Are Old People Really TOO Religious?

TOO much religion? Or, when is TOO much, TOO much?

The bi-monthly “AARP The Magazine” for September/October, 2007, at p. 59, by Bill Newcott, includes a study on religious beliefs of Americans over 50 years of age. 1,011 people were surveyed.

To the statement, “I believe in life after death” 73% agreed. More women (80%) than men (64%) shared that belief. 86% responded positively to the question, “Do you believe in Heaven?” But a second question showed that only 40% believe it is a place while 47% think it is a state of being.

94% said they believed in a GOD who was personified, that is, as Man is made in God’s image, therefore, GOD shares characteristics with man. See the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo for his pictorial of God.

76% believe in Hell. Curiously, 23% of all respondents said they believed in re-incarnation. 60% of women and 44% of men say they believe in ghosts or spirits are inhabiting this world. 64% of Baby Boomers believe in ghosts but only 38% of the remaining Greatest Generation do.

But most encouraging to me is this: 77% of the respondents said they were not worried or frightened about what happens to them after their death. As Alfred E. Neuman asked 4 decades ago, “What, me worry?”

[edit on 9/13/2007 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
94% said they believed in a GOD who was personified, that is, as Man is made in God’s image, therefore, GOD shares characteristics with man. See the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo for his pictorial of God.

That's not what 'made in Our Image' means. It doesn't mean that God has two arms and two legs and eyes .... Made in Our Image means made for eternity, with a spirit, to live forever. It has nothing to do with a physical body.

The Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo didn't know how to picture God. He was sitting in a tavern trying to figure out how to do it and he saw a man in the tavern. He decided to sketch the man and use him as 'God'.

True story. God - in the Sistine Chapel - is the face of an anon. man in a tavern.

BTW - what is 'too religious'?

So old folks (like me) believe in a creator God and we pray to it asking for help while we are in our physical bodies.

How is that 'too much'?? Us oldsters who believe in God don't have much power on this planet anyways. (the real power is the shadow power - The Trilats, CFR, etc)

I can see a couple of cultural explainations for this.

One is that it's a reflection of the culture they grew up under, which was religious in a very different way than today. Christianity was enforced by a number of measures and there was less religous freedom than today.

The second thing that occurs to me is that churches do form support groups, and people with extended social networks have a more positive health outcome. People from their churches call on them, worry about them when they're sick, etc. And this means they get better health care than the poor isolated souls who don't have a big social circle.

As one grows older and faces their mortality, it makes more sense to have some type of formalized religion in your life.

A person has a hard time accepting "this is all there is". Afterlife looks a lot better and reincarnation ... there's the ticket. I'll die and just come back, again!

No one knows what happens after death BUT everyone hopes and prays for the best.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Too religious? Maybe spending their time more productively or doing things more immediately helpful like working at the soup kitchen. Prayer? When it’s dry, we pray for rain. When it floods, we pray it stops raining. How does GOD know what to do?

In the First Great War, the Germans prayed for Victory. The French prayed for Victory. The English pared for Victory. The Russians prayed for Victory. The Austrians prayed for Victory. 20 million dead bodies later, who had the Victory?

[edit on 9/13/2007 by donwhite]

there is an explanation for this phenomenon. i've heard it described as "cramming for the final"
people who are otherwise benignly religious become fervently so because of their fears of impending death.

now, i think that the elderly should actually be doing something productive... teaching the younger people about the mistakes they made in the past so they aren't repeated in the future

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


madnessinmysoul: i think that the elderly should actually be doing something productive... teaching the younger people about the mistakes they made in the past so they aren't repeated in the future.

Don W: Basically a good idea Mr M/I/M/S but for one problem. If most old guys are like me, we’ve made too many mistakes to admit to. The younger people would not be awed for the right reasons. They would be surprised we’d made it this far. Besides, no one learns from another’s mistakes. Sad but true.

[edit on 9/13/2007 by donwhite]

Some would argue as wisdom approaches one may more see the spiritual side. Otherwise they'd believe more beaucase it's easy for them to cope with the coming years and death.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


madnessinmysoul: i think that the elderly should actually be doing something productive... teaching the younger people about the mistakes they made in the past so they aren't repeated in the future.

Don W: Basically a good idea Mr M/I/M/S but for one problem. If most old guys are like me, we’ve made too many mistakes to admit to. The younger people would not be awed for the right reasons. They would be surprised we’d made it this far. Besides, no one learns from another’s mistakes. Sad but true.

[edit on 9/14/2007 by donwhite]

reply to post by dreamingawake


dreamingawake Some would argue as wisdom approaches one may more see the spiritual side. Otherwise they'd believe more because it's easy for them to cope with the coming years and death.

I’m past the Bible’s promised “three score and ten” years. Because I have good health I’m not the slightest bit interested in dying. OTOH, should I become afflicted with some disease or disorder making life very unhappy, then I’d want to end it on my own. With a Dr Kivorkian along to make sure I don’t “bungle” the job. The right to die is a human right and I don’t take kindly to those feckless busy-bodies who want to inject themselves into my life or death.

