Most Catholics, mainline Protestants say faith in God not required to enter Heaven: study

More than three years after Pope Francis sparked a firestorm of religious debate by telling a young boy that his deceased atheist father might still end up in Heaven, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows a majority of Catholic and mainline Christians also believe people who don’t believe in God will go to Heaven.

Data for the study, conducted Sept. 20-26, was collected from a nationally representative sample of 6,485 U.S. adults.

Pew researchers decided for the first time to tackle deep philosophical questions like the meaning of life, the purpose of suffering and why bad things happen to people. The national study was released amid a backdrop of major life-changing events for many, most notably the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed millions of lives globally.

There is no such thing as a born-again Christian who is actively sinning or God is not God and his Holy Bible doesn’t mean what it says

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So tomorrow you’re driving down the street and you come upon a stunningly beautiful woman with an extraordinary figure wearing skin-tight yoga pants. You fight it but you do steal a glance. Too bad. You’re going to hell. Right? ( or in your case maybe I should say righteous).

Faith in Christ doesn’t turn you into Christ. You’re still just a man with all the same desires and of course they’re going to be greatly limited if you have accepted Christ as your savior but you are still going to be a sinner. And you could add one more active sin into your life if you deny it.

And while 39% of all American adults, in general, believe people who don’t believe in God can still go to Heaven, 68% of Catholics and 56% of mainline Protestant Christians were found to hold this belief compared to 21% of evangelicals and 31% of Christians from historically black churches.

Is it because they believe you can be good enough to merit heaven? Dare anyone say all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags compared to the holiness of God, they will be accused of being "judgmental".

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea 4:6)

God is all merciful. I guess all those Indians not fortunate enough to have been around at and after the coming of those Europeans, simply got turned away at the Gates of Heaven.

It doesn't work that way. Because God IS merciful and wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, He promises to be a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. But they have to do the seeking.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

"So tomorrow you’re driving down the street and you come upon a stunningly beautiful woman with an extraordinary figure wearing skin-tight yoga pants. You fight it but you do steal a glance. Too bad. You’re going to hell. Right? ( or in your case maybe I should say righteous). Faith in Christ doesn’t turn you into Christ. You’re still just a man with all the same desires and of course they’re going to be greatly limited if you have accepted Christ as your savior but you are still going to be a sinner. And you could add one more active sin into your life if you deny it."

It both means that one is saved by effectual faith, not works, but which effects obedience by the Spirit, it, (Romans 8:14;cf. (Philippians 3:7-21)) in word and in deed, in heart and in life, whereby "the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, (Romans 8:4) insofar as we do. And which obedience includes penitent confession when convicted of not pleasing the Object of his faith for salvation, the risen Lord Jesus.

Catholics are taught that they "have truly merited eternal life" by their very works, (Trent, Canons Concerning Justification, Canon 32) and while God rewards the obedience of faith Hebrews 10:35) under grace, - even though it is God who motivates and enables all obedience, (Philippians 1:12,13) while the only thing we can and must take credit for it our disobedience - yet actual merit is not the basis of become made accepted in the Beloved, which is thru heart-purifying effectual Abrahamic-type faith being counted for righteousness. (Romans 4) .

Catholics typically they think they will go to Heaven because they are pretty good, with some expectation of mercy. For in the Catholic gospel "full salvation" means that one is justified by actually becoming good enough to be with God, usually through her mythical Purgatory versus Thus few ever come to the point of true conversion by recognizing they are not saved by their works or church affiliation and have come to God as as sinners as destitute of any means or merit whereby they may escape their just judgment and gain eternal life. And who with contrite hearts placed all their faith in the Divine Christ as the Lord and Savior, who died for our sins and is risen to reign in glory, (1 Peter 2:24; 328,22) and who declare this living faith in following their Lord with humble hearts, (Acts 8:36,37; 10:43–47; 15:7–9) and repent when convicted in heart of not doing so. (Psalm 34:218) Thanks be to God

There are no Protestants in heaven.

Truthfully, there are no Catholics OR Protestants in heaven because heaven will be populated with all the redeemed in Christ. Labels don't count with God, only faith does.

For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's descendants, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

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