OBSERVANT, TOLERANT, AND IGNORANT? The contrast in this poll between high levels of religious observance and high levels of religious tolerance is most interesting. Both observance and tolerance are probably a bit overstated (they usually are in polls), but the results are striking. The United States is both a religious and a tolerant country. For starters, this suggests that the threat to religious conservatism may be overstated and, by the same token, the fear of religious conservatives that religion is threatened by modern society may also be overblown.
The findings also provide a valuable context for understanding 9/11 and Islam. Americans drew comfort from religion after 9/11 in large part because they are religious, and they do not hold Islam responsible for 9/11 because of their religious tolerance.
Why is this? The poll provides three suggestions, and they are not entirely benign. First, the survey shows that most Americans are woefully ignorant of other religious groups and report very little contact with other religious people. So the observant/tolerant pattern may be the result of ignorance. Simply put, it is easier to tolerate people when you don't know their peculiar beliefs and practices.
Second, the poll suggests that many Americans appear to be loosely tied to religious doctrines and beliefs -- the very things that spark the most disagreement among religious people. Indeed, people may impute to others some version of their own faith. It could be the dominance of the "spiritual" element of religion that fosters both high levels of observance (perhaps of a highly personal nature) and tolerance of other people's (highly personal) observance.
Third, the poll reveals that religion is only one of many influences that are relevant to how people lead their lives. Religiously observant Americans may be tolerant precisely because their faith is less relevant to many aspects of their lives.
So the United States is observant and tolerant, but this pattern may be based in part on ignorance, a lack of doctrinal commitment, and the limited relevance of faith to people's lives.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE TRUMPS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
The poll also offers a good story about religious beliefs versus experience. It is interesting, for example, that only one quarter of Christians say beliefs and doctrines are that most important part of religion, and almost one third name beliefs, doctrines, and creeds as their first reason for choosing a church. It could be that we have a group of "believers" and a group of "experiencers" -- and perhaps a group that is a bit of both. Perhaps one set of factors goes into choosing a house of worship and a different set of factors goes into religion as a broader phenomenon.
Beliefs and doctrine pop out as particularly important for born again Christians, especially as the most important reason they choose a church to attend (two fifths of born agains select it as their first choice). On all mentions, they also do better, but the other religious groups catch up.
BIG DIVIDES IN AMERICAN RELIGION
The data suggest that race matters, and that there are several big divides in American religion. Born again Christians and black Protestants seem to be on one side of the divide and mainline Protestants on the other, with Catholics and others in the middle (and Catholics sometimes have distinctive positions).
