| Show k r ) It's a (lay we look forward to eagerly and rellect on fondly A noted researcher tells why The fashionable part-tim- e occupation in the US today is worrying about morality Everyone seems to be discussing it in public print and at private parties and the conclusion of all this talk can be summed up in a word: pessimism A new breed of social critics has sprung up since the end of World War II and since then these gadflies have liberally bombarded us with facts figures and a grim set of predictions about our future s We have been told that our are delinquents and our adults are godless that we are rapidly drifting away from religion and that family unity which has been so much of our heritage is disintegrating I am happy to report that this pessimistic image is far from accurate My opinion is based on a nationwide survey of thousands of Americans which my firm has just completed for This Week on the meaning of Sunday Sunday has been the traditional day for church and family It is also the one day during which we are left to our own devices and can do what we want The editors reasoned that if there had been a breakdown in religious attitudes and family unity this breakdown would probably show up most vividly on Sunday The survey gives a rather different impression of modern American life from that drawn by the caustic cofnmentators on the American scene It shows that we are in fact a people with strong religious commitments and deep family ties teen-ager- A very special day Firgt of all we found that for most Americans Sunday is a very special day Fifty-siper cent of the people we interviewed said Sunday is the day of the week they most look forward to Another 16 per cent said it is their second favorite day And why? For nearly half of the people we asked it is because it’s the day they go to church For these people church is not just a habit and it is considerably more than a duty It is the essential meaning of the day On an average Sunday a little over half of American adults will attend church Over two thirds of the people in this country attend services least at religious once a month (whether on Sunday or other days of the week) and only eight per cent never go at all Women attend more regularly than men and adults under 35 years old a bit more often than people over 50 Still there is a feeling of some falling away x t v 6 f THIS WEEK Mogoxlnt Novmbr 24 t943 |
