U.S. spiritually is ‘adolescent’
The Presbyterian Layman, December 14, 1998
America is in “spiritual adolescence,” pollster George Gallup Jr. said in a story published in The Christian Science Monitor.
Americans have realized that materialism, alcohol, and drugs can’t satisfy them, and are seeking spiritual answers, Gallup told the Christian Science Publishing Society. “We’ve learned from this century that when we try to do it alone, we don’t do too well,” he said.
However, most Americans are immature about spiritual things, and “don’t know what they believe and why. There’s great biblical illiteracy. Some of the spirituality is more self-oriented than God-oriented.”
Gallup’s organization is conducting surveys to learn more about people’s spiritual experiences. “We know virtually nothing about the profound experiences people have that are life-transforming. … Little has been done on the effects of prayer,” he said. A study is being done on “24 hours in the spiritual life of America” with 250 families, the Christian Science Monitor said.