If
Jesus were were alive today and one of the 300,000,000+ Americans weighing in
on these social issues, which issues would he support? How would he vote?
YouGov,
a non-partisan polling organization, published the results of a survey that
asked Americans to weigh in on several critical issues facing the country today
-- and then rate how they think Jesus would feel about the same issues. The
results highlight an American public often split by religion on hot-button
issues but generally more liberal than it believes Jesus would be.
Here
is a profile on the social values of Jesus Christ, according to American
voters:
1.
Jesus would not support gay marriage.
Although
55 percent of Americans support gay marriage, YouGov found that only 32 percent
believe Jesus would be in favor of same-sex unions. Of all religious and
demographic groups measures, only atheists and agnostics believed by a majority
that Jesus would support the issue.
2.
Jesus would oppose legal abortion.
Fifty-two
percent of Americans believe Jesus would oppose legal abortion, and 20 percent
believe he would support it. Forty-seven percent of U.S. adults describe
themselves as pro-choice, according to Gallup, and 50 percent support legal
abortion under certain circumstances. Sixty-eight percent of nonreligious
Americans say they are pro-choice, but most atheists and agnostics don't
believe Jesus would support abortion.
3.
Jesus would support universal healthcare. Obamacare
A
majority of Americans almost across the board believe that Jesus would be in
favor of universal healthcare, YouGov found. Fifty-four percent of Americans
support universal healthcare, and slightly more -- 55 percent -- believe Jesus
would support it. Thirty percent of Americans oppose, whereas only 19 percent
believe Jesus would oppose universal healthcare. The greatest discrepancy
appeared among those who pray several times a day, only 44 percent of whom
think Jesus would favor universal healthcare.
4.
Jesus would not support the death penalty for murderers.
Americans
are fairly split over how Jesus would feel about the death penalty for
murderers, but a majority agree that Jesus would not actively support it.
YouGov's survey found, though, that a majority of Americans themselves support
the death penalty for murderers, with the lowest support demonstrated at 18
percent of those who pray once a week and the highest support among the
wealthy.
5.
Jesus would not support stricter gun laws. Gun control
Although
just 45 percent of Americans believe Jesus would support stricter gun laws,
only 25 percent think he would oppose them and 29 percent aren't sure. So if
Jesus gathered his beliefs from the American public, he would be somewhat
undecided on the gun control issue. These numbers reflect how Americans
themselves fall on the issue of stricter gun laws, which may be due in part to
the fact that the majority of Americans think restricted access to guns does
not prevent killings.
6.
Jesus would not support high taxes on the wealthy.
Even
though he spent much of his life pastoring to the poor and marginalized,
according to gospel, Jesus apparently would not support taxing the wealthy at a
higher rate, Americans say. Fifty-one percent of American millionaires think
inequality is a "major issue" in this country, and 64 percent support
higher taxes for the wealthy, according to a 2014 CNBC poll. But just 47
percent of those whose family income is $100K or more believe Jesus would be in
favor of increasing taxes for the wealthy.
7.
Jesus would support reducing carbon emissions.
carbon
emissions
A
majority of Americans believe Jesus would support reducing carbon emissions,
though the survey did not specify how he would go about it. Would Jesus be a
solar-power advocate? A composter? We may never know. Sixty-seven percent of
Americans support the new Environmental Protection Agency rules aimed at
cutting carbon emissions 30 percent by 2013. Significantly fewer but still a
majority -- 52 percent -- believe Jesus would support reducing emissions, and
13 percent believe he would oppose doing so.
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