{"id":382,"date":"2008-03-14T01:01:03","date_gmt":"2008-03-14T01:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin-part-2.html"},"modified":"2008-03-14T01:01:03","modified_gmt":"2008-03-14T01:01:03","slug":"americans-on-sin-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Americans on Sin, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last post I noted new survey results released by Ellison Research of Phoenix, Arizona. Ellison studied American views of sin (or something rather like sin, at any rate; see my last post for the distinction<\/a>). I’m not going to go over the results here. You can find them at the Ellison Research website<\/a>. Rather, I want to note a few things I found interesting in the study results.
\nThe List of Possible Sins, According to Ellison Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adultery
\nRacism
\nUsing \u201chard\u201d drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc.
\nNot saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back
\nHaving an abortion
\nHomosexual activity or sex
\nNot reporting some income on your tax returns
\nReading or watching pornography
\nGossip
\nSwearing
\nSex before marriage
\nHomosexual thoughts
\nSexual thoughts about someone you are not married to
\nSmoking marijuana
\nDoing things as a consumer that harm the environment
\nGetting drunk
\nNot taking proper care of your body
\nGambling
\nTelling a \u201clittle white lie\u201d to avoid hurting someone\u2019s feelings
\nUsing tobacco
\nNot attending church or religious worship services on a regular basis
\nWatching an R-rated movie
\nPlaying the lottery
\nBeing significantly overweight
\nNot giving 10% of your income to a church or charity
\nDrinking any alcohol
\nWorking on Sunday\/the Sabbath
\nSpanking your child when he\/she misbehaves
\nMaking a lot of money
\nDancing<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See anything missing? What about worshiping something other than God? Idolatry? Dishonoring your parents? Murder? Stealing? Lying? Coveting? By my tally, not even half of the Ten Commandments make it onto Ellison’s list. I wonder how this skews their results.
\nThe Top Eight Sins, According to Americans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adultery\u00a0 81%
\nRacism\u00a0 74%
\nUsing \u201chard\u201d drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc.\u00a0 65%
\nNot saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back\u00a0 63%
\nHaving an abortion\u00a0 56%
\nHomosexual activity or sex\u00a0 52%
\nNot reporting some income on your tax returns\u00a0 52%<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These, by the way, are the only sins that made it above 50%. Everything else didn’t rank as sinful. Note that 13% of those who answered didn’t think anything was sinful, because they rejected the concept. Even so, it’s striking to reverse the statistics:<\/p>\n

19% of Americans do not think adultery is a sin.
\n26% of Americans do not think racism is a sin.
\n35% of Americans do not think hard drug use is a sin.
\n37% of Americans do not think it’s a sin to steal from a store if
\na cashier makes an error in your favor
\netc. etc. etc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Bottom Eight Sins According to Americans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Playing the lottery\u00a0 18%
\nWatching an R-rated movie\u00a0 18%
\nBeing significantly overweight\u00a0 17%
\nNot giving 10% of your income to a church or charity\u00a0 16%
\nDrinking any alcohol\u00a0 14%
\nWorking on Sunday\/the Sabbath\u00a0 14%
\nSpanking your child when he\/she misbehaves\u00a0 7%
\nMaking a lot of money\u00a0 4%
\nDancing\u00a0 4%<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course Ellison didn’t specify whether we’re talking about all dancing, or dancing poorly.
\nI find it interesting, but not surprising, that working on Sunday\/the Sabbath ranks so low. 86% of Americans do not think it’s wrong to break the Sabbath, even though keeping the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. It’s not hard to think of what this says about our workaholic\/shopaholic culture.
\nWho Believes in Sin and Who Doesn’t<\/strong>
\nIt’s no surprise to learn that 100% of Evangelical Christians believe in sin (even the watered down version of the Ellison study). I was surprised to see a significant disparity between Blacks (97% believe in sin) and Hispanics (80% believe in sin). I noted with interested the difference between political conservatives (94%) and liberals (77%). The gap between Republicans (93%), Democrates (85%), and Independents (86%) is less pronounced. I was surprised to see a relatively small gap between people over 55 (88%) and people under 30 (83%).
\nWhat Many People Do Not Believe is Sin<\/strong>
\nI was struck by the behaviors that people who believe in sin don’t consider to be sinful. Among those who think that sin exists, the percentages noted do not regard the following as sinful:<\/p>\n

37% Watching or reading pornography
\n40% Gossip
\n42% Sex before marriage
\n44% Sexual thoughts about somebody you’re not married to
\n46% Getting drunk
\n52% Not taking care of your body
\n69% Not attending church or religious services on a regular basis
\n73% Working on Sunday\/the Sabbath<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When you add the 13% of Americans who don’t believe in sin, this means that every one of these activities is considered to be “not sin” by a majority of Americans. This is striking because the Bible teaches that every one of these activities is sin.
\nEnough for now. I’d be interested in your observations. You can check the Ellison Research results here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my last post I noted new survey results released by Ellison Research of Phoenix, Arizona. Ellison studied American views of sin (or something rather like sin, at any rate; see my last post for the distinction). I’m not going to go over the results here. You can find them at the Ellison Research website.…<\/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-382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sin"],"yoast_head":"\nAmericans on Sin, Part 2 - Mark D. 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Roberts","og_description":"In my last post I noted new survey results released by Ellison Research of Phoenix, Arizona. Ellison studied American views of sin (or something rather like sin, at any rate; see my last post for the distinction). I’m not going to go over the results here. You can find them at the Ellison Research website.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin-part-2.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2008-03-14T01:01:03+00:00","author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin-part-2.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/03\/americans-on-sin-part-2.html","name":"Americans on Sin, Part 2 - 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\/382","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=382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}