Religion and Beliefs Survey Results

Smart girls decide for themselves.™

There were four hundred and twenty eight respondents, 99% of which were girls.  The average age of respondents was 14 years old.  About 64% of respondents were from the United States, almost 18% for the United Kingdom, 9% from Canada, 3% from Australia, and the remaining 6% were from various countries around the world.

Smartgirl asked, "Do you associate yourself with any religion or faith?"  Here is a table showing the religious preferences of the respondents:

Smartgirl asked, "Are you active in your religion?" (i.e. attending church or temple, going to religious-based functions, etc.)  Only 69% of you responded.    Of the responses we got, you reported that you are active:

*132 respondents didn't answer this question

Smartgirl asked, "Do you enjoy your religion?" Seventy-six percent of the respondents answered this question and almost 50% said they enjoy their religion.  Twenty-two percent said they only sometimes enjoy their religion and 4% said no, they do not enjoy their religion.

We wanted to know a little more about why you enjoy your religion.  Of the responses we collected, here are some reasons SmartGirls gave about why they enjoy their religion.

Enjoy

Sometimes Enjoy

Don’t Enjoy

  Other ­ 14.2%  

Smartgirl asked, "How often do you read your religious text?" (i.e. the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, etc.) Seventy-six percent responded to this question. 

Smartgirl asked, "Does your religion involve rites of passage?" (i.e. Bat Mitzvahs, Confirmations, etc.) Forty percent of the respondents said their religion does involve a rite of passage.  Fourteen percent of you responded that your religion does not have a rite of passage and 17% of you were unsure.  This question was not filled out by 45% of the people who filled out the survey.  Out of those who did, here is how they responded:

Smartgirl asked, "Do you think you will become a full-time religious leader?" (i.e. Minister, Priestess, Nun, etc.) Do you think you could ever devote your life to your religion?  Seventy-five percent of the people who took this survey responded to this question.

Yes ­ 5%

No ­ 55%

Not sure ­ 15%

No answer - 25% 

SmartGirl asked, "In your religion, are women allowed to hold the highest positions of authority?" Still on the subject of religious leaders, we asked your opinion about women in positions of leadership in the church.  Each religion has different traditions and rules, and some don’t allow women to hold positions of authority ­ others do. 

Yes ­ 34%

No ­ 24%

Not sure ­ 15%

No Answer - 26%

Smartgirl asked, "Do you think women should be allowed to hold the highest positions of religious authority?" The debate concerning women’s participation in positions of religious leadership is a hot topic!  What did you think?  

Yes ­ 71%

No- 12%

No answer ­ 17%

Here is the interesting part!  In reference to the question about women as religious leaders, we’ve complied your responses about why or why not women should lead.  This question was answered by 83% of respondents.

To give a better example of how people responded, here are some of the responses we got!

I think its only fair that both men and women have the right to hold the highest authority in any religion because both sexes can be very religious.       -SmartGirl, 12

There are many branches of Judaism, each branch practicing the religion to various degrees of orthodoxy. My branch, Conservative Judaism, does allow women to become rabbis or cantors. In my branch of Judaism, I think this is important. Among the orthodox Jews, however, this is for the most part not the case. Because I am not as well acquainted with how the orthodox practice Judaism, and why they practice it the way they do, I don't judge them on this.  -Smart Girl, 14

Smartgirl asked, "Do you think that your religion (or lack of religion) plays an important part in your life?"  Apparently so!  Of the people who responded to this question, which was 96% of the people who took the survey, 70% of you said that religion is important!  Fifteen percent responded no, and 10% responded they are not sure.

Here are some of the responses we got about why or why not religion plays a major role in your life:

 Smartgirl asked, "Do you believe in any sort of after life?" (i.e. Heaven, reincarnation, etc.) It seems like most of you do!  Only 5% of the respondents didn’t answer this question.  As for the rest of you, your responses are as follows.

Yes ­ 73%

No ­ 8%

Not sure ­ 13%

No answer - 5%

SmartGirl asked, "Do your friends share the same religious beliefs as you?" Only 4% of those who responded to the survey didn’t answer this question.

Smartgirl asked, "Do you believe it is acceptable for people with different religious beliefs to marry?" Wow!  You almost all agree on this one.  Eight percent of the respondents did not answer this question.

Yes ­ 79%

No- 14%

No answer - 8%

Smartgirl asked, "Would you say that you know a lot about different religions?" Two percent of respondents did not answer this question.

Smartgirl asked, "How do you feel about prayer in school?" We got lots of colorful answers in response to this question.  The pie chart that follows is a summery of the responses we got and after it are some of your own responses to the question.  Thanks for sharing!

Eighty-eight percent of respondents answered this question, and 35% think prayer should be allowed in school as long as no one is forced to pray.  Interestingly, no one said that they thought prayer should be mandatory for all students!

I feel nervous about it. Some people make fun of Muslims and stuff like that. And I'm a Muslim, so I'm afraid. But, I could stand up for myself, which I'm learning in Sunday school. -Smart Girl, 13

I don't think it should be publicly mentioned.  "Moments of silence" make me nervous, in that they are time for prayer.  People will find time to pray when they need/choose to, but the school does not need to stop for the [insert name of religion here] students to observe their religion. -Smart Girl, 15

I feel that we should be able to pray in school. It is just like pledging allegiance to the U.S. flag. In the Pledge of Allegiance you say "one nation under God" and that means the government believes in God. And I think the schools should let prayer be acceptable. Since The Pledge of Allegiance is acceptable. -Smart Girl, 13

Kinda embarrassing at times, coz you can tell that some of you are religious and some of you aren’t.  -Smart Girl, 15

I am uncomfortable with the idea that we could come up with a prayer that is inclusive of all faiths and those with no faith.  -Smart Girl, over 21

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!

Please remember that all web-based polls are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the respondents to participate in the surveys.