Most Believe in God and Moral Code
Friday, May 05, 2006
Dennis M . Mahoney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
About four out of five central Ohioans believe in a supreme being and in absolute standards of right and wrong, according to new polling by Ohio Dominican University.
And roughly three-fifths of the area’s residents think the country’s moral standards have declined in the last five years, the East Side Roman Catholic school has found.
The data come from surveys on ethical and religious issues that Ohio Dominican started taking late last year. Poll director Timothy Walker, an assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, said the issues the poll wants to probe are self-reflective.
"A lot of these kind of moral and theological issues were kind of rising even more to people’s consciousness post 9/11," Walker said. "Some of the searches for truth . . . what is really the meaning on this earth, and how could such a thing have happened? "
Organizers plan to conduct the Ohio Dominican Opinion Poll quarterly. Two rounds have been finished, and a third is being planned.
David Archibald, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, said searching for truth is part of Ohio Dominican’s mission, and probing the public about moral, ethical and theological issues is a good use of resources.
While some larger Ohio universities, such as Cincinnati and Akron, conduct regular polls, it is unusual at a smaller school, Archibald said.
"This is a way of raising the academic profile of the university in a way that typically small private universities don’t have," he said.
Jack Calareso, Ohio Dominican president, is a promoter of the poll and said it is a way for the school to be "a voice in the community."
"I really thought that this kind of a poll would share with the public views and attitudes and ideas about our community and what people think and what they value and what they hold dear," he said.
Planning for the poll began about two years ago. Startup costs were relatively low because the university already had a telemarketing center, used mostly in recruiting students, Archibald said.
The polls questioned a broad cross-section of about 400 people, all within a 40-mile radius of central Ohio. Those contacted could refuse to participate, and in both polls about 60 percent of respondents were female.
The first poll included questions about Hurricane Katrina and charity. The second touched on privacy and national security.
Polls also have some questions that are asked every time, which among other things will allow the school to track how opinions might change over time. Other questions will be topical.
The poll also might look at issues within the Catholic Church, such as the sex-abuse scandal, Archibald said. It could be helpful in faculty research and as a teaching tool, Walker said.
Calareso hopes the poll will expand beyond central Ohio.
"I always think big and how we can grow," he said. "But I think it can be a national poll."
Archibald and Walker are unsure whether they might someday hire out the poll to do research for private concerns.
"I don’t know how big and corporate we’re going to get with this," Archibald said.
Both said they would want to be careful about doing private polling to safeguard objectivity. Walker said they would not want it to be perceived as a poll that gives predetermined results.
Reprinted with permission, The Columbus Dispatch, 2006.