Text of the Questionnaire

The text of the questionnaire, which was sent out to 400 undergraduates, is reproduced below. About 319 returns were obtained, a response of 78 per cent. Certain questions and responses have been deleted for considerations of space; however, these are covered in the specific articles, especially the features on politics and on Catholics, Protestants, and Jews at Harvard.

Where numbers connected by a hyphen are given (e.g. 100-99) this signifies the first number answered "yes", the second number answered "no" to the statement or question.

1. What is your age? 17-18: 70; 19: 87; 20: 72; 21: 65; 22-23: 15. College class? 1959: 61; '60: 70; '61: 75; '62: 89. Field of concentration? Humanities: 90; Social Science: 108; Natural Science: about 100.

2. In what sort of secondary school did you receive most of your education? 154 public; 73 private boarding; 69 private day; 3 parochial school.

5. In which one of the following religious traditions were you raised?

22 Roman Catholicism; 2 Eastern Orthodoxy; 183 Protestantism; 67 Judaism; 10 Other; 26 None.

6. To what degree was this religious tradition an influence in your upbringing?

68 very marked; 124 moderate; 89 slight; 26 none at all.

7. Has there been a period in which you have reacted either partially or wholly against this tradition?

195 yes; 78 no; 35 doubtful.

8. If such a reaction did occur, when did significant doubt start?

33 before secondary school; 127 during secondary school; 31 in your freshman year; 13 later in college.

9. If such a change occurred in college to what do you attribute it? (check the most important two or three)

10 courses dealing with religion; 29 increased reading in religion or philosophy; 13 independence from parental ideas; 72 increased thinking about religion and other related problems; 24 influence of friends; 2 personal contact with faculty-members; 6 other.

10. Have you experienced any sudden resurgence of religious faith and interest?

46 in your adolescence; 66 in college.

11. Would you say at the present time that you:

98 are in substantial agreement with the religious tradition in which they were raised; 157 partially agree with it but have important reservations; 44 wholly reject the religious tradition in which they were raised.

12. At the present time, with which of the following religious traditions are you formally affiliated?

20 Roman Catholicism; 1 Eastern Orthodoxy; 135 Protestantism; 55 Judaism; 2 Other; 90 None.

13. In comparison with your classmates, your concern with religious affairs is, in general:

99 more intense; 54 less intense; 147 about the same.

16. Do you believe that the clergy should speak out from the pulpit on controversial political issues? (e.g. disarmament, foreign aid, economic structure, recognition of Communist china, etc.)?

159 yes; 134 no.

17. Do you believe the clergy should speak out from the pulpit on controversial issues in the local community?

206 yes; 89 no.

20. Do you believe in immortality, if this is taken to mean the continued existence of the individual soul as a surviving entity after the end of organic life?

77 yes; 128 no; 102 don't know.

21. In what (if any) religious tradition would you like to raise your children?

222 your own; 22 another; 12 none.

22. Regarding the intensity of your concern with religion and politics (taking these terms in the broadest sense), would you say that you are

112 equally concerned with both; 92 more concerned with religion; 103 more concerned with politics?

25. With what political party are you affiliated, either in spirit or in actual membership?

89 Republican; 93 Democratic; 118 None; 8 Other.

26. Since you entered Harvard, have your political views changed:

30 from liberal to more conservative; 77 from conservative to more liberal; 39 from liberal to more liberal; 19 from conservative to more conservative; 138 not at all.

27. If your views have changed, what factors have influenced you (check two or three most important)?

83 lectures and/or assigned reading in courses; 34 influence of friends; 5 personal contact with faculty members; 21 increased independent reading; 4 independence from parental ideas; 24 increased thinking about political questions; 1 Other.

31. Do you think the concept of the national state has become so dangerously anachronistic that the U.S. should take the risks involved in surrendering some of her sovereignty, in a serious attempt at achieving a strong international federation or world government?

36 yes; 136 no; 30 indifferent.

