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I have to say, I'm finding the poll fascinating so far (and this is only the first day)! Especially since at this point the most "mainstream" categories (Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Jewish) are not currently in the lead, percentagewise, having 32.44% compared to all the others specifically listed (43.24%).
That 43.24% does not include the "Other, Not Listed" category which has 18.92%.
So at this moment the "non-mainstream" belief systems seem to be in the majority, by a margin ranging from slight (about 10%) to considerable (30%, if you include the Other, Not Listed votes in that group as well).
It really is very interesting!
Great poll. Although I must say that it is not surprising at all to me. I always have a feeling that there is a large percentage of posters that fall outside the mainstream on many, many issues.
I disagree with that statement. Baptist is quite different than any Protestant church I've been to. While they are from the same family, they are very different. I would also recommend to the OP if you can still add names, I'd include Pentecostal/Charismatic.
I'm surprised to see how many Baptists there are... not that it's bad or good, just interesting. Also funny that I'm the only Jew, but I guess it's in line with US demographics so far. (haven't done the math, so correct me if I'm wrong!)
Ever hear that Dick Cavett joke about how, when he was growing up in the Midwest, he thought "Passover" was a game show?
Some of the people who call themselves "agnostic" or "atheist" might have been born into Judaism.
Undoubtedly we will differ on where some of the headers belong, but Baptist is neither fish nor fowl. Here's an interesting article on the vageries of the Baptist Church's relationship to Roman Catholicism and the Reformation.
I disagree with that statement. Baptist is quite different than any Protestant church I've been to. While they are from the same family, they are very different. I would also recommend to the OP if you can still add names, I'd include Pentecostal/Charismatic.
Judaism is not only a religion, as even the most religious Orthodox Jews recognize a non-practicing child of a Jewish mother as a Jew. It is not only a race, because Sephardi, Ashkenazi, Ethiopian, and Yemenite Jews, for example, can not reasonably be included in the same racial category. It is not only a culture, because it both includes many cultures and includes many people who share cultures with non-Jews. To say that the Jews are a nation or a people only transfers the question to the definition of "nation" or "people."
By almost all definitions of Judaism, I am therefore Jewish. I see myself as Jewish and am often seen by others as Jewish.
Atheism, on the other hand, reflects simply a lack of belief -- or, in some cases, a disbelief -- in deities.
"Jewish Atheist" is therefore only a contradiction for those few (almost exclusively non-Jews) who would limit the definition of "Judaism" to a question of religious belief or practice.
In fact, there are a lot of Jewish atheists. According to a 2003 Harris interactive poll, 19% of American Jews believe there is no God. (Compare to 4% of those who affiliate with Protestantism, 8% of those who affiliate as Catholics, and only 52% of those who affiliate as "Atheist/Agnostic.") Another 33% are "not sure whether or not there is a God."In other words, a majority of American Jews are either atheistic or agnostic. In Israel, according to a YNET poll, 28% of Jews are atheistic. (N.b. Polls seem to vary substantially on the question of belief in God.)
Other atheist Jews include the (in?)famous thinkers Marx, Freud, and Chomsky as well as the comedians Woody Allen, David Cross, Lewis Black, and probably Sarah Silverman.
I don't see any method whereby categories can be added once a poll is created (posted). Even if there were, I wouldn't want to do that because it would be "changing the rules at halftime", so to speak.
I did try to strike a balance between general and specific types of belief. For instance, I could have put Anglican under "Protestant", I suppose, but having spent so many years in the UK I'm aware that many C of E members do not consider themselves under the same theological umbrella as, say, Methodists. So I chose to separate that one out.
I do consider Baptist to be different enough from both Catholic and Protestant to warrant its own category in the poll; however, I wasn't aware of a further distinction that was brought up in CarolinaJack's post:
Quote:
Baptist and other(Fundamentalist Baptist) to be precise
That did confuse me, because I don't understand how a Fundamentalist Baptist could be different enough from a Baptist to be not-a-Baptist (I do hope that all made sense! ) and thus qualify for the "Other, not listed" category --- since I did list Baptist on its own. So I've been a little curious as to whether CarolinaJack's vote was for 'Baptist' or 'Other'. I did intend for "Baptist" to mean "Baptist and any subdenomination thereof"... and the same thing for any other religions that may have 'branches'.
Judaism is not only a religion, as even the most religious Orthodox Jews recognize a non-practicing child of a Jewish mother as a Jew. It is not only a race, because Sephardi, Ashkenazi, Ethiopian, and Yemenite Jews, for example, can not reasonably be included in the same racial category. It is not only a culture, because it both includes many cultures and includes many people who share cultures with non-Jews. To say that the Jews are a nation or a people only transfers the question to the definition of "nation" or "people."
By almost all definitions of Judaism, I am therefore Jewish. I see myself as Jewish and am often seen by others as Jewish.
Atheism, on the other hand, reflects simply a lack of belief -- or, in some cases, a disbelief -- in deities.
"Jewish Atheist" is therefore only a contradiction for those few (almost exclusively non-Jews) who would limit the definition of "Judaism" to a question of religious belief or practice.
In fact, there are a lot of Jewish atheists. According to a 2003 Harris interactive poll, 19% of American Jews believe there is no God. (Compare to 4% of those who affiliate with Protestantism, 8% of those who affiliate as Catholics, and only 52% of those who affiliate as "Atheist/Agnostic.") Another 33% are "not sure whether or not there is a God."In other words, a majority of American Jews are either atheistic or agnostic. In Israel, according to a YNET poll, 28% of Jews are atheistic. (N.b. Polls seem to vary substantially on the question of belief in God.)
Other atheist Jews include the (in?)famous thinkers Marx, Freud, and Chomsky as well as the comedians Woody Allen, David Cross, Lewis Black, and probably Sarah Silverman.
I did not come to fight with you but give you some info that I strongly believe in(that thousands of others agree) not going there, I could ask for your sources too, but I rather not...I come here in good spirit not to argue with others.
Why would you think I wanted to fight. I am both curious and interested. Do you find questions threatening? I don't!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PghPaNative
I did not come to fight with you but give you some info that I strongly believe in(that thousands of others agree) not going there, I could ask for your sources too, but I rather not...I come here in good spirit not to argue with others.
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Also funny that I'm the only Jew, but I guess it's in line with US demographics so far. (haven't done the math, so correct me if I'm wrong!)
) and thus qualify for the "Other, not listed" category --- since I did list Baptist on its own. So I've been a little curious as to whether CarolinaJack's vote was for 'Baptist' or 'Other'. I did intend for "Baptist" to mean "Baptist and any subdenomination thereof"... and the same thing for any other religions that may have 'branches'.