In Sam Harris’s 2006 book, he carefully distinguished between the belief in GOD and the belief in the belief in GOD. Catchy and maybe confusing at first but if you stay with it you can get the very real difference in the two concepts. Harris thinks 80% of Americans believe in the belief in GOD. But he says only 20% of those actually think there is some GUY in the SKY out there. The rest think it is just a good idea.

The other 20% of Americans really don’t believe in a SKY GUY but for various reasons they find it inconvenient to say so out loud. Religionists of all stripes are not known for their tolerance. I have an 8 word put-down for those who can’t leave me alone about GOD. I tell them, “IF God made me, then I’m not worried.” OK, 9 words.

My own first anti God-concept thought came to me at age 8! I still recall NOT believing the Sunday School Bible card depicting the story of Jonah and the whale. Or “big fish” as it is also alluded to. Nothing has happened in my lifetime to change my mind. Au contraire. My earliest perceptions have been constantly confirmed and reinforced.

For those of you who did not pay attention, GOD wanted to convert Nineveh, the largest and most advanced city of the time. HE chose Jonah to go several hundred miles across a desert and deliver a message he Jonah, knew the Ninevehites did not want to hear. Jonah did not want to go. GOD had a whale (or a fish) swallow Jonah but GOD then caused the whale to burp up Jonah after 3 days in its belly. And still alive.

Jonah quickly realized it would be a good idea to obey GOD. Off he went to Nineveh but we all know, Nineveh was not converted. Hmm? My quarrel with the whole story was this: If GOD could spoke th Universe into existence, why did HE not just WILL Nineveh to be obedient? Oh well, you can’t find much logic in the GOD concept in 2007.

[edit on 9/14/2007 by donwhite]

how is this even a conpiracy? this should be in BTS...people dont know how to read.

Originally posted by DigitalGrl
how is this even a conspiracy? this should be in BTS...people don't know how to read.

Well now in my opinion it is the ultimate deception and or conspiracy. It is the only way that people could be controlled in the past. Burning witches and hanging heretics was a pretty profound way to meet the needs of the churches for complete and utter control.
Last night I was at my in laws visiting my husbands uncle Leo from Montana. He is 70 years old and in poor health and low socioeconomic status. I began to ask him what source of back up heat does he have in the event of a power outage and in short he commented that "They have never gone out!" Quite proud of this fact and in complete trust of his past experience felt no need to be prepared for anything out of the norm. Ok. Well I mentioned Global warming and that was it, he became angry and animated beyond what anyone knew was possible for the feeble old man and went into a tirade about it being a hoax and perpetrated by the evils of the demented science community. I backed off and tried to calm things down a bit by stating that it is in a sense nothing to the earths natural cycles. All was fine until I mentioned from what science has discovered about the past cycles of a mini ice age or something to that affect, Wow you'd think I had hit him with a stick! He flew up out of his wheelchair with hand raised in the air informed me that the universe and this earth was not a day over 6,000 years old! I'll stop here as it went down hill from there and I left for a walk but was in shock that people actually believe that nonsense. I don't think that it has to do with age just blind faith in a dying belief system that has long out lasted its usefulness.

reply to post by antar


There is no denying that many people if not most get differing degrees of comfort and pleasure from some or all aspects of religion. People often ask “pray for me” or say “I’m praying for you” but no one expects prayers to work; when it does ”work" it’s called a miracle!

Just a couple days ago I heard what I regarded as a reliable source say the Catholic Church has only 18 “verified” miracles at Lourdes despite 1000s of claims and millions of supplicants who come there annually. No one of scientific bent believed for one minute that the Sun stood still at Fatima, but neither did we doubt the sincerity of the people who brought us that story. Believing something does not make it so.

Anthropologists say religion must have begun 70,000 years ago. Even before language. I agree that now it is time to put religion behind us. It is more a dragging factor on society than an uplifting force. Reminds me of the OT’s Elijah who tested GOD when he confronted the prophets of Baal, in a “light my fire” at the alter contest. 1 Kings 18: 23-29. But then was then and now is now. No more burning water here.

[edit on 9/14/2007 by donwhite]

Originally posted by donwhite
TOO much religion? Or, when is TOO much, TOO much?

The bi-monthly “AARP The Magazine” for September/October, 2007, at p. 59, by Bill Newcott, includes a study on religious beliefs of Americans over 50 years of age. 1,011 people were surveyed.

To the statement, “I believe in life after death” 73% agreed. More women (80%) than men (64%) shared that belief. 86% responded positively to the question, “Do you believe in Heaven?” But a second question showed that only 40% believe it is a place while 47% think it is a state of being.

94% said they believed in a GOD who was personified, that is, as Man is made in God’s image, therefore, GOD shares characteristics with man. See the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo for his pictorial of God.

76% believe in Hell. Curiously, 23% of all respondents said they believed in re-incarnation. 60% of women and 44% of men say they believe in ghosts or spirits are inhabiting this world. 64% of Baby Boomers believe in ghosts but only 38% of the remaining Greatest Generation do.

But most encouraging to me is this: 77% of the respondents said they were not worried or frightened about what happens to them after their death. As Alfred E. Neuman asked 4 decades ago, “What, me worry?”

[edit on 9/13/2007 by donwhite]

This is a biased article,I don't think You can believe in God and Worship Him too Much!