This post is about a notable man about whom I have mixed feelings and about a notable research center about which I have much appreciation. I am writing about J. Howard Pew, who died 50 years ago (on Nov. 27, 1971) at the age of 89, and about the Pew Research Center, sponsored mainly by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Notable J. Howard Pew
In the Presbyterian church in the small city of Bradford, Pennsylvania,
the pews were often occupied by Pews. Joseph Newton Pew, Sr., (1848~1912), founder
of the Sun Oil Company (later Sonoco), was a devout Presbyterian and he raised
his children to be the same.
In 1876, the Presbyterians started a “normal school” in Grove City,
Penn. After it became Grove City College, J. Howard Pew enrolled there,
graduating at the age of 18 in 1900. Later he served as president of the board
of trustees of his alma mater for four decades.
After his father’s death, J. Howard became the president of Sun Oil Company
at the age of 30 and soon became a wealthy man.
Pew was a strong conservative, both theologically and politically. Using
his oil money, he helped found the National Association of
Evangelicals in 1942, Fuller Theological Seminary in 1947, and Christianity
Today, the influential
evangelical magazine launched by Billy Graham, in 1956.
Politically, Pew was a staunch Republican and opponent of FDR and the
New Deal in the 1930s. In 2018, one scholar wrote about Pew’s “Godly Conservatism.” His conservative politics were
rooted in his conservative evangelical views.
The Notable Pew Research Center
While I disagree with many of J. Howard Pew’s
theological and political views, I much appreciate the work of the Pew Research
Center, which since 1996 has been largely supported by The Pew Charitable
Trusts, which was established by Pew and his siblings.
In spite of Pew’s strong conservative
evangelical and Republican views, The Pew Research Center (PRC) is a
non-partisan think tank, or as it refers to itself, a “fact tank.”
Now based in Washington, D.C., PRC describes itself as “a
nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and
trends shaping the world.”
They go on to explain, “We conduct public
opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven
social science research. We do not take policy positions.”
Society benefits greatly from the extensive
work of the PRC as it provides accurate information on social issues, public
opinion, and trends shaping the United States and the world.
A Notable Pew Research Center Survey
On November 18, PRC released a
report titled “What Makes Life Meaningful? Views From 17 Advanced Economies.”
That survey clearly indicates that one source of meaning is predominant:
family.
In 14 of the 17 advanced economies surveyed,
more mention their family as a source of meaning in their lives than any other
factor.
However, outside of the U.S., religion is
never one of the top 10 sources of meaning cited—and no more than 5% of any
non-U.S. public mention it. In this country, however, 15% mention religion or
God as a source of meaning, making it the fifth most mentioned topic.
Here is a chart showing how the 17 countries ranked on the “what makes life meaningful” poll.
Back in 1912, Walter
Rauschenbusch, the proponent of the social gospel that was opposed by
conservative evangelicals such as J. Howard Pew, wrote,
No material comfort and plenty can satisfy the restless soul in us and give us peace with ourselves. All who have made test of it agree that religion alone holds the key to the ultimate meaning of life.**
I agree with Rauschenbusch and with the 15% in
this country who say that faith makes life meaningful.
What about you?
_____
** These significant words are included in To
Live in God: Daily Reflections with Walter Rauschenbusch (2020), p. 21.
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This is very interesting. I'm pleased you read that piece from PEW and wrote about it, which I had just skimmed. I'm not too surprised by the difference between Americans and much of the rest of the world. We're religion-obsessed. It's interesting and coincidental that I was just reading Francis Schaeffer's A Christian Manifesto in which he claims that all kinds of terrible things are going to happen if the USA becomes a fully secular country--mostly because it wouldn't have the religious absolutes of the Bible and the theology of the Protestant Reformation. And I was thinking about other countries wherein religion is no longer so central as it is in America.
ReplyDeleteWould I list religion as what makes like most meaningful? I don't think so--not anymore if I ever would have. It's odd, too, since religious activity consumed a good half of my adult life.
Thanks for your comments, Anton.
DeleteWhile it is noteworthy that 15% of the USAmericans surveyed said "faith" gave them meaning in life, that doesn't seem to me to be a high enough percentage to say that the U.S. is "religion-obsessed." I wonder what a similar survey would have shown for Islamic countries, or even India. My guess it in those counties the percentage would be higher than 15%.
As you probably know, I am certainly not a "fan" of Francis Schaeffer and do not agree with him in what you referred to him as saying. On the chart, you may have noticed that Japan was 0% on the list of saying religion gives meaning to life. But having lived there for 38 years, in some ways Japanese society seems superior to that of the U.S. Certainly, it is safer to live there; there is far less violent crime and hardly any homicides by people being shot.
