{"id":381,"date":"2008-03-13T10:05:01","date_gmt":"2008-03-13T10:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin.html"},"modified":"2008-03-13T10:05:01","modified_gmt":"2008-03-13T10:05:01","slug":"americans-on-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin.html","title":{"rendered":"Americans on Sin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ellison Research has just released a fascinating study of American views of sin<\/a>. There is much to chew on in this study. Lots of grist for sermon mills, Bible studies, and cultural reflection. I’ll put some of my impressions of what this study found, but first I want to lay out a few details about the study itself.
\nEllison surveyed over 1,000 American adults, asking various questions about sin. The study defined sin as “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” That’s not a bad secular definition, though I find a couple of things interesting about this definition. (Photo: Satan tempts Job, from the chapel at Duke University)
\nFirst, notice the qualifer “almost always.” The study was not asking if there are things that are always<\/em> wrong. I guess that’s asking too much of Americans. It would be interesting to see how the results might differ if people were asked about whether or not certain behaviors were always<\/em> wrong.
\nSecond, notice that sin is defined as something that is “considered wrong.” Again, this is a subjective definition of sin. It’s not dealing with actual wrong, but rather with perceptions. It would be possible for somebody to say “I think X behavior is a a sin according to this definition, becuase it’s almost always considered wrong, but I don’t in fact think it is sin in the absolute sense.” So, though the Ellison study is helpful, it doesn’t quite get at what I would really like to know about American views of sin, namely: Do Americans think that certain behaviors are always wrong in fact (not merely almost always wrong according to human feeling and opinion)?
\n87% of Americans agreed that there is such a thing as sin, at least insofar as it was defined by Ellison. This means, by the way, that 13% of Americans do not affirm the existence of sin. We don’t know exactly why. Presumably they don’t believe in a God who determines what sin is, or they are simply relativistic in their ethics, or both.
\nThose Americans who agreed that sin exists were then asked to comment on which behaviors they believed to be sin. They were given a list of thirty behaviors and asked to weight in. The list includes many actions that Christians generally think of a sinful, including: adultery, using “hard” drugs, getting drunk, etc.\u00a0 A couple of the proposed sins are not actions so much as thoughts or attitudes: racism, homosexual thoughts. And several of the sins are not actions but inactions: not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back, not reporting some income on your tax returns, not taking proper care of your body, not attending church, etc.
\nI have to run to a meeting, so I’ll save my reflections on this study for later. I’d encourage you to check out the Ellison Research report for yourself<\/a>.\u00a0 If you have any thoughts about it, feel free to share them in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ellison Research has just released a fascinating study of American views of sin. There is much to chew on in this study. Lots of grist for sermon mills, Bible studies, and cultural reflection. I’ll put some of my impressions of what this study found, but first I want to lay out a few details about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nAmericans on Sin - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}