Jesus to Return by 2050

So, ever wondered how many of your friends and neighbors fully expect Jesus to come riding out of the clouds on a white horse in the near future? As it turns out, about 40%, depending upon your definition of "near".

Although many Americans (41 percent) believe the Second Coming will happen soon, slightly more people (46 percent) say Jesus will definitely or probably not return.

The prediction is divided along religious lines with 58 percent of white evangelical Protestants saying it will definitely or probably happen in the next 40 years. By contrast, only 27 percent of white mainline Protestants, about a third (32 percent) of Catholics and a fifth (20 percent) of religiously unaffiliated say Jesus Christ will return to Earth in this period.

I'm not surprised that nearly 60% of white, evangelical Protestants fully expect Jesus to return somewhat soon, but it's definitely a tribute to how deeply they affect American culture that 20% of the religiously unaffiliated agree.

What's really interesting, though hardly surprising, is how these statistics break down along educational lines.

Only 19 percent of those who graduated from college expect Jesus to return by 2050, while 35 percent of those with some college experience and 59 percent of Americans with no college experience expect the Second Coming in the next few decades.

I can certainly see why fundamentalist groups are entirely opposed to public school and college for their children- it seems to make one less likely to swallow bizarre beliefs whole.