February 5, 2001
Poll: Americans look to religion for aid
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--More Americans think religious groups and non-profit charities offer hope for solving the nation's problems than local or national governments, according to a new study released Jan. 31.
___The study, conducted by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, bodes well for President George W. Bush's plan to funnel more government money to faith-based groups in exchange for providing social services.
___"There's a receptivity in the American people for this kind of outreach," said Dwight Morse, president of the Campaign Study Group, which conducted the study. "Whether there's receptivity for it on Capitol Hill, or it proves constitutional or not, is another question."
___Just more than half of all Americans have volunteered in the past year, and about a quarter--60 million--volunteer on a regular basis, the study found. Seventy-eight percent of Americans have donated to charities or religious organizations in the past year.
___Asked to name their top concerns, 42 percent ranked a lack of well-paying jobs as a serious problem, followed by affordable health care (39 percent), illegal drugs (38 percent), unsupervised children and teenagers (37 percent) and a decline in moral values (35 percent).
___But when participants were asked where they would turn for help in addressing these problems, the federal government ranked 14th of 15 possible answers. Most people said local police (58 percent), followed by churches, synagogues and mosques (56 percent) and non-profit charities, such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill (53 percent).
___African-Americans were more likely to look to their churches for help, and women are slightly more likely than men to see religious organizations as crucial for addressing social ills. The survey also found links between religiously active citizens and how they feel about their surroundings. Sixty percent of people who feel connected to their communities said they attend worship regularly, and 31 percent of the "disconnected" do not attend services regularly.
___The most important finding in the survey, organizers said, is that people want to help but often are not sure where to turn.
___"What is clear is that religion is playing more and more of a role in our communities," said Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership. "People are ready, willing and able to help."
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