Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: credmond@watmath.waterloo.edu (Chris Redmond) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: poll of Presbyterians Message-ID: Date: 7 Jun 90 02:47:58 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Waterloo Lines: 28 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article cattanac@casca.cs.uiuc.edu (Scott Cattanach) writes: >I saw a poll taken of Presbyterians over the >question 'Do you consider pre-marital sex to be immoral?' The >breakdown of 'yes' answers went something like this: >60% lay members, average Joe-in-the-pew >40% elders >30% clergy >20% specialized clergy >It just struck me as odd that >the further up the chain you went, the lower the % that thought >pre-marital sex immoral. Comments? >[Specialized clergy would be clergy in positions other than pastor >of a church, I suspect. I don't think they're "higher". --clh] I suspect the outcome would be similar for many other questions about morality, social issues, even structural change in the church itself. Probable explanation: the more time you've spent thinking about moral or ecclesiastical or social issues, the more you've read about these subjects and heard lectures about them, and the more direct experience of other people's troubles and dilemmas you have had, the less likely you are to make black-and-white judgements about Right and Wrong. CAR credmond@watmath