One in seven thinks end of world is
coming: poll
By Chris Michaud |
Reuters – 2 hours 2 minutes ago
NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Nearly 15
percent of people worldwide believe the world will end during their lifetime
and 10 percent think the Mayan calendar could signify it will happen in 2012,
according to a new poll.
The end of the Mayan calendar, which
spans about 5,125 years, on December 21, 2012 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, one in seven thinks the end of the world is
coming," said Keren Gottfried, research manager at Ipsos Global 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 six percent
of French residents believing in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime,
compared to 22 percent in Turkey and the United States and slightly less in
South Africa and Argentina.
But only seven percent in Belgium
and eight percent in Great Britain feared an end to the world during their
lives.
About one 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.
Gottfried also said that 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.
"Perhaps those who are older
have lived long enough to not be as concerned with what happens to their
future," she explained.
Ipsos questioned people in China,
Turkey, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Argentina,
Hungary, Poland, Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Italy,
South Africa, Great Britain, Indonesia, Germany.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing
by Patricia Reaney)
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