Only One Way to Heaven? Most Americans Don’t Think So

Recent findings released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life show that 70 percent of all Americans believe that multiple religions can lead to eternal life, and suprisingly, 57 percent of evangelical Christians share that view, despite it being contrary to conventional tenets.

The Associated Press reported Monday that the results from a survey of 35,000 American adults show an increase in religious tolerance, as well as – perhaps – a lacking knowledge of the core beliefs of faith, particularly among Christians. Also telling is the fact the 68 percent of respondents said there is more than one way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

“The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion, said to reporters. “There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences,” he said.

The results from the most recent survey are related to results released in February: that Americans change faiths more now than they ever have before.

Other key findings from the survey include that 14 percent of respondents said religion was the “main influence” on their political thinking. Those who said they believe in God amounted to 92 percent, but many appear to have questions; approximately one out of every four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubt in God’s existence. Six out of every 10 Jewish respondents had the same apprehensions.

Though the findings concern many theologians, others are not surprised and are, actually, ambivalent or encouraged. The Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Institute at Georgetown University, told the AP, “Some people are like butterflies that go from flower to flower, going from religion to religion — and frankly they don't get that deep into any of them.” On the other hand, he added, “What most people are saying is, ‘Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people.’”

Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven often point to the Bible’s John 14:6, in which Jesus instructs his followers: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”