32. IF the United States should find itself in such a position that all other alternatives were closed, save a world war with the Soviet Union OR surrender to the Soviet Union, would you favor

215 war; 82 surrender?

34. Do you think a film should ever not be shown at a commercial theatre or over television if certain religious or ethnic groups formally object to it?

217 no film should ever be suppressed under any of these circumstances; 87 under certain but not all of the above circumstances; 1 whenever a substantial religious or racial group does not want a film shown, it should not be shown.

36. I do not believe a member of the Communist Party should be permitted to hold any teaching position in any American college or university:

79 agree with the above statement; 228 disagree with the above statement.

37. I do not believe a member of the Socialist Party should be permitted to teach citizenship courses in public high schools:

102 agree with the above statement; 202 disagree with the above statement.

38. I do not believe any specific religious faith or the denial of religious faith should be discussed in the public schools:

126 agree with the above statement; 172 disagree with the above statement.

40. Do you feel that religious beliefs are among the central issues in the conflict between the Soviet sphere and the "West"?

59 yes; 255 no.

41. Of which of the following sexual practices do you disapprove because of your religious beliefs; i.e. do you find them objectionable not on secular grounds, but because of beliefs about God's commandments? (Disapprove-do not disapprove)

23-288 birth control; 68-242 pre-marital intercourse; 119-191 extra-marital intercourse; 45-265 divorce; 66-243 homosexuality; 57-253 legalized abortion.

42. Would you object to legalized euthanasia ("mercy killing") on religious grounds?

219 yes; 86 no.

43. How many years did you attend Sunday School?

48 none; 122 1-5; 100 5-10; 33 more.

45. Do you approve of banning books because they conflict with beliefs of particular organized religions?

3 yes; 301 no.

47. Does the practice of religion at Harvard differ from your practice of religion at home?

106 yes; 196 no.

49. Below are four very brief, rough statements of various attitudes toward "the Church," that is, toward organized religion. Check the one that most nearly approximates your views.

9 The Church is the one sure and infallible foundation of civilized life. Every member of society ought to be educated in it and required to support it.

201 On the whole, the Church stands for the best in human life, although certain minor errors and shortcomings are necessarily apparent in it, as in all human institutions. 63 While the intentions of most individual Church members are no doubt good, the total influence of the Church may be on the whole harmful. I do not feel I can give it my active support. 16 The Church is a stronghold of much that is unwhole-some and dangerous to human welfare. As far as I am concerned, the sooner its influence declines, the better.

50. Would you have any objections to the election as President of the United States of: (check all appropriate) 63-246 a Roman Catholic; 6-304 a Protestant; 43-267 a Jew; 47-251 an atheist or agnostic?

51. Below are four very brief, rough statements of various attitudes toward "the person of Christ"; check the one that most nearly approximates your own view: 88 Christ should be regarded as divine: that is, the Word made Flesh, the absolutely unique incarnation of the Godhead.

58 Christ should be regarded only as a very great prophet or teacher, much as the Mohammedans accept Mohammed, or as the Chinese accept Confucius.

5 In all probability, Christ never lived at all, but is a purely mythical figure.

47 Another view.

52. Would you have any objections to marrying:

185-124 a Roman Catholic; 45-264 a Protestant; 97-211 a reform Jew; 171-137 an Orthodox Jew; 71-236 an atheist or agnostic?

54. Which one of the following four designations most nearly describes your political temperament:

63 Conservative; 22 Radical; 162 Moderate Liberal; 46 Politically indifferent?

55. Would you have any objection to the election as President of Harvard a man who was:

66-241 Roman Catholic; 7-303 Protestant; 50-260 Jewish; 47-262 an atheist or agnostic?

56. Below are several very brief, rough statements of various conceptions of the Deity; check the one that most nearly approximates your view:

55a. There is an infinitely wise, omnipotent three-person God Who created the universe and Who maintains an active concern for human affairs.

17b. There is a God precisely as described in (a) except that He is absolutely One and in no sense possesses a trinitarian nature.

