Is It Ever Justifiable . . . ?
I do hope that your summer is off to a good start. Mine has been pretty event filled. I was able to get away with my family to the Hill Country for a few days before kicking off our summer classes. Now that we are up and running with new adult classes, I am back to blogging.
I’ve been reading After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty somethings and Thirty Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion, and I have to applaud the author Robert Wuthnow for conducting such careful research and comparing his own work to other statistical surveys.
One study that he looks back at is the World Values Surveys that have been conducted since 1980 in about 65 countries. Repeatedly, they have asked repeatedly to rank on a scale of one to ten whether the following activities are ever justifiable:
- Claiming government benefits to which you are not entitled
- Avoiding a fare on public transport
- Cheating on taxes if you have a chance
- Someone accepting a bribe in the course of their duties
- Homosexuality
- Prostitution
- Abortion
- Euthanasia – ending the life of the incurably sick
The answers, of course, are interesting. Among American young adults (ages 21-45) who attended church regularly in the 1980’s, the statistics show a positive correlation. Those who went to church believed that all of the above activities are never justifiable.
However, Wuthnow notes, “by 2000 that pattern had changed” (p. 147). What’s interesting is to note exactly how things have changed.
Homosexuality, prostitution, abortion, and euthanasia still show a positive correlation. In fact, there are noticable gains on all fronts. Those who go to church think such activities are morally wrong.
But it’s not the case with money.
Wuthnow has looked at the stats and feels its unfortunate that going to church doesn’t seem to change how people think about “bribes or other matters of financial ethics” (p. 148).
Claiming benefits, cheating on taxes, avoiding payment for services rendered, and bribes are now morally gray areas for church attenders.
Does this surprise you? I think it’s quite a commentary on our society- especially since the study was conducted pre- recession.
Sad indeed. Causes me to recall the story told by one of our missionaries to the Philipines and his struggle to get a driver’s license. He went to the agency much like our DPS and was to ppay the fellow in the room an amount and he would take the test for him. He refused at first taking the test himself. Being a bright fellow he knew he had put down the correct answers and was shocked when the lady at the desk made a big red X-mark across the page. On questioning she pointed to the fellow in the room and the missionary knew what she meant. So, he did the only thing available to him and sadly paid up. He found the same situation at the visa office. Pay up or go home to America were the choices that confronted him. All this is technically illegal of course and all done completely shamelessly in the open.
Are we headed in the same direction? I must wonder considering the results of this book.
Allan Landin