Posted on 06/27/2007 9:32:04 AM PDT by Between the Lines
A new survey revealed that evangelical Christians are less concerned about poverty than the average American, while atheists are the least likely group to participate in activities to combat poverty.
Overall, Americans are concerned about poverty with three out of four adults (72 percent) considering poverty to be one of the most serious social problems facing the United States today, according to a national survey by The Barna Group. The figure includes the one out of every five adults (21 percent) who think poverty is the single, most serious social problem of all.
Yet evangelical Christians are only half as likely (11 percent) as the rest of American adults to rank poverty as the nation’s greatest social problem.
Moreover, born-again Christians were somewhat more likely than non-Christians to donate money to organizations addressing global poverty and to give food directly to poor people, but otherwise the two groups showed few differences.
“Given the extensive comments in the Bible regarding the importance of taking care of the poor, we expected to see a larger distinction between the responses of Christians and non-Christians,” commented George Barna, who directed the study.
However, atheists and agnostics were the group of people least likely to do anything in response to poverty, according to the survey. This segment of the population was the least likely to participate in eight of the nine specific responses to poverty listed in the survey.
Although most Americans are concerned about poverty, they carry the misperception that poverty is much more pervasive than in actuality. Participant’s average estimate of the percentage of people in the United States living in poverty was 30 percent when federal statistics estimate the current poverty level to be about 13 percent of the U.S. population.
As explanation, the survey found perception of the country’s poverty level reflected the pollster’s personal economic and educational level. The survey discovered that the lower a person’s income or education level, the more likely the person will estimate a higher poverty rate.
People living in households earning less than $35,000 annually, and people who had a high school education or less estimated the national poverty rate to be 40 percent. Americans who come from households earning under $30,000 annually and with no college education estimated poverty to be the condition of 50 percent of all Americans.
In contrast, people from households earning over $60,000 and those with a college degree estimated the poverty rate to be 20 percent.
“Although many public officials seem to assume that Americans are not sufficiently engaged in efforts to ameliorate or eliminate poverty, the data show a different story,” Barna said.
The researcher noted that most people consider poverty to be a serious issue, are counting on the government to resolve poverty in society, and have taken various actions to alleviate the problem.
“However, the study also shows that Americans are poorly informed about America’s poverty. They radically overestimate how many people the government identifies as poor, and they believe things have become much worse over the last quarter-century, when in fact the incidence of poverty has remained about the same,” Barna commented.
Two out of every three adults (66 percent) believe the percentage of people living in poverty today is higher than it was 25 years ago. In reality, the current national poverty rate (13 percent) fits in the past 40 year’s range of 12-15 percent.
The Barna report is based on a nationwide telephone survey conducted on 1,003 adults age 18 and older in January 2007.
“In reality, the current national poverty rate (13 percent) fits in the past 40 year’s range of 12-15 percent.”
Amazing stat, considering that the US has poured about seven TRILLION taxpayer dollars down the anti-poverty rat hole since LBJ’s “War on Poverty” began in the ‘60s. It is an extravagant flop in all aspects but one: it bought the votes of a large bloc of dependent welfare recipients. The Democrats should be grateful to us Red State smucks for our generous tax “contributions” that allow them to buy power in the flop-house cities of our country. They wouldn’t be in D. C. without our help.
There is much evidence that by doing this we have exacerbated the problem more than we have helped.
I’m not convinced that poverty even exists in the United States.
I’d love to know what the choices for other serious social problems were.
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=273
By world and historical standards, you have a point.
The "poor" in this country typically have a roof over their heads, plenty to eat, and luxuries that an ancient king or emperor could not even imagine.
Exactly. In this country, it’s all out there if you’re willing to work for it. And, to a certain extent, if you’re willing to settle for “average”. Meaning, you don’t mind the used Ranger instead of the new Expedition. That’s a sacrifice some “poor” in this country are not willing to make.
Your not convinced, eh? Wanna go spend a few weeks at a destination of my choice? You may be convinced-or killed! haha You remind me of the stupid congressmen some years back who “showed the world” how easy it was for his family of 4 to live on $55 worth of food stamps a week- FOR ONE WHOLE WEEK! what a guy! damned poor people anyway!
or the current jackass candidate for president (sorry, i know the description does not do much to set them apart) who promises to donate his presidential salary to charity if he is elected. of course, he is a multi millionaire, and his “generous” donation, when compared with his income, would equate with a middle class person donating about $5 a week! AH! Largesse seemingly knows no bounds!
The used Ranger instead of the new Expedition, huh? Man, youse guys are makin me cry! What, you never go out of your well to do neighborhoods? Nah-I forgot-dont wanna get yo butts kicked hahaha! Cuz people with the same attitudes as you all usually dont do well around those who are BELOW your exalted social status-which, lets see, is just about everybody else in the whole wide world aint it? You oughta be run over-with either the used ranger or the new Expedition! Which would you prefer???
You remind me of an illiterate who is probably “poor” because of their own choices in life. What destination would you choose for me?
You oughta be run over-with either the used ranger or the new Expedition!
Disagreeing with someone's opinion is one thing, but making backhanded insults and death wishes is entirely unnecessary. It reflects badly upon yourself and your Christian witness.
I realize that there are many here in this forum that do the same thing, but I pray that you become a good influence for others rather than following the bad influences of those less godly than yourself.
Welcome to FreeRepublic and God bless.
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