Many Worry About Country's Morality, Not Their Own

Kai Sandvig | Correspondent | Published: Aug 15, 2006

Many Worry About Country's Morality, Not Their Own

(CNSNews.com) - A majority of Americans are concerned about their country's morality, but not their own, according to a survey by the Barna Group released Monday.

Four-fifths of those surveyed said they feel "accepted by God," while an equal number are "concerned about the nation's moral condition."

The survey found that 75 percent of respondents are open to different moral views than their own, but one-quarter said they are "often trying to persuade others to change their views." Additionally, 66 percent said that they "like to be in control," and slightly more than half said they are "very convinced that I am right about things in life."

Researchers conducted nine rounds of telephone surveys questioning more than 1,000 American adults in each. Eighty-six percent expressed concern for the nation's moral condition, while 88 percent believe they are in good standing with God.

The survey recorded the highest reported stress levels in five years, with one in three respondents describing themselves as feeling "stressed out."

Eight of ten people surveyed reported feeling "at peace," but two-thirds say they are "concerned about terrorist attacks."

A spokesman for Barna would not comment on the seemingly contradictory responses to many of the survey's questions.

The poll asked respondents to rate themselves on 33 descriptive words and phrases. Most identified themselves with those adjectives generally perceived as positive, such as "friendly" (94 percent) and "generous" (90 percent), while rejecting those perceived as negative, such as "unfulfilled" (21 percent) and "overweight" (40 percent).

The survey has a plus-or-minus 3.2 percent margin of error, and a 95 percent confidence level.

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Many Worry About Country's Morality, Not Their Own