Posted on 05/02/2012 6:26:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Nearly 15 percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime, and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify that it will happen this year, according to a new poll.
The end of the Mayan calendar — which spans about 5,125 years — on Dec. 21 has sparked interpretations and suggestions that it marks the end of the world.
"Whether they think it will come to an end through the hands of God or a natural disaster or a political event, whatever the reason, 1 in 7 thinks the end of the world is coming," said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Public Affairs, which conducted the poll for Reuters.
"Perhaps it is because of the media attention coming from one interpretation of the Mayan prophecy that states the world 'ends' in our calendar year 2012," Gottfried said, adding that some Mayan scholars have disputed the interpretation.
Responses to the international poll of 16,262 people in more than 20 countries varied widely, with only 6 percent of French residents believing in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime, compared with 22 percent in Turkey and the United States and slightly less in South Africa and Argentina.
But only 7 percent in Belgium and 8 percent in Great Britain feared an end to the world during their lives.
About 1 in 10 people globally also said they were experiencing fear or anxiety about the impending end of the world in 2012. The greatest numbers were in Russia and Poland, the fewest in Great Britain.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
In terms of demographic breakdown (for those curious):
People with lower education or household income levels, as well as those under 35 years old, were more likely to believe in an apocalypse during their lifetime or in 2012, or have anxiety over the prospect.
(COMMENT) Interesting to note that the young ones are more pessimistic than the older folks.
The hand is at the end (of the arm).
I had a pastor who said yhe church was warning young people not to worry about education, jobs, or any of that. any day now we would be called home. That was 100 years ago.
I still haven't figured out the fascination with the Mayan calendar. Did the Mayans have any particular record of accurate predictions about the future? If they were batting at 1.000 so far then I might have believed they have some point. On the other hand it looks more like they just ran out of numbers in a calendar cycle for this December. Think of it as Mayan Y2K.
People who think they are the center of the universe and what goes on in their tiny little lives is of universal consequence may think that the end is near because things aren’t going the way they would like, but the universe does not revolve around them and doesn’t care and is going along just like it did for billions of years before they were here and how it will go on for billions of years after they are gone.
Well, maybe not the world but the Divided States of America is going down for sure.
And only eight percent in GB? I’m dismayed considering the malcontents they have invited to live with them.
Even the Mayans don’t worry about the Mayan calendar. Last I heard, their religious leader was more worried about drought than the end of the world.
Actually, I’ve heard the myans think 2012 is a joke. 2012 is a western invention.
As I understand it, the myans simply stopped adding to the calendar.
Seriously! This is not the end of the world. Just the end of the party. The difference is important, you don’t have to clean up after the end of the world. The next few generations will spend their lives cleaning up this mess.
The end is always near, it’s just not likely tomorrow.
I don’t believe that the world will end any time soon.
Wish I could say the same for the United States and Western Civilization, though.
I think we all need to know what we do not need to know!
“On the other hand it looks more like they just ran out of numbers”
I think they just ran out of *rock*.
I think the world will be just fine.
Mankind on the other hand...
And I feel fine.
You get a check mark and a gold star for dropping the REM reference.
The future’s uncertain and the end is always near - The Doors.
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