Chapter 5: Personal Life Satisfaction
The Pew Research survey asked several questions about personal life satisfaction, which then were analyzed to explore links with respondents’ views on radical life extension. Fully eight-in-ten Americans (81%) say they are satisfied with the way things are going in their lives today. Just 16% say they are dissatisfied. On the whole, a majority of […]
Chapter 2: Views on Radical Life Extension, by Religious Affiliation, Beliefs and Practices
Interviews with religious leaders and bioethicists reveal a range of thoughts about how their religious traditions might react to a world that could include radical life extension, but the Pew Research survey finds only modest differences of opinion on the topic among large religious groups in the general public today. (For thoughts from leaders and […]
Chapter 4: Views About Today’s Medical Treatments and Advances
Before raising the topic of radical life extension, the Pew Research survey asked respondents about their opinions on medical advances in general. Overall, 63% of U.S. adults agree that medical advances that prolong life generally are good. About a third of U.S. adults (32%) say such advances are bad because they interfere with the natural […]
Preface
While the Pew Research Center routinely tracks long-established trends in public attitudes, it also tries to identify emerging social, political and religious issues. We began polling on same-sex marriage, for example, in 1996, seven years before Massachusetts became the first state to allow it. The goal of these early studies is to set down some […]
Religious Leaders’ Views on Radical Life Extension
No religious group in the United States has released an official statement on radical life extension. However, here are brief summaries of how some clergy, bioethicists and other scholars from 18 major American religious groups say their traditions might approach this evolving issue. (For an in-depth look at public opinion on radical life extension and […]
Chapter 7: Race, Ethnicity and Views About Medical Treatments and Radical Life Extension
As noted earlier, views about radical life extension tend to vary by race and ethnicity. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than (non-Hispanic) whites to say that radical life extension would be a good thing for society, and they are also somewhat more inclined to say that they personally would want life-extending treatments. The reasons […]
Featured
