneeze, agnostics say, Bless you, maybe
(That being said, many people call themselves atheist out of practicallity, with the full understanding that they are agnostic, they prefer rather to say that they believe there is no God, this is a belief system and is exactly the same as Christianity, Islam, etc. and it has various arguments and reasons, but nobody claims to know for certain that there is not a God, they simply believe in it)
agnostics do not hedge bets on everything...
Rather they simply say 1) It is impossible to know whether God exists or not, or 2) that even if God exists they do not have sufficient evidence.
To say they hedge bets on everything is calling them a religious pluralist, which they most certainly are not. Besides that, I doubt very seriously Richard Dawkins would appreciate being called one who hedges bets on everything (he is an agnostic).
Atheism, by definition, asserts a negative, and thus very few intelligent people will call themselves an atheist, it just is not a logically sustainable theory. Militant atheism is one of the most logically dangerous positions to take. It is saying that you have positive evidence of a negative (impossible by definition) and then take the position of forcing it on others and writing ridiculous books about it.
I think that people, mostly religious get caught up in defining sin and not even seeing the grace of God, and the biggest sin is rejecting Jesus. People should just go from their. It is a process and a journey.
jesse,
I believe you are absolutely correct in your statement of "thats not the message". If its not the worship of God for the glory of God -- then I believe it can be a sin, if the reasons for doing it are not motivated by the desire to bring glory to God. Following the letter of law got another group of people in trouble if I remember correctly.