Israelis believe in God but few expect Messiah
A survey revealed that while 74% believe in God, only 43% believe in heaven and 52% believe in the evil eye.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) Israelis believe in God, but considerably less in heaven and hell and, all things considered, only a few are waiting for the Messiah. They believe in the evil eye but back (55%) the assertion that "we believe in science too frequently and not enough in faith". The conviction is shared also by those who call themselves secular 44% (against 43%).
These are some of the findings from a study conducted by Prof. Ephraim Yaar of Tel Aviv University and published today in the Haaretz daily. The study was based on the principle of "self-definition", which considers a secular individual to be one who defines himself as such. However, this posed problems of consistency at times. For example: how is it possible that those who consider themselves to be "secular" believe in God? And what if they are also waiting for the Messiah and are afraid of hell? "Or maybe," said the article, "there are two types of secular people: atheist- secular and believer-secular."
Anyhow, the findings reveal that God exists for three Israelis out of four (74%, while for 23% he does not). And if 90% of those styling themselves as "traditional" claim they are believers, the same goes for 41% of those who call themselves secular, compared to 51% who deny belief. Apparently consequentially, for every Israeli convinced that man is descended from monkeys (28%), there are two who believe he was created by God (59%). Among Israeli Arabs, 95% believe that man is the fruit of creation and only 2% attribute our current condition to evolution.
Only 44% of Israelis and 39% of Jewish respondents believe in the Messiah, compared to 77% of Arabs interviewed. Only 44% of those who believe in the Messiah are convinced the time of his coming could be near, compared to 47% who do not anticipate his arrival anytime soon.
46% of Israeli Jews said they do not believe in heaven and hell, as compared with 43% who believe in reward and punishment in the next world. But the majority believes in witchcraft: 52% believe in the evil eye (including 42% who describe themselves as believers) as compared with 43% who do not. The situation is more or less equal among Jews: 48% believe and 47% do not. But in the previous decade, 57% did not believe, compared to 41% who did.
But today, three Israelis out of four (72%) do not believe in the special powers of rabbis and mekubalim (people versed in Kabbala) either, as opposed to 26% who do. Having a son who will become a rabbi is the desire of a quarter (25%) of Jewish parents. The only other profession that enjoys the same standing is that of MP. Having a son who is an author, a journalist or an artist would please 40% of respondents, while an engineer, scientist or doctor would go down well with 57%.
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