May 7, 2001
Christians less likely to fight AIDS
___GLENDALE, Calif. (RNS) --Evangelical Christians are less supportive of AIDS education and prevention programs abroad than other Christians and non-Christians, a new poll from the Barna Research Group has concluded.
___Just 3 percent of evangelical Christians intended to give money to such programs, compared with 8 percent of non-Christians and 8 percent of "born-again" Christians, the California-based group concluded in its survey of 1,003 adults.
___Barna defines "born-again" as those Christians who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that remains important in their lives and know they will go to heaven after death because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus as Savior.
___Evangelical Christians, a subset of "born-again" Christians, also were less supportive of programs for children orphaned by AIDS, even though they were twice as likely as all adults to help needy children abroad.
___African-Americans were the most likely of any group to help AIDS education programs (19 percent) and children made orphans by AIDS.
___Among all Americans, just 39 percent would be likely to help AIDS education and treatment, the report found. Slightly more people (46 percent) would help AIDS orphans. Seniors, married people and mainline churchgoers were least likely to be supportive of such causes.
___Most cited other charitable obligations, a lack of money and greater concern for issues within the United States as the main reasons why they would be less supportive of helping other countries cope with the AIDS epidemic.
___"Regrettably, this fits into the general landscape of a nation with decreasing support for problems outside its borders," read a statement from Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, the organization that sponsored the report.
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