Beyond the Ordinary

Heavenly Books

by Ida Smith

This week, as I was browsing the New York Times nonfiction best sellers list, I couldn’t help but notice “Heaven” in the title of four books in the top 20.  Number 20 was “Waking Up in Heaven,” a book about what happened during nine minutes of unconsciousness.  Number 17 was called “When Will the Heaven Begin?” a book where a sister remembers the visions of heaven as experienced by her brother who died at the age of 18.  “Heaven is for Real” tells the story of a five- year-old boy’s encounter with Jesus and angels while having surgery after his appendix ruptured.  It was number 11 on the list.  The number one book this week was written by a neurosurgeon who recounts his near death experience during a coma in the book entitled “Proof of Heaven”. 

What do Americans think of heaven?

A Baylor study from 2007 found that 82 percent either “probably” or “absolutely” believe in heaven.  Pew found in the US Religious Landscape survey (2007) that 74 percent of Americans believe in heaven.  An equal number believe in life after death.  The General Social Survey (2010) found 71 percent of Americans believe in life after death. 

How did U.S. Congregational Life Survey respondents answer similar questions about heaven and life after death? 

The majority of respondents (94%) said “yes”, they believe in heaven.  More Catholic and conservative respondents believe in heaven (96% and 99%, respectively) while 87% of mainline congregants believe in heaven.   The majority of respondents (88%) believe there is a life beyond death.  Nearly seven out of ten respondents (66%) do not believe in reincarnation.  The table below compares religious traditions.

Those who believe in life after death are generally more involved in church life. Usually, they:

• attend worship weekly or more often
• are more likely to be a member of a congregation
• are involved in Sunday or church school,
• are more likely to believe that worship helps with everyday life
• are involved in devotional activities weekly or more often
• are more likely to have said they grew spiritually in their faith over the last year
• believe the Bible is the word of God
• are more likely to say their spiritual needs were being met
• are more likely to have said they had a conversion experience
• are more likely to say they were at ease expressing their faith
• are more likely to invite family or friends to attend worship
• have a high school education or less

 These characteristics are especially true for mainline Protestants.  Also, for mainline Protestant worshipers, those with a strong sense of belonging, those who tithe, and those who value sharing in Holy Communion are more likely to believe in life beyond death. For Catholics, those who believe in life after death are involved in devotional activities, report that they had grown spiritually in their faith, and are at ease expressing their faith.  For conservative Protestants, those who believe worship services help you with everyday life and those with a high school education or less are more likely to believe in life after death. 

 What are your beliefs concerning the afterlife?  Are they similar or different from others in your religious tradition? It might be interesting to read any of these books on the list to see if it shapes or changes your opinion. 

 

Happy Holidays from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey Team!

by Andrew Whitehead

As we all continue to count down the days to December 25^th, we here at the U.S. Congregational Life Survey office want to wish all our readers a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

 For a bit of fun, we thought it would be interesting to discover what worshipers thought about various aspects of Christmas. While the U.S. Congregational Life Survey can provide insight into a host of fascinating topics like religious giving, caring for war veterans, private religious behaviors, the importance of congregational location, belief in evil, the paranormal, or God, it does not contain any measures of worshipers views toward the Christmas holiday. To do so, we are forced turn elsewhere.

There are two symbols of this holiday season that are ever-present in American culture: Christmas trees and Santa Claus. Using the 2007 Baylor Religion Survey we can assess the extent to which Americans believe in Santa Claus and participate in the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree.

 Comparing a number of religious traditions with those who do not claim a religious affiliation, an interesting pattern emerges concerning who puts up a Christmas tree, and who does not.

While nine in ten Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, and Catholics report putting up a Christmas tree, only seven in ten unaffiliated Americans do so. This means that while a clear majority of Americans celebrate Christmas by decorating a tree, significantly more religiously affiliated individuals do so.

 But what about belief in the man who places the presents under the Christmas tree? Respondents were asked about the age at which they stopped believing in Santa Claus. Among all those who reported believing in Santa at one time in their life, we see that there are yet again some differences between those who affiliate with a religious tradition, and those who do not.

