From The Guardian, the world’s most marvelous newspaper:
The report found that 55% of people with faith placed themselves on the left of politics, compared with 40% who placed themselves on the right. The report also suggests that people with faith are more likely to value equality over freedom than their non-religious counterparts. It discloses that 41% of people with religious views prioritise equality over freedom, compared with 36% of those without faith. The report, based on an analysis of the European Values Study, also finds evidence that people who belong to a religious organisation are more likely to say they are very interested in politics, to have signed a petition and to have participated in a demonstration.
I’m not surprised. Jesus, bless his mythological self*, cared about the poor and the sick, unlike the phoney-baloney so-called Christians I pummel in blog posts. The self-professed religious moralists who promote bigotry (by opposing same-sex marriage), sexism (attacking women’s reproductive rights), ignorance and stupidity (squabbling over evolution, climate change and the geological age of the earth) and inequality (fighting against progressive taxation, social programs and whatnot) need to be called out.
I am well aware that the loudest voices on the Christian political right — who have the most selfish, self-serving and convenient morality I’m aware of outside of a Canadian Council for Chief Executives Bahamas retreat — are not necessarily representative of the values of most Christians.
That said, I wonder what a North American version of this poll would reveal.
Speaking of morality, how about this:
The survey of 2000 Canadians, commissioned by the left-leaning Broadbent Institute, found that 23 per cent are “very willing” and 41 per cent are “somewhat willing” to pay slightly more tax in order to protect social programs such as health care, post-secondary education and pensions. The Broadbent Institute, named after the NDP’s former leader Ed Broadbent, argues that protecting social programs would help reduce income inequality. Liberal and NDP voters are the most supportive of this proposal, the results showed, but 58 per cent of Conservative voters are also in favour of it.
Canadians can be a decent bunch. Too bad we have these terrible governments.
*No offence intended. Gotta call ’em like I see ’em. Besides, I have the highest regard for myths.
H/T to Ida Church