{"id":32932,"date":"2022-09-10T16:28:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/a-third-of-americans-avoid-halloween-or-its-pagan-elements\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:28:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:28:53","slug":"a-third-of-americans-avoid-halloween-or-its-pagan-elements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/a-third-of-americans-avoid-halloween-or-its-pagan-elements\/","title":{"rendered":"A Third of Americans Avoid Halloween or its Pagan Elements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Carol Pipes<\/em><\/p>\n

When it comes to Halloween, most Americans don\u2019t have a problem celebrating the spooky holiday. Yet, one-third say they avoid Halloween or its pagan elements.<\/p>\n

Although 3 in 5 Americans told Lifeway Research Halloween is \u201call in good fun,\u201d 21 percent avoid the holiday completely and another 14 percent avoid the pagan elements.<\/p>\n

Halloween has been known in North America since colonial days. But it wasn\u2019t until Irish immigrants brought their Halloween customs to America in the 1840s the festival grew in popularity. Since then, it has been woven into the fabric of American culture. By the 1950s, Halloween was mostly considered a children\u2019s holiday celebrated with costumes and candy.<\/p>\n

But Halloween has exploded in popularity the last several years, even among adults. Americans are expected to spend $6.9 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation, more than double the amount spent 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs popular and pervasive as Halloween has become, there is still a sizeable minority that avoids at least some elements,\u201d said Scott McConnell, vice president of Nashville-based Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

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Religious differences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, nonreligious Americans are most likely to say Halloween is all in good fun (75 percent) and least likely to avoid Halloween completely (11 percent), according to Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

Christians aren\u2019t far off from the rest of Americans when it comes to Halloween. A slight majority (54 percent) says Halloween is all in good fun, while 18 percent try to avoid the pagan elements, and 23 percent avoid it completely.<\/p>\n

Catholics are more likely to select \u201cIt\u2019s all in good fun\u201d (71 percent) than Protestants (49 Percent).<\/p>\n

Evangelicals are more likely to avoid the holiday completely (28 percent) or its pagan elements (23 percent), although 45 percent say Halloween is \u201call in good fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Church attendance also affects Americans\u2019 views of Halloween. Those attending a religious service once a week or more are the least likely to say Halloween is all in good fun (44 percent), compared to those attending once or twice a month (68 percent) or only on religious holidays (82 percent).<\/p>\n

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\u201cMore than two-thirds of evangelicals welcome the candy, costumes, or community interaction surrounding the holiday, but the majority are unwilling to label \u2018the pagan elements of Halloween\u2019 good.\u201d McConnell said.<\/p>\n

Regional and age differences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Americans are separated by geography as well as age when it comes to attitudes toward Halloween.<\/p>\n

Southerners (27 percent) are more likely than those in the West (19 percent), Midwest (18 percent) and Northeast (12 percent) to say they try to avoid Halloween completely.<\/p>\n

Older Americans are also more likely to avoid Halloween than their younger counterparts. Those age 55 and older (27 percent) are more likely to select \u201cI try to avoid Halloween completely\u201d than those age 18-54 (17 percent).<\/p>\n

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Carol Pipes<\/h2>\n

@CarolPipes<\/p>\n

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Carol is director of corporate communications for Lifeway Christian Resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n