{"id":1190,"date":"2008-10-22T13:17:14","date_gmt":"2008-10-22T17:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=1190"},"modified":"2012-10-03T10:30:19","modified_gmt":"2012-10-03T14:30:19","slug":"religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/","title":{"rendered":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America’s Role in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nAmericans See U.S. as Force for Good in the World,
\nBut Say Sometimes the U.S. Causes More Harm than Good<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc. for RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY and the United Nations Foundation.<\/p>\n

\n
Watch Now<\/div>\n

\"Religion<\/p>\n

\n

Watch Excerpts from a Washington press conference with:<\/p>\n

Anna Greenberg<\/a><\/p>\n

Kim Lawton<\/a><\/p>\n

Timothy Wirth<\/a><\/p>\n

John Hamre<\/a><\/p>\n

Timothy Shah<\/a><\/p>\n

Read the transcript of the entire conference<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nWatch excerpts from interviews about the Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation survey with pollster Anna Greenberg<\/a> and UN Foundation president Timothy Wirth<\/a>.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The September 2008 survey found that nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say the U.S. should be very actively engaged in world affairs and 70 percent believe America should be at least moderately involved. Most believe the nation should be actively involved in world affairs because of an explicit responsibility or moral obligation to take a leadership role in the world. At the same time, nearly eight-in-ten (79%) of Americans agree that sometimes U.S. involvement in world affairs causes more harm than good. Overall, Americans are equally split about whether the U.S. has a positive or negative impact on the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans remain very interventionist in their views about America’s role in the world and want the U.S. to take an activist role on the world stage,\u201d according to University of Oklahoma professor Allen Hertzke, a visiting scholar at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in an interview with RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY. But, he added, \u201cThey want us to be smart about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixty-eight percent of people who attend religious services at least once a week say America has a moral obligation to be involved in world affairs, compared to 54 percent of people who attend less frequently. Fifty-five percent of people who attend religious services every week say America\u2019s influence in the world has been positive, compared with 44 percent of people who attend less frequently,<\/p>\n

Americans view their country as a nation set apart from others. Most Americans believe God has uniquely blessed America (61% agree), and a similar number (59%) believe the US should set the example as a Christian nation to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

The findings are based on a national survey of 1,400 adults, including an oversample of 400 young evangelicals ages 18-29. The survey was conducted September 14-21, 2008, and has a margin of error of +\/- 3.1 percent. The survey results and report are available on the RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY Web site at pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics and will be the basis for a two-part broadcast series on America\u2019s role in the world and on the views of young evangelicals beginning October 24 (check local PBS listings).<\/p>\n

\n
View or Download the Data<\/div>\n
\n

Full Report<\/a> (PDF, 666 KB)<\/p>\n

Questionnaire<\/a> (PDF, 168 KB)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nViewing these files requires the free Adobe Reader<\/a>.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Additional Key Findings: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Eighty percent of people who attend religious services regularly believe that America is blessed by God and that America should set an example to the world as a Christian nation (77% agree). Only 48 percent of people who attend services less regularly agree that America is uniquely blessed by God, and 49 percent of them agree America should set an example as a Christian nation.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A substantial minority of Americans (41%) say they consider America\u2019s culture to be better than others, agreeing with the statement \u201cour people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others\u201d (21% strongly agree).<\/p>\n

\u2022 The most important foreign policy priority across the religious spectrum is controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons (80% of Americans, 86% of white evangelicals, 82% of Catholics, and 76% of mainline Protestants extremely\/very important). It is harder to find support for objectives that would require a significant, long-term investment of resources, such as improving the standard of living in developing countries (49% of Americans, 47% of white evangelicals, 45% of Catholics, and 47% of mainline Protestants extremely\/very important) or promoting democracy in other nations (39% of Americans, 48% of white evangelicals, 38% of Catholics, and 36% of mainline Protestants extremely\/very important).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Evangelical Protestants express the greatest support for an interventionist role on the part of the U.S., while more moderate religious groups such as mainline Protestants and Catholics
\ntake a less interventionist posture.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Evangelicals and traditional Catholics are more likely to believe the US is a positive presence in the world (58% and 53% positive respectively) than liberal Catholics, mainline Protestants and Americans who attend religious services only irregularly (37%, 45%, and 44% positive, respectively).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Young evangelicals have a broader definition of pro-life issues than older evangelicals. Sixty- three percent of young evangelicals (ages 18-29) agree that poverty, disease, and torture are pro-life issues, compared to 56 percent of older evangelicals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans See U.S. as Force for Good in the World, But Say Sometimes the U.S. Causes More Harm than Good Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has … More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2576,7435,979,980,1371,2572],"class_list":["post-1190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-foreign-policy","tag-foreign-aid","tag-humanitarian","tag-international","tag-survey","tag-un-foundation"],"yoast_head":"\nReligion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2008\/11\/surveypressconference.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Bailey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bailey\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d\"},\"headline\":\"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\\\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America’s Role in the World\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":812,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"American Foreign Policy\",\"foreign aid\",\"Humanitarian\",\"International\",\"survey\",\"UN Foundation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/\",\"name\":\"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\\\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d\"},\"description\":\"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2008\\\/10\\\/22\\\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\\\/1190\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\",\"description\":\"An examination of religion's role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/search-results\\\/?q={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d\",\"name\":\"Michael Bailey\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/author\\\/baileym\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","description":"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","og_description":"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.","og_url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/","og_site_name":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/","article_published_time":"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2008\/11\/surveypressconference.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Michael Bailey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_site":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Bailey","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Bailey","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d"},"headline":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America’s Role in the World","datePublished":"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00","dateModified":"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/"},"wordCount":812,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["American Foreign Policy","foreign aid","Humanitarian","International","survey","UN Foundation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/","name":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly\/UN Foundation Survey Explores Religion and America's Role in the World | October 22, 2008 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-10-22T17:17:14+00:00","dateModified":"2012-10-03T14:30:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d"},"description":"Despite a divided view of America\u2019s impact on the world, the vast majority of Americans believe the United States has a moral obligation to be engaged on the international stage, according to a new survey.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2008\/10\/22\/religion-ethics-newsweeklyun-foundation-survey-explores-religion-and-americas-role-in-the-world\/1190\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/","name":"Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly","description":"An examination of religion's role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/search-results\/?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/79737424ab595da57f7f35aadcd74d1d","name":"Michael Bailey","url":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/author\/baileym\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pbs-wnet-preprod.digi-producers.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}