Religion and war

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life presents interesting findings on religion and the war in Iraq.

The March 13-16 poll of 1,032 adults was conducted before Pres. Bush's March 17 speech on Iraq that preceded by two days the start of bombing.

The survey found that while most regular churchgoers heard about the war from the pulpit, only 17% said their religious beliefs were the biggest influence on their thinking about the war.

"Few people say their religious beliefs are shaping their views on Iraq," a Pew report on the survey said, "unlike the relatively large percentage who report this about social and moral issues like gay marriage, abortion or the death penalty."

Some 20% of Americans said their clergy had taken a position on the war. For white Catholic and African-American churchgoers that was most likely an anti-war message, while for white evangelical Protestants it was most likely a pro-war message.

And what did Americans think of what they heard? Some 32% said they thought religious leaders said too little about war in Iraq; 34% thought it was the right amount; 15% said it was too much; 19% said they didn't know.

Of those who oppose the war, 42% thought religious leaders said too little, but 39% of those who favor military action said the comments by religious leaders had been about right.

So what influenced the respondents' thinking on the war? For 41% it's the media, 16% personal experience, 11% educational background, 10% religious beliefs (17% for regular churchgoers) and 7% friends and family. The rest gave other reasons.

Some 77% of the respondents said, in general, war is sometimes morally justified, while 19% said war is never justified.

What worries do people have about the war? For 47%, their biggest worry about the war was that the United States would not go far enough to achieve military victory. But 32% said they were more concerned that the United States would not do enough to avoid civilian casualties.

Catholics (34%) and those with no religious affiliation (37%) were more likely to cite civilian casualties as a concern compared with mainline Protestants (25%) and white evangelicals (23%).

While religion is not the prime factor in determining thinking about war, the survey does seem to indicate that people look to their church for answers about war -- just as they do for other issues of morality. The challenge, then, may be for church leaders to speak more often and more decisively on the morality of war and how war is part of a culture of death and a violation of the gospel of life.