 

It appears that a very similar pattern exists across the Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic religious traditions concerning the ages at which respondents report they stopped believing in Santa Claus. For the unaffiliated, however, a larger percentage report not believing in Santa Claus at an earlier age, about 4 or 5, than the Christian religious traditions.

 While similar stories emerge for each of the religious traditions concerning putting up Christmas trees and the ages at which they stopped believing in Santa Claus, examining whether or not respondents ever believed in Santa Claus tells a slightly different story.

Here we find that Evangelical Protestant respondents are more similar to the unaffiliated than to the other Christian religious traditions. Small numbers of Mainline Protestants and Catholics report that they never believed in Santa Claus while over twice as many Evangelicals and unaffiliated respondents report never believing in Santa Claus.

 While the unaffiliated and Evangelicals may differ on many of the religious beliefs that surround Christmas, it appears that never believing in Santa Claus may be just one case where they are more similar than different.

 So no matter when you stopped believing in Santa, or if you still need to put up your Christmas tree, we at the U.S. Congregational Life Survey want to wish you all a merry Christmas, a happy holidays, and a wonderful new year.

Does Tithing Predict Less Giving to Non-Religious Charities?

by Andrew Whitehead

One hallmark of the Christmas shopping season is the red kettle and ringing bell of a Salvation Army volunteer at the entryway of a department store. After the crush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday on December 3^rd was another attempt to focus Americans toward giving rather than purchasing and early numbers suggest it was quite successful.

 Despite Americans’ propensity to consume during this time of year, many also see the holidays as a time to give to those less fortunate. In 2012, Americans gave more than $316 billion to charity. Seventy-two percent of that number, around $223 billion, came directly from individuals. And among American individuals who also claim a religious affiliation, 65% give to charity.

 But are religious individuals giving only to religious causes? One commenter seems to think so: “Most religious people are equally generous; they only give more than non-religious people because they give to religious organizations.”

 This raises a number of interesting questions. Do the people in the pews give much more to religious charities compared to non-religious charities? Does their level of giving to their own congregation influence how much they give to both religious and non-religious charities?

 Data from the 2008/2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey provides a picture of the giving habits of worshipers.

 First, we see that over 90% of worshipers do tend to contribute at least something to their place of worship every year. Around 44% of worshipers report giving at least 5% or more of their yearly income to their congregation.

When asked about their giving to both religious and non-religious charities, we find in the figure below that many respondents report giving each year.

Around 85% of worshipers report giving at least something to religious charities in the last year while around 87% of worshipers report giving at least something to non-religious charities. Most of the time, similar numbers of worshipers give comparable amounts to both religious and non-religious charities.

 But how does giving to one’s congregation influence giving to charity? Do religious individuals who give more to their congregation give less to charity? Is it a zero sum game?

 In the figure below we see the relationship between how much people report giving to their congregation, and how much they report giving to religious charities.

Here we find that worshipers who do not contribute financially to their congregation, tend to not give to religious charities either. In fact, almost 45% of worshipers who do not give to their place of worship also do not give to religious charities. This figure highlights how worshipers who are giving to their congregations tend to give to religious charities outside their congregation as well.

 It could be, however, that worshipers who give to their congregation give less to non-religious charities compared to religious charities. The data, however, does not bear this out.

 

Worshipers who give to their congregation also give to non-religious charities. For those who give 10% or more to their congregation, 89% give at least something to non-religious charities throughout the year. Over 90% of those who give between 5% to 9% to their congregation give to non-religious charities. Yet again, it is those who do not contribute to their congregation financially that are least likely to give to non-religious charities in the past year.

 Further analysis using techniques that control for other determinants of giving like age, education, income, gender, marital status, religious service attendance, theological views, and private religious habits provide an even better picture of how tithing to one’s church influences giving to both religious and non-religious charities.

 It appears that older worshipers, married worshipers, and worshipers who report higher levels of yearly income give more to both religious and non-religious charities, even when controlling for how much they tithe to their congregation.

