So even with my belief about lighting up the darkness...It's now Christmas week, so maybe it is time to do some seasonal blog posts. So today's topic is Angels.
When I was working on a lesson plan this past week for our World Religions class, I did some research on the topic of Angels. I was amazed to find that numerous polls by different organizations (news, university research, and religious organizations) over the past two decades reported that the majority of Americans believe in angels, particularly guardian angels. The data shows that this majority (generally ranging from 55% to 72%) is consistent within different Christian or Jewish religions or political persuasions. Actually, studies among adult Americans in the past few years say that more people believe in angels (55%) than believe in evolution (39%), human-created global warming (36%), or either ghosts of UFOs (each had 34% believing in them).
The believe in angels among adolescents is even stronger. It has grown steadily from 1978, when only 64% of the 13-17 year olds polled said they believed in angels, to 76% angelic believers in 1994. Belief in angles outstrips those among teenagers who reported believing in other supernatural people or activities, beating belief in astrology, ESP, mind reading, witchcraft, ghosts, Bigfoot, or vampires.
So it seems that for the majority among us, no longer do we need to sing only about "Angels We Have Heard on High." Most of us, particularly among perhaps not middle schoolers, but certainly high schoolers, believe that angels play a role in our personal lives, protecting us from harm or conveying important spiritual messages to us.
What I find very funny is that only about half of the people who believe in angels and such also believe in demons and other "dark side" entities. This is a great reminder that people should not be considered logical beings. Or maybe that people are optimistic, after all.
ReplyDeleteQuite a number of New Thought or New Age religions or spiritual movements teach that in the spiritual realm, there is only good, and whatever "dark side" there is comes only from human fear, ignorance, or other human traits and/or behaviors. I personally don't find a lack of duality to be illogical...but, of course, I am renowned for people one of the world's biggest optimists.
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