FROM THE CHRISTIAN POST:
By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter
More than three years after Pope Francis sparked a firestorm of religious debate by telling a young boy that his deceased atheist father might still end up in Heaven, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows a majority of Catholic and mainline Christians also believe people who don’t believe in God will go to Heaven.
Data for the study, conducted Sept. 20-26, was collected from a nationally representative sample of 6,485 U.S. adults.
Pew researchers decided for the first time to tackle deep philosophical questions like the meaning of life, the purpose of suffering and why bad things happen to people. The national study was released amid a backdrop of major life-changing events for many, most notably the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed millions of lives globally.
Most Catholics, mainline Protestants say faith in God not required to enter Heaven