73c. I believe in a God about Whom nothing definite can be affirmed except that I sometimes sense Him as a mighty spiritual "Presence" permeating all mankind and nature.

37d. There is a vast, impersonal principle of order or natural uniformity working throughout the entire universe and which, though not conscious of mere human life, I choose to call "God."

67e. Because of our ignorance in this matter, I see no adequate grounds for either affirming or denying the existence of God.

13f. I reject all belief in anything that could reasonably be called "god" and regard every such notion as a fiction unworthy of worship.

33g. Other.

PART TWO: JUDAISM

considered in Article on Jewish Beliefs

PART THREE

(Answered by Students Believing in some Divine Presence)

60. 129-72 I believe that God is all-powerful.

61. 72-124 I believe that God will sometimes alter what would otherwise be the natural course of events to answer a prayer.

62. 40-161 I believe that the existence of God can be proven in a way that will elicit the assent of a rational person.

63. 111-93 I believe that the only way to know God is through an individual experience of His power or His love.

64. 159-45 I believe that undeserved suffering occurs in the world.

65. 57-144 I believe that correct ethical principles are grounded on religious faith, and that a genuine knowledge of man's moral obligations necessarily involves a belief in God.

66. 123-74 I believe that God is just.

67. 138-72 There has been a time in my life when my religious views could fairly have been called "agnostic" or "atheistic."

68. 65-136 I believe that every human being inevitably becomes involved in sin and cannot attain salvation without God's intercession, even though man does not merit it.

69. 28-177 I believe that the idea of Hell is a true one in the sense that God will send some people to an eternity of pain if He sees fit.

70. 48-163 I regard active connection with a church or synagogue as essential to my religious life.

71. 91-104 I believe that God is benevolent and feels toward man much as a loving father to his children.

72. Do you attend religious services:

49 once a week; 22 twice a month; 15 monthly; 85 several times a year; 21 twice a year; 17 not at all.

73. How often, outside of formal religious services, do you pray to God?

52 daily; 36 several times a week; 51 only at specific crises in my life; 58 not at all.

74. Do you consider atheists or agnostics: (check two)

38 less likely than believers to hold ethical opinions with which you can agree; 164 just as likely as believers to hold ethical opinions with which you can agree; 36 less likely than believers to do the morally right or kind thing; 3 more likely than believers to do the morally right or kind thing; 163 just as likely as believers to do the morally right kind of thing.

PART FOUR

(Answered by Agnostics and Atheists)

76. If you are now an atheist or an agnostic, which of the following factors do you regard as having contributed most to your present attitude toward religion? (Check no more than two or three most important, or one if you prefer.)

33-71 philosophical considerations, such as logical refutations of theoretical proofs of the existence of God;

>30-78 the irreconcilability of a literal interpretation of the Bible with certain established scientific truths, such as the Copernican or Darwinian theories;

44-64 the fact that contemporary science does not appear to require the concept of God to account satisfactorily for natural phenomena;

16-92 parental influence;

9-99 rebellion aaginst parental influence;

24-83 simple indifference ("The idea of God doesn't affect my life in any way.");

37-70 the existence of undeserved pain and suffering in the world;

28-79 hypocrisy in the church, and immoral behavior among believers;

4-98 specific doctrines of my former religion.

18-8 none of the above.

78. 22-73 Do you think that the content of your ethical views changed from what they had previously been because you became an atheist or agnostic?

79. 19-81 Do you think that your atheism or agnosticism has weakened your ethical ideas and made you take moral argument less seriously than do believers?

80. 52-48 Would it be fair to say that the opposite has occurred: that your moral concern has grown more intense in the absence of any assurance of God's existence or of an after life?

81. 46-53 Do you regret that you feel compelled to reject religious views, and do you often wish it were possible for you somehow to recover religious faith, even though at the same time it appears impossible?

82. 10-85 Do you feel obliged by your athetism or agnosticism to enlighten others by persuading them to abandon their faith