Not keeping the faith. (Data).As Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. could tell you, religious extremism--especially Islamic fundamentalism--is a major force shaping world events today. But is Christian fundamentalism in America on the rise? A Gallup poll Gallup Poll Noun a sampling of the views of a representative cross section of the population, usually used to forecast voting [after G H Gallup, statistician] Gallup poll n → analyzed in the March Scientific American Scientific American U.S. monthly magazine interpreting scientific developments to lay readers. It was founded in 1845 as a newspaper describing new inventions. By 1853 its circulation had reached 30,000 and it was reporting on various sciences, such as astronomy and by Rodger Doyle suggests a trend toward moderation among evangelical Christians. From the late 1970s to 2000, the share of surveyed Americans who said they took the Bible literally declined by about 10 percentage points. Similar trends hold for support of Bible prayer in school and proselytizing. Meanwhile, the share of Americans describing themselves as "born again" or "evangelical" has bounced between 40 percent and 50 percent. Concludes Doyle, "The decline in the number of those believing in the inerrancy in·er·ran·cy n. Freedom from error or untruths; infallibility: belief in the inerrancy of the Scriptures. Noun 1. of the Bible and those supporting prayer in schools suggests that evangelicals are becoming more like other Americans in that they are more accepting of gender and racial equality and are moderating extreme antiabortion an·ti·a·bor·tion adj. Opposed to induced abortion: the antiabortion movement. an attitudes, according to other research." [GRAPH OMITTED] |
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