 However, worshipers who give more to their congregation, actually give less to religious charities. It could be that worshipers who tithe more give less to religious charities because they feel their tithing in some way satisfies a requirement to give to religious causes.

Does the same hold true for non-religious charities? No, it does not! The level to which worshipers give to their congregation has no bearing on their level of giving to non-religious charities.

 Thankfully, as far as non-religious charities are concerned, the negative relationship between tithing and giving to religious charities does not hold true. Worshipers who give to their congregation do not then give less to non-religious charities.

 So, while a majority of giving in the United States does go to religious organizations, worshipers that tithe are no less likely to give to non-religious charities. In fact, worshipers’ generosity to charity does not appear to be bound by the charity’s religious, or nonreligious, identification.

A delicate balance: Pastors set apart for ministry are also key to building community

by David Briggs

“If the priest is not clearly set apart, then he will not provide the service which the Church requires; and if he is not a true servant, he will end in a self-absorbed and sterile remoteness which is alien to an authentic shepherd.”

-Pope John Paul II

It may get lonely at the top, but it may not be helpful to building religious communities if pastors are too isolated from their flocks.

A sensitivity to people in the pews and a desire to help them connect with one another is related to the ability of pastoral leaders to create a strong sense of belonging among congregation members, a new study indicates.

Clergy in their first call, second-career pastors and spiritual leaders who have other jobs are among the clergy associated with congregations where attenders reported a growing attachment to their house of worship and greater participation in congregational activities, researcher Cynthia Woolever found.

And it is not only religious communities that appear to benefit.

Pastors leading congregations with a strong sense of belonging also report greater satisfaction with their ministry and a stronger sense of accomplishment, Woolever reported at the recent joint meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association in Boston.

Woolever, the former director of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, analyzed data from the 2001 and 2008-2009 waves of the US CLS for her study of “The Pastor’s Role in Creating a Sense of Belonging Among Members.”

Building a strong sense of community where people feel they belong is critical to meeting the basic human needs of congregants for love, acceptance and self-esteem, a sense of being valued by the congregation, Woolever says.

“So much of congregational life revolves around the closeness people feel as they worship together, experience life’s joys and sorrows, and share their deepest values and beliefs,” she writes with co-author Deborah Bruce in their book, “Beyond the Ordinary: 10 Strengths of U.S. Congregations.” “Strong congregations find ways to encourage emotional attachment.”

Yet for church leaders, the idea of focusing on building community can go against the grain of a culture that often places more emphasis on serving individuals, “kind of a consumer mentality,” Woolever noted. And some pastors may be concerned that creating social bonds among members may lead to congregants being more likely to cross boundaries that could infringe on a pastor’s personal life.

So what type of pastors are associated with congregations where attenders report a strong sense of belonging? The short answer is married pastors, first-call pastors, second-career pastors and pastors who hold other jobs. Conservative and black Protestant pastors are also more likely to serve such congregations, Woolever found.

One common theme that seems to emerge is that the more pastors are or have been connected to everyday life as experienced by the laity, or do not place too great an emphasis on the idea of being men and women “set apart,” the more likely they are to be leading congregations where attenders are active participants and have a number of close friends at their place of worship.

“When a pastor’s life experiences minimize the distance between leader and worshiper, I think the leader places greater emphasis on creating community,” Woolever said.

What is good for the congregation also is good for the pastor.

Woolever reported that pastors in general find serving in “relationship-rich” congregations more satisfying and rewarding. But she did not find evidence that such strong social bonds added to pastoral stress or placed greater demands on their personal lives.

Some ways pastors and other leaders can build stronger congregations include forming or using existing small groups “that help people feel loved and known” and offering service or leadership roles that give congregants a sense of purpose,  Woolever said.

But it takes a conscious effort, starting at the front door of the sanctuary.

Even during services, worshipers can feel alone if they sit by themselves and leave without ever having meaningful personal interaction with other congregants. And a pastor who is not sensitive to the social bonds among attenders eventually may find fewer people to talk to on Sundays.

One can be the loneliest number, both in the pulpit and the pew.