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Written by support@ifghosting.com
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Study: Religious Congregations Have Lowest Mortality Rate Religious congregations in the United States have a "mortality rate" of 1 percent, which is the lowest among other organizations, according to a newly published study. About 10 out of every 1,000 religious congregations disband each year, sociologists at the University of Arizona and Duke University found. The low rate of demise revealed that the religious organizations are some of the strongest in the nation, the report stated. Among volunteer-based social service groups, peace movement organizations and other groups studied over the last two decades, at least 5 percent shut their doors each year. Only child care centers in Toronto came close to the low 1 percent mortality rate that religious congregations have, the study noted. Despite the low rate of closures, Duke Univesity professor Mark Chaves cautioned that it could mean that "weak congregations limp along rather than die, whereas in other organizational populations weak units die rather than live on in a weakened state.”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 June 2008 )
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Written by support@ifghosting.com
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Poll: Most Americans Say Moral Climate is Getting Worse Few Americans give the country's moral climate high marks, and the latest survey revealed that they feel it's only getting worse. According to a Gallup Poll released Thursday, 81 percent of Americans say the state of moral values in the country as a whole is getting worse while only 11 percent believe it's getting better. Currently, only 15 percent of Americans overall consider moral values to be "excellent" or "good;" 41 percent say the moral climate is "only fair;" and 44 percent consider the moral state to be "poor." Republicans, compared to Democrats and independents, feel more strongly that there's a moral decline in America. In 2006, 36 percent of both Republicans and Democrats said the overall state of moral values is poor. But over the last two years, Republicans have grown to feel significantly more negative with 51 percent calling the country's current moral state poor compared to 40 percent of Democrats. Although the report by Gallup pointed to issues of gay "marriage," pop-star misbehavior and sex scandals as possible reasons for why Republicans have become so critical of the moral state in recent years, it did not confirm whether any of those issues contributed to Republicans' views.
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