America’s Devout Aren’t as Close-minded as Many Assume

Last year, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life surveyed 35,000 Americans and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement "Many religions can lead to eternal life." This may surprise many who assume that religious Americans are intolerant of other religions, according to an article by David Van Biema on Time.com.

As most Christians historically have embraced the words of Jesus, in the Gospel of John, that "no one comes to the Father except through me," it came as a surprise to discover that 57% of Evangelical Christians were willing to accept that theirs might not be the only path to salvation. Although many branches of Christianity have become increasingly tolerant, Evangelicals have long held the tenet that Christianity is only the path to heaven.

Peter Berger, University professor of Sociology and Theology at Boston University, says the poll confirms that cultural issues mainly lie between small groups and that the high levels of tolerance and religiosity "is distinctively American - and rather cheering. "

Although the results of the survey are good news for many denominations, it may not be good for the Evangelicals, as it may mean they are less willing to evangelize, preaching that the path to salvation is through the acceptance that Christ died for the sins of the world. The problem, says Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is that "the cultural context and the reality of pluralism has pulled many away from historic Christianity."

Only Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses who answered in the majority that their own faith was the only way to eternal life.

Apparently, the shift towards tolerance began in the 1960s, when immigration quotas were loosened. Rice University sociologist D. Michael Lindsay, the author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite says, "If you have a colleague who is Buddhist or your kid plays with a little boy who is Hindu, it changes your appreciation of the religious 'other.' "

It is unclear whether or not the religious tolerance is a good thing, which will open up religious barriers or whether it will cause groups to band together even tighter over issues that come up in political arenas. But it will be tough for preachers and pastors to reconcile the traditional view of one path to heaven with the multicultural view of their parishioners.