11/24/10
A Grey Matter research study (formerly Ellison Research) found that most American believe in the concept of sin, but they differ widely on what activities and behaviors constitute sin. The study defined sin as “something that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” The majority of Americans consider the following behaviors as sin: adultery, racism, using “hard” drugs such as cocaine and heroin, abortion, homosexual activity, not reporting income to the IRS, and saying nothing when a cashier gives you too much change. A significant portion (though not a majority) of American believe pornography is a sin, as is gossip, swearing, pre-marital sex, sexual thoughts toward someone to whom you are not married, harming the environment, smoking marijuana, drunkenness, and not taking proper care of your body. Less than one-third of American believe gambling, little white lies, tobacco usage, not attending church, playing the lottery, obesity, drinking alcohol, spanking your child, working on the Sabbath, or dancing are sins.
Interestingly, the findings show Americans define an action as sinful by degrees. For example, more than 80% believe adultery is a sin, but only 43% say the same about having sexual thoughts about someone to whom they are not married. More than 40% believe drunkenness is a sin, but only 14% believe drinking alcohol is. And 30% of Americans believe gambling is a sin but less than 20% say the same about the lottery.
President of Grey Matter Research Ron Sellers said, “We can see numerous inconsistent patterns of thought and belief throughout the responses. For instance, over a third of Americans believe failing to take care of their bodies is sinful, yet far fewer believe using tobacco or alcohol or obesity are sins.” He also pointed out that more than 40% of evangelicals said it was a sin not to tithe, yet relatively few actually do so. Most religions teach that lying is morally wrong, yet the majority of Americans feel “little white lies” are not sins. The study was conducted among a representative sample of 1,000 American adults.
