Life Way Research

These are the styles of questions that N. T. Wright answers in his book of “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.” Wright opens his novel with questions that shape throughout the book: What is the hope of our life? Is our hope in “heaven?” What are we going to do in hope of reaching eternal bliss? The societally scripted dichotomy of being a man of science and a firm believer in the Lord presents a struggle with the notion of heaven. Where is this alleged divine creation of a mystical place with a ladder of angels ascending and descending? Accompanied by one’s birth, is the hope that they will find their meaning of life. Despite my limited years, I have been exposed to much world terror, political issues, economic depressions, and environmental scares. As a Christian, these events have posed the question of whether my living on this Earth is for myself or for the Lord. Wright provides two ways for Christians and others alike to follow: the first is to follow the cryptic “code” of the Bible. To follow such a code, one must “decode” the Bible and align their lives to the truth hidden deep

James Fowler developed his stages of faith after conduction in-depth interviews of 359 people. The sample subjects were predominately white, with equal numbers of males and females and included a wide range of ages, from three and a half to 84 years old. Fowler’s interviews consisted of 30 plus questions regarding the subject’s life experiences, relationships, values, commitments and religion. After analyzing the responses, Fowler placed each subject in one of six faith stages. The responses indicated that as the subject’s age increased, so did their stage of faith (Hutchison, 2015).

Some adults may live much of their lives with a literal faith. Stage three is group faith Young people start to value the importance of friendship and often come to view God as one who treats them much like a trusted companion. Stage four is person faith. People strengthen their faith by questioning earlier beliefs. Stage five is mystical faith. At this stage of faith the awareness of God’s inner presence leads one to become more aware that God also dwells in others. Interfaith dialogue now becomes not a threat but an opportunity for new understanding. Stage six is sacrificial faith. Jesus, Dorothy Day, and Archbishop Romero are examples of this sacrificial faith. Such people display radical and consistent commitment to the doing of God’s will that is uncompromised by concern for personal security.

There are a lot of young and old Christians that practice their religion and attend churches often. But many studies have found that regardless of the religion practiced, many older men and women become more “spiritual” as they age and become older (Levin, J. S., & Chatters, L. M. (1998). As one gets old and closer to the “end” of life, philosophical thoughts about death, creation and life after death begin to linger. No wonder then that many older Americans become more practicing of their religions. Many scholars have said that this is for two main reasons. One is that they want to get closer to their God, to be happy and be sure that they will attain the pleasure of God instead of the wrath. The second is this general benefit to health. Religiosity seems to have medicinal value and is practiced by those that are hospitalized and the elderly. Honest spirituality (or intrinsic religiosity) reduces many stress factors and diseases like depression (University of Oklahoma, Medicine and Spirituality

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center as part of a broader Religious Landscape Study, 78 percent of people who do not identify with any religious group were raised in a faith system and then left as adults. Further, about half of those people said that a lack of belief caused them to leave their faith, citing, among other things, "science" and "lack of evidence" as reasons for this skepticism.

Presented with the task of assessing someone’s faith development required the answers to three essential questions. How has social learning played a part in the individual’s religious development? How has attachment played a part in the individual’s religious development? Upon answering these questions we must then evaluate the stages of faith development in which the individual is in according to James Fowler and David Elkind. After thorough evaluation has occurred the question pertaining to the role of doubt can then be answered. With these questions in mind, the theory that religious beliefs and adherence to spiritual faith are ultimately tested and proved during adolescence was the driving thought throughout the process of interviewing

In today’s world, many Americans are religious--some more than others. Many Americans think that

Eighteen options were offered as choices for this question, excluding the categories of atheist and agnostic. The responses to each category have not been captured in the survey results, owing to certain privacy concerns. However, the percentage of none as a choice was calculated from the annual survey results. Moreover, the sample for this question excluded the Californians after 1997.

     Considering my thoughts on the afterlife is something I have done several times in my life. My views and beliefs have changed over the years regarding this subject. My Catholic upbringing was probably where my first views came from. They were the traditional heaven and hell beliefs and also of purgatory. Today my thoughts are not so black and white.

Educators need to understand the impact of religion on the lives of their students. According to Gallup poll data, nearly 95% of teens believe in God and 86% believe that Jesus Christ is either God or the Son of God (Gallup & Lindsay, 1999 as cited in Ream, 2003). These and other similar statistics demonstrate the importance of considering religion when dealing with young people. Ream

The Existential questions which are important to ask are, Why do we suffer? What happens after we die? and does god exist? Many religions will have answers for these questions, however the comparison between the Catholic viewpoint and the Secular Humanist viewpoint will be argued in this report.

       In a recent survey the American Religious Identification said that 15% say they are unaffiliated about 18-34-year-old people claim to have no religion. Professor of the University of Akron John Green says that Brand loyalty should not be confused with faith.

A study of American undergraduates indicated that the beliefs about the nature of life after death were quite complicated. A 41-item questionnaire produced 12 independent groups of beliefs. Belief in an internal locus of control and that one’s life is owned by God were associated with a more positive view of the afterlife, as was being Roman Catholic rather than Protestant. The most common beliefs were that one is reunited with family and friends, that the afterlife is comforting, that there is Heaven and that the transition is peaceful, all believed by more than 90 percent of the students.

Religious faith is important to most Americans, with approximately 95% of Americans reporting belief in God and about 50% being active in church organizations (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Despite the widespread prevalence of religious beliefs in society, some researchers have maintained that religion and religious beliefs are often neglected in psychological research (Jones, 1994; Plante, 1996). This neglect stems from a couple of different factors. First, it is difficult for psychologists to overcome the fact that believers in many religions claim to have unique access to the truth. Secondly, truly theological questions such as the existence of God or the nature of an afterlife are often ignored by scientists. This may be in part a

To begin with, religion is one aspect of my life that I could not be happy without. My brothers and I have formed this conviction in the Lord from being taught the right way. My father is the minister at Sims Hill Christian Church and he has always taken us to every church service held as long as we were able. It has always been a priority in the Jones’ household to read the Bible and to present ourselves in the correct manner. Without God, the pursuit of happiness