Are we really "living in the end times"?

39% of Americans believe that "we are living in the end times". The Pew Research poll that came to this conclusion recently did not specify what "living in the end times" actually means, but clearly many people believe that things are worse now than usual, maybe worse than ever before. Book publishers have seen a large uptick in interest in the end times, with a whole slew of new books on the subject.

Well, what Book publishers have seen a large uptick in interest in the end times, with a whole slew of new books on the subject. war, the pandemic, rampant inflation, energy shortages, and the climate crisis, you can kind of see why so many people might have such a negative view of humanity's prospects. But "end times"? That's rather a bridge too far, isn't it? Well, put in perspective, 58% of Americans believe that we are NOT living in the end times, which is a relief, I guess.

A breakdown of the demographics behind the poll gives a better idea of where people are getting these views from. For example, 63% of Evangelical Christians believe it, compared to 29% of Catholics (and just 9% of atheists). 68% of Black people (and 76% of Black Protestants) believe it, compared to just 34% of Whites; 45% of Republicans, compared to 33% of Democrats; 49% of those with just a high school education or less, compared to 27% of college graduates. Fascinating stuff.

Religious people of a certain ilk (and you can see the overlap with the Black population, Republican sympathizers and the poorly educated here) are always looking for Signs. They are actively looking forward to the end of the world as we know it, because they believe that it presages the establishment of a better world, the kingdom of God on earth (oh, and that they will be the lucky ones saved to benefit from this new world, while the unbelieving masses will get their well-deserved comeuppance).

To use another rather overused phrase, a whole lot of people think that the world is "falling apart", and we are on a slippery and inevitable slope to disaster. Or that "everything feels broken", which is Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's favourite taunt, usually accompanied by the improbable claim that it's all Justin Trudeau's personal fault. 

"Polycrisis" is another word that is often bandied around, perhaps to excess. Again some people think this is a perfectly reasonable label to apply to our current circumstances, while others (like high-profile historian Niall Ferguson, for example) believe that such a conclusion is just an "illusion", or that the term is essentially meaningless, merely an indication that "there's lots of bad stuff happening simultaneously, and one thing can affect another", as Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman puts it.

So, should we expect the return of Jesus in a blame of glory sometime soon? Is The Rapture (or Armageddon) just over the horizon? Probably not. Is the world in a bit of a hot sticky mess? Probably. But we've been there before, and we will probably be there again in the future.