I just reread your question, and it asks about "faith," which I distinguish from religion. Sorry. Well, I've found great benefit from Tillich's definition of faith as "ultimate concern." By that definition, of course, faith is what makes like most meaningful. Tillich was also wise enough to recognize we are ultimately concerned about many things. And so, I would suggest many things make life meaningful. Most meaningful? Hm...
ReplyDeleteAnton, as I understand it, it was an open-ended question about what gives meaning to life. On the chart, the one word "faith" includes all those who answered by saying faith, religion, or spirituality (or something similar). As you know, I have often emphasized the difference between faith and religion, but in tabulating the received answers PRC lumped all the faith/religion responses together.
DeleteI have long admired Paul Tillich's theology and have used his definition of faith many times. I agree that faith is one's "ultimate concern," so I would say that certainly it is what makes life most meaningful to me. But Tillich also wrote about idolatry, placing ultimate concern in that which is not ultimate. He referred to the ultimate as the "God above god," the ground of being.
How is ultimate concern distinct from "a general order of existence [that seems] uniquely realistic", or another good definition of religion, "orientation in the ultimate sense" (Charles Long, collegue of Tillich)? I need to go back to see how Tillich distinguishes faith from religion.
ReplyDeleteSome Americans are obsessed with religion, but a better argument is that more Americans are obsessed with money, instant gratification, consumer goods, football, and related pursuits. Despite the greater apparent religiosity of Americans, when compared with other nations, America is spiritually bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteA recent article (I do not recall where I read it) said that the decline of religion in America has been a boon for politics. Religious passion has been replaced with political passion, or combined in the case of some evangelical Christians.
Although I do not subscribe to some of the theological tenets promoted by my church, I am nonetheless active in the church because I believe that it promotes social and moral stability. It also provides a sense of community and promotes social justice, both of which are important to me. But not all churches are good, so one has to be careful.
I agree, Leroy, with your remarks about the Pew Foundation, which does commendable work.
Eric Dollard
Thanks for your pertinent comments, Eric -- and thanks for posting the directly on the blogsite this time.
DeleteThanks for this informative blog post, Leroy. I'm not too surprised that my country, Canada, ranks only three percent on those who find faith/religion/spirituality meaningful. We are quite a secular nation. There are, sadly, way too many secular gods in our land.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I agree with Rauschenbusch's comment.
The Bible says we live by Faith and Not by sight so I put Faith at the top of my list.
ReplyDeleteHere's a question I've pondered a good deal, which, I think, is pertinent to this discussion. In the synoptic gospels Jesus is quoted as quoting from the Hebrew scriptures that the first of all commandments is to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:29-30). So, assuming that love is something one does (rather than or at least as much as how one feels), the question is this: What exactly does that mean in terms of our everyday lives?
ReplyDeleteBriefly, I would say that loving God means loving the God's created world and especially loving all the humans created in God's image--and as you say, love is shown by what we do, not primarily by what we say.
DeleteHere is a succinct and significant comment by Thinking Friend Virginia Belk in New Mexico:
ReplyDelete"I think that not only is faith essential for my existence, but without faith, my existence would have become appreciably shorter!"
Again, I am posting comments from a local Thinking Friend whom I will let remain anonymous.
ReplyDelete"While I greatly value the research Pew does, I don't think we learn much about what scholars (Bellah, for example) from such studies except the way terms like faith and religion are used in various nations. Why isn't 'family' an intensely religious response? On the other side, I am skeptical that we learn much about the US response from the fact that Faith comes in #5 and tops other nations at 15% in the vertical chart. As for the Rauschenbusch quote, it sure seems refuted by the other 85%. Such results arise from such laughably imprecise and de-contextualized use of language."
It is my understanding that the question the Pew researchers asked was open ended. The answers that included “religion,” “spirituality,” “faith,” or the like were then grouped together. People may well have had different ideas in mind when they said “faith” rather than “religion” or vice versa, but at least they were far more similar than, for example, “faith” and “material well-being.” So, I don’t think Pew Research Center can be faulted for “imprecise and de-contextualized use of language.”
DeleteThere is more I would like to say about other parts of this TF’s comments, but I won’t do so at this time.
Here is the link to an article Thinking Friend Zach Dawes, Jr., posted this morning on Good Faith Media about the PRC survey: https://goodfaithmedia.org/reaction-and-response-few-cite-faith-spirituality-religion-as-giving-life-meaning/
ReplyDeleteThe first question I asked myself when I saw your post was, "What portion of the American 15% would call themselves 'evangelical'." My question was partly answered by the link provided by Zach Dawes, Jr. The following quote is from that link.
ReplyDelete“Evangelical Protestants in the U.S. are much more likely than mainline Protestants to mention faith as a source of meaning – 34% vs. 13%, respectively,” the report said. "Across all U.S. religious groups, those who attend religious services more often are much more likely to cite their religion in their answer than those who are less frequent attendees."