Being Absolutely Certain Has Its Downsides

Yesterday in my sermon I referred to one of the largest studies in recent years of religious beliefs and practices. It was published in 2008 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in a report called the "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey." It can be found here.

In the study 36,000 Americans were asked various questions about their belief in God, religious affiliation, and perspectives on prayer, miracles, heaven, and scripture. They also were asked a series of questions about attendance at religious services and participation in prayer groups and other religious activities.

A very large percentage (92%) of Americans profess belief in God or a universal spirit, even a fair number who, ironically, claim they are agnostic or atheist. When respondents were pushed how certain they were, 71% said they were absolutely certain about their belief and 17% claimed they were fairly certain. About 12% of Americans are fairly certain there is not a God, simply don't know or don't have an opinion about the matter, or did not answer the question.

I was surprised by how many persons indicated they are not absolutely certain there is a God or a universal spirit. I would like to think almost everybody would be confident we are not alone in this world and that God not only created us but is seeking to guide us to the fulfillment of God's intention for the world.

Yet there is something to not being so certain about everything. I occasionally find persons who are absolutely certain about something to be dead wrong. I too have proclaimed certainty about a matter and discovered later I was wrong. Ask my wife about the number of times I have claimed I am absolutely or fairly certain about the directions to someplace and then gotten lost.

Perhaps some of those who are fairly certain but not absolutely certain about God or God's nature bring some important perspectives and questions to the table that benefit all of us. I notice that many of the Psalms seem to move back and forth from doubt to certainty.

Perhaps God wants us to wonder and be somewhat troubled about these matters so we don't become so complacent and absolutely certain about God's nature that we get the most important parts wrong.