Church Going Americans More Likely To Support Torture

cnn.com:

The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.
The Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture rallied on Capitol Hill in March 2008.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Read the whole story: cnn.com

Comments

[ramal]

"Jesus wept."

[BlueZoo]

My favorite Biblical quotation! It showed His humanity! How He must be weeping now!

[CitizenRA]

And let's not forget The Inquisition!

[Grannysue]

Ah, but of course, how Christian of them!

[ranchero42]

There you go. Empirical evidence that 1) Pro-life does not mean pro-quality-of-life 2) Jesus has failed to deliver on his promise to free the flock from the laws of Moses (follow ME; He said). I turn my back on thee; I turn my back on thee; I turn my back on thee.

[HHUA]

Why am I not surprised?­... Going to church for many is not about being a good moral human being, but more about belonging to a club that gives justification to be self righteous. This would be the same "club" that carried out the Crusades and numerous wars (killing untold numbers of people) in the name of God... Including the travesty of the Iraq War, for which Bush (another self-righteous church goer), invoked the name of God once again!!! And let's not forget the terrorists themselves who ALSO use God as their reasoning to KILL!!!

Thanks, but I prefer the notion of "reason" to blind "faith" and prefer the non-religious in almost all forms, including the Deists who happen to be our Founding Fathers (men of "reason")!!!

[scat]

while your opinion is your opinion. Your last statement is incorrect.

Jerrerson and Franklin were deists. All others were affliated the major denominations of the time. Furthermore, roughly a third of the founding fathers were acting preachers.

Lastly, Franklin argued to have prayer said before every meeting.

Don't spread revisionist history to suit your opinion.

[roald]

I'll ask you to do the same and check your facts. Please use an unbiased source. Very few of the founding fathers were acting preachers, though many had college degrees in religion, very common for that time.

[roald]

Found some of the reference material for you.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/capital.asp - general information
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/bjcpa1.htm - specific information on founding fathers as affiliated with major denominations & acting preachers. For example, "Much has been made of Benjamin Franklin's suggestion that the Convention open its morning sessions with prayer. His motion was turned down, however, and not again taken up. Franklin himself noted that "with the exception of 3 or 4, most thought prayers unnecessar­y." (Ferrand, Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, rev. ed., Vol. 1, p.452.)" and "Although it had its share of strenuous Christians­... the gathering at Philadelphia was largely made up of men in whom the old fires were under control or had even flickered out. Most were nominally members of one of the traditional churches in their part of the country.. and most were men who could take their religion or leave it alone. Although no one in this sober gathering would have dreamed of invoking the Goddess of Reason, neither would anyone have dared to proclaim his opinions had the support of the God of Abraham and Paul. The Convention of 1787 was highly rationalist and even secular in spirit. (Clinton Rossiter, 1787; The Grand Convention, pp. 147-148.)"