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<H1 style="MARGIN: 24pt 0in 0pt"><FONT size=5><FONT color=#365f91><FONT
face=Cambria>Baylor Religion Survey reveals many see God steering
economy<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></FONT></H1>
<H3 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><SPAN id=byLineTag><FONT face="Times New Roman">By
Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY</FONT></SPAN></H3>
<P
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The way you see God tells a lot about how you see the U.S. economy, a new
national survey finds.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL type=disc>
<LI
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class=MsoNormal><A
href="http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2011/09/20/Survey-reveals-many-see-God-steering-economy-GMD8F0H-x-large.jpg"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none"><SPAN
style="mso-ignore: vglayout"><FONT size=3><IMG border=0
alt="Rep. Michele Bachmann at an Aug. 10 campaign appearance in Clive, Iowa."
src="cid:9FBE2C87104F40A2AF2C349273420228@cobra" width=245 height=184
v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1"></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></LI></UL>
<P
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Rep. Michele Bachmann at an Aug. 10 campaign appearance in Clive,
Iowa.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Enlarge<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
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class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Rep. Michele Bachmann at an Aug. 10 campaign appearance in Clive,
Iowa.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>About one in five Americans combine a view of God as actively engaged in
daily workings of the world with an economic conservative view that opposes
government regulation and champions the free market as a matter of
faith.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"They say the invisible hand of the free market is really God at work,"
says sociologist Paul Froese, co-author of the Baylor Religion Survey<I>,</I>
released today by Baylor University in Waco, Texas.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL type=disc>
<LI
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-outline-level: 3"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">BLOG:
<A
href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2011/09/god-economy-religion-money/1"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">What do you think?</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B>
<LI
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-outline-level: 3"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">MORE:
<A
href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/story/2011-09-20/god-meditate/50470354/1"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">Entrpreneurs more likely to pray,
meditate</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></LI></UL>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"They think the economy works because God wants it to work. It's a new
religious economic idealism," with politicians "invoking God while chanting
'less government,'" he says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: red; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"When Rick Perry or </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about Michele Bachmann"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/Politicians,+Government+Officials,+Strategists/U.S.+Representatives/Michele+Bachmann"><SPAN
style="COLOR: red"><FONT size=3>Michele Bachmann</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>
say 'God blesses us, God watches us, God helps us,' religious conservatives get
the shorthand. They see 'government' as a profane object — a word that is used
to signal working against God's plan for the </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about United States"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Places,+Geography/Countries/United+States"><SPAN
style="COLOR: red"><FONT size=3>United States</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>. To
argue against this is to argue with their
religion."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: red; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Most (81%) political conservatives say there is one "ultimate truth in
the world, and new economic information of cost-benefit analysis is not going to
change their mind about how the economy should work," Froese
says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>At the opposite pole, another one in five Americans don't see God
stepping in to their daily lives and favor reducing wealth and inequality
through taxation.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"So they're less likely to see God controlling the economy. Liberal
economic perspectives are synonymous with the belief that there is no one
'ultimate truth,'" Froese says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>This is a distinctly American cultural finding and specific to this point
in history. It was different in the past, it might be different in the future
and it's different now in </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about Western Europe"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Places,+Geography/Regions/Western+Europe"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>Western Europe</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>,
Froese says. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The survey of 1,714 U.S. adults, conducted by Gallup in fall 2010, was
funded by Baylor, the </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about National Science Foundation"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Organizations/Government+Bodies/National+Science+Foundation"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>National Science
Foundation</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3> and the John Templeton Foundation. The
margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage
points.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>It finds nearly three in four Americans (73%) say "I know God has a plan
for me." Within this group:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>•49% say "the government in Washington is trying to do too many things
that should be left to individuals and private businesses."
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>•79% say "able-bodied people who are out of work shouldn't receive
unemployment checks if they are passing up jobs they can
do."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>•92% say "anything is possible for those who work
hard."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>But people who weren't working (32% of those surveyed) answer
differently, says another Baylor co-author, sociologist Kevin
Dougherty.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Working people, paid or volunteer, were more likely (45%) to say the
government does too much than those who weren't working (37%). They were also
more likely (81% to 72%) to say healthy people don't deserve unemployment
benefits.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The idea of interwoven religious and economic views dates back decades to
sociologist and economist </FONT><A title="More news, photos about Max Weber"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Max+Weber"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>Max Weber</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>, says
Chris Christopher, a principal economist with </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about IHS Global Insight"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/IHS+Global+Insight"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT
title="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/IHS+Global+Insight
CTRL + Click to follow link"
size=3>IHS Global Insight</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>, a economic forecasting
firm. "Weber's classic work, <I>The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism</I>, explores this. I'm not saying everything Weber says is correct.
But there's a correlation — and a big debate over which causes
which."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNoSpacing><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>____________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
href="mailto:wayne.a.fox@gmail.com">wayne.a.fox@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>