c. 2003 Religion News Service

Poll Says Americans Are Pessimistic About Ethics and Morality

(RNS) More than three-quarters of Americans have a pessimistic view of the current state of ethics and morality, and even fewer see it getting better, according to a new Gallup Poll.

Seventy-seven percent of Americans rated current ethics and morality as “fair” or “poor,” while 22 percent rated them “good” or “excellent.” The ratings are nearly identical to a poll taken in May 2002.

George H. Gallup Jr., the firm’s chairman, said women, older people and churchgoers are the most critical of the country’s ethical climate. Gallup said there was little difference between conservatives, moderates and liberals.

Gallup said “ethics and morality” usually ranks high on the list of American concerns. This year the category was statistically tied with terrorism, education, health care, fear of war and dissatisfaction with the government.

“Immorality was splashed across the headlines as scandals rocked corporate boardrooms, Wall Street, accounting firms, the Catholic Church, and even major league baseball,” Gallup said. “Given all the high-profile malfeasance, it may surprise some that Americans’ perceptions of the moral state of the country have not grown more negative since May 2002.”

Two-thirds of Americans said the moral and ethical climate is getting worse, and 24 percent said it was getting better _ the same ratings as last year. Only 13 percent said the country was doing well and getting better.

The poll of 1,005 adults was conducted May 5-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Survey: More Than 40 Percent of Americans Discuss Moral, Faith Issues

(RNS) Almost half of American adults surveyed say they discuss moral issues with others in a typical week, while 42 percent say they discuss spiritual topics.

The Barna Research Group of Ventura, Calif., found that 49 percent of Americans said they discuss moral issues or situations with others each week. A slightly lower percentage said they talked about spiritual issues and beliefs. The most popular of seven topics evaluated was the content of movies or television programs, which 66 percent of adults said they discuss with others each week.

The people who were most likely to engage in chats about moral issues included those younger than 55, those with a college degree and above-average household incomes, blacks, attendees of mid-sized and large churches and Texas residents.

Fifty-three percent of Protestants said they discussed moral issues in a typical week compared to 45 percent of Catholics.

Researchers found that those most likely to talk about religious issues included women, those with college degrees and above-average household incomes, blacks, residents of the South, Republicans, conservatives, attendees of churches with more than 100 people and Texas residents.

Forty-nine percent of Protestants and 34 percent of Catholics said they were likely to engage in such discussions.

A significant percentage of agnostics and atheists _ 32 percent _ said they discuss faith matters in a typical week.

The data is based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,002 adults in May and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

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Following is suitable for a graphic:

Percentage of Americans who discuss key topics with others in a typical week

Content of movies or television: 66 percent

Money: 57 percent

Sports: 55 percent

Politics: 51 percent

Parenting: 50 percent

Moral issues/situations: 49 percent

Spiritual issues/beliefs: 42 percent

_ Adelle M. Banks

House of Lords Considers Proposals to Change Blasphemy Law

LONDON (RNS) Any attempt to change the current law on blasphemy to provide protection for all religions “is likely to run into profound controversy,” according to the chairman of a House of Lords committee studying the issue.

The committee was set up following debate early last year of a bill to make incitement to religious hatred a crime.

The present law on blasphemy protects only the Church of England.

Laws on race relations have the effect of protecting Jews and Sikhs from incitement to religious hatred but not other religious groups because they are not seen as having a common ethnic origin.

Britain’s Muslim community _ which makes up 3 percent of the population _ “feels itself the least protected from hatred and most exposed to hostile attack, both verbal and physical,” the committee said in its report published Tuesday (June 10).

“The diversity of the United Kingdom’s population now makes it imperative that, if there is to be legal protection for faiths, it must embrace all faiths,” the committee stated.

But, while the 12-member committee believed there should be “a degree of protection of faith,” there was no consensus on the precise form such protection might take.

“After extensive public consultation we have analyzed the merits of all the options, but feel it is up to Parliament as a whole to decide how it wants to proceed,” said Viscount Colville, the committee’s chairman.

_ Robert Nowell

Proposals Sought to Address Post-Sept. 11 Discrimination

(RNS) The National Conference for Community and Justice is seeking grant proposals from organizations that want to fight discrimination against South Asians, Muslims and Arabs who have been victimized in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The “Community Through Unity” project is a continuation of efforts already assisted by the September 11th Fund, which was established by the New York Community Trust and United Way of New York City to assist Sept. 11 victims and families and communities directly affected by the attacks.

In March, the New York-based human relations organization announced recipients of $1.5 million in grants. It is now seeking grant applicants through July 25 for an additional $1 million.

“Numerous individuals and groups across the country are making an effort to increase understanding and respect within their communities by reaching out to those who have been targeted,” the request for proposals reads. “These efforts to bridge differences are taking place in schools, the workplace, neighborhood gatherings and places of worship.”

(Editors: The request for proposals is available at the following Web site: http://www.nccj.org.)

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Corporate chaplain Carol Hall

(RNS) “As a Christian and an ordained minister, I believe God holds the answers to life, but I do not have a secret agenda. When people ask for spiritual help, I give it, but if they don’t ask, I don’t push the point.”

_ Carol Hall, a minister whose Corporate Chaplaincy Services has been hired as a spiritual alternative to the secular employee assistance program at MACSTEEL, a Fort Smith, Ark., steel mill. She was quoted by the Associated Press.

DEA END RNS