Word: cents
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...similar individualism is found in respondents' views of the Deity. Only 18 per cent of all respondents indicated belief in an "infinitely wise, omnipotent three-person God Who created the universe and Who maintains an active concern for human affairs," 6 per cent believed in a unitarian God with the same attributes. By far the greatest number of respondents--24 per cent--believed in "a God about Whom nothing definite can be affirmed except that I sometimes sense him as a mighty spiritual 'Presence' permeating all mankind and nature." Of the non-believers, ignorance rather than denial was much more...
Respondents' attitudes about the attributes of God reflect this same refusal to commit oneself to a consistent system of beliefs. Thus, while most respondents (63 per cent) believed that God is all-powerful, few (40 per cent) felt that God would alter the natural course of events to answer a prayer. While most (62 per cent) believed that God is just, even more (78 per cent) felt that undeserved suffering occurs in the world. Few (32 per cent) believed in the doctrine of grace, even fewer (14 per cent) in the concept of Hell. Were one to construct a concept...
Such a refusal to commit oneself is repeated also in respondents' views on attendance at church or synagogue. Sixty-nine per cent of the respondents felt that "the Church (i.e., organized religion) stands for the best in human life," despite "minor errors and shortcomings," which are common to "all human institutions." The smallest percentage--3--considered the church "the one sure and infallible foundation of civilized life." Thus, again, the way is left open to view organized religion in an independent manner, the student regulating it rather than the other way round. For while the Church may "stand...
...comes to the puzzling conclusion, on the basis of this poll, that Harvard really does not have a great influence on students' religious ideas. Of the 65 per cent who had experienced a reaction to the religious tradition in which they were raised, only 21 per cent reacted against it while at Harvard, nearly three-quarters in their freshman year. The majority of the respondents (62 per cent) reacted in secondary school. Those whom Harvard had affected indicated the major reason for the change to be "increased thinking about religion and other related problems." Courses, reading in religion and philosophy...
Furthermore, 74 per cent of all respondents did not belong to any of the local religious fellowships--Hillel, Newman Club, Canterbury, etc. This fact, along with the high percentage of those who attend church more at home than at Harvard, give further indication of the individual nature of religion among at least those responding to this poll. There is a divergence here between religious thought and religious practice, where church attendance is regarded as secondary to theological speculation. This physical separation from the centers of religious gathering encourages eclecticism and free choice among religious doctrines, and is considered by most...