LIFEWAY RESEARCH: Is this earthly life as good as it gets?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Special) – U.S. adults today are more likely to regularly wonder about meaning and purpose in this life, but less likely to strongly believe finding a higher meaning and purpose is important. That’s one of the conclusions of a just-released study from LifeWay Research, a branch of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville.

The study also found that Americans today were more likely to contemplate whether they will go to heaven when they die, but less likely to strongly believe there is more to life than this physical world.

“In the midst of such a discouraging season, fewer Americans are convinced there is something more to this life than their daily activities,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “A large majority still lean toward there being an ultimate purpose for a person’s life, but instead of escaping the pandemic with thoughts of something greater, far fewer strongly hold such a view.

“A growing number of Americans have become open to the idea that this might be as good as it gets.”

Pondering purpose

In the latest survey, most Americans said everyone’s life has a purpose and it’s important to them that they pursue their deeper purpose, but U.S. adults aren’t as sure about that as they were a decade ago.

Eighty-one percent said they believe there is an ultimate purpose and plan for every person’s life. Sixty-eight percent said a major priority in their life is finding their deeper purpose. Seventy-three percent said it’s important they pursue a higher purpose and meaning for their life.

Each of those percentages is similar to the 2011 survey, but there has been a significant shift from strong agreement to more hesitant agreement. Those who strongly agree with each statement dropped, while those who somewhat agree rose.

Growing pessimism

“Few Americans are ready to deny there is an ultimate purpose and plan for every person’s life, but more are stepping back from this driving their own pursuits.” McConnell observed. “Life has become a more pessimistic pursuit, with fewer going all out for something better.”

As Americans consider higher meanings, most believe they have found it. Fifty-nine percent in the latest survey said they have settled on a higher purpose and meaning for their life, with 28% disagreeing. Americans who said they are not affiliated with religion are the most likely to disagree (37%). Americans who belong to a religion other than Christianity were the most likely to agree (80%).

Among Christians today who were part of the latest survey, the more often they attend church the more likely they were to say they have found a higher purpose and meaning for their life. Fifty-one percent of those who attend less than once a month said they’ve found such meaning for their life, compared to 69% of those who attend one to three times a month and 76% of those who attend four times a month or more.

Forty-five percent said they wonder, “If I were to die today, do I know for sure that I would go to heaven?” Thirty-seven percent said they never think about that question, and 18% aren’t sure. Compared to the 2011 survey, more Americans today said they daily wonder if they’ll go to heaven (15% in 2020 versus eight percent in 2011), and fewer say they never think about it (37% in 2020 versus 46% in 2011). More now also say they aren’t sure how often they consider the question (18% in 2020 versus 12% in 2011).

Believe it or not

Christians in the latest survey who attend worship services four times a month or more (46%) were as likely to say they never wonder about their eternal destination as the religiously unaffiliated (47%), but perhaps for different reasons. The non-religious respondents were more likely to say they never ponder if they will go to heaven when they die than Protestants (37%) and Catholics (26%).

“The question of going to heaven doesn’t cross the minds of people who don’t believe in heaven, and those who are completely certain they will go to heaven,” McConnell pointed out. “While the Bible teaches one can be certain a place is prepared for [them] in heaven, nearly half of Americans pause each year wondering if heaven is waiting for them.”

Beyond this life

Even if most Americans aren’t regularly contemplating their admittance to heaven, the vast majority believe there is more to life than just what they can see. Eighty-five percent of respondents believed there is more to life than the physical world and society. Nine percent disagreed and six percent were not sure.

With respect to that question, the total agreement percentages in the latest survey were similar to the 2011 survey, but there was significant movement away from certainty. In 2011, 67% strongly agreed and 21% somewhat agreed. Today, 43% strongly agree and 42% somewhat agree.

In the latest study, Americans ages 18-49 were more likely to say there is more to life than the physical world (87%), compared to ages 65 and older (79%). The religiously unaffiliated were the most likely to disagree (20%).

Complete reports

To view a presentation on the complete 2020 study, visit https://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Americans-Sept-2020-Meaning-Purpose-Report.pdf.

To view a presentation on the 2011 study, visit http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DOC_LifeWay_Research_American_Views_of_Spirituality.pdf.

Methodology

The online survey of 1,200 Americans was conducted Sept. 9-23, 2020 using a national pre-recruited panel. Quotas and slight weights were used to balance gender, age, region, ethnicity, education and religion to more accurately reflect the population.

The sample includes an over-sample of Americans with evangelical beliefs providing additional reliability for breakouts of this group. Totals for all Americans reduce these responses to their correct proportion through weighting.

The completed sample is 1,200 surveys. The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error from the panel does not exceed plus or minus 3.2%. This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Comparisons are made to a Lifeway Research survey conducted Sept. 23-26, 2011 among 2,144 Americans using an online panel.