Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 54

Fraternal chief's pay questioned Moral behavior often rests in the eye of the beholder Asked about ethical behavior, many Americans respond that what's right may depend on the situation. Highlights of the survey on morality and beliefs Morality can be conditioned by the situation: 69 percent agree It's important to do what God or the Scriptures say is right: 70 percent agree "Religion Is very important in my 58 percent said yes What is the basis for the concept of truth: Individual experience: 43 percent As related by the Scriptures or religious leaders: 34 percent As taught by parents: 16 percent Science: 7 percent Media: 6 percent The Bible should be taken literally as God's word in all instances: 32 percent agree (A decline from 65 percent in 1963) Should the Bible be considered the "inspired word of God" but not to be interpreted as literally true in every instance: 49 percent agree The Bible is only ancient fables, legends, history and moral precepts, written by humans, rather than representing God or his inspired 16 percent agree Younger adults those under 30 are most prone to rely on their own experience as the yardstick of truth, 47 percent of them. Only 22 percent of the younger group relied on Scripture. Biblical literalism, the belief that the Bible should be taken as literally God's word in all instances has declined, in this country, and now is affirmed by only 32 percent of adults. That figure has been going down for the last 25 years, and was nearly twice as large in 1963, when 65 percent of American said they believed the Bible was God's truth word-for-word.

The proportion was 38 percent in 1978. Now the literalist approach to the Bible is at a new low, although biblical literalism still has a foothold in the South, where 46 percent of adults affirm it. As for the general decline in that position, indications were found that higher educational levels among more people have influenced the trend. Nevertheless, almost half of Americans 49 percent still consider the Bible the "inspired Word of God" but don't think it should be interpreted as literally true in every instance. Sixteen percent of adults regard the book as only ancient fables, legends, history and moral precepts, written by men, rather than representing God or his inspired handiwork.

On another subject, half of the nation's adults say they are concerned about religious fundamentalism, while only 36 percent of them are concerned about "secular humanism." However, a fourth of adults said they had no opinion on "secular humanism." Some persons are unaware of what "secular humanism" means. It generally is divorced from belief in God, holding that morals are relative and up to reasoning. By TOM ROBERTS Religious News Service A report that the head of the Knights of Columbus took home a salary last year of $455,000 has outraged some members who perform volunteer work for the Roman Catholic organization. The report appears in the April 3 edition of National Catholic Reporter. The independent weekly paper reports that salaries and benefits for the top 10 directors of the fraternal organization came to nearly in 1991.

The organization also listed travel expenses for 1990 at more than according to the paper. The figures were contained in documents filed in February with the Ohio Department of Insurance. The documents were circulated last week in some local Midwestern councils of the Knights of Columbus, according to the paper. "I am appalled," Tom Lynch, a knight from Oregon, 111., told the paper. "We stand on corners and pass out Tootsie Rolls, and everybody does it for nothing," he said of members' volunteer work.

Virgil C. Dechant, supreme knight of the organization, defended the salary on the basis of his role as overseer of its insurance program. The Knights of Columbus is both a fraternal organization with 1.5-million members, making it the largest fraternal society in the world, and an insurance company. Dechant said his annual income reflects the two jobs he performs. He receives $59,000 for leading the fraternal organization and the rest is compensation for running the Knights of Columbus insurance program.

The program currently has $20-billion of insurance in force, most of it in the form of life insurance policies. Shaw said in a telephone interview that Dechant's compensation level is set each year by the board of directors and approved by voting delegates during the group's annual convention. By GEORGE W. CORNELL Associated Press NEW YORK In an age of relativity both in science and religion, most Americans think there are few moral absolutes about what is right or wrong, saying it usually depends on the situation. In other words, the view is that justification for snitching an apple or loaf of bread might be conditioned by the degree of need for food, or lying necessitated to protect someone's well-being or life.

That modified "situation ethics," a sometimes controversial notion in the churches, is affirmed by 69 percent of U.S. adults, according to a recent report by the Princeton Religion Research Center in Princeton, J. Others disagree. But even though most affirm the moral relativity principle, the big majority 70 percent still say it's important to do what God or Scripture tells them is right. At the same time, of the 58 percent saying religion is very important in their lives, 63 percent still reject the concept of moral absolutes, contending such standards are subject to the situation.

That and other findings are based on telephone interviews by the Gallup organization with a representative nationwide sample of 34 percent say they rely instead on the Bible or religious leaders. Sixteen percent see teachings of their parents or other authoritative figures as the arbiters of truth, while only 7 percent rely on science, and only 6 percent on the media, such as television, newspapers and books. 2,104 adults. The error margin was given as plus or minus 2 percentage points. On a related question, people are more divided about how they determine truth.

Forty-three percent say their own individual experience is the most reliable guide to truth, while California Methodists affirm sex as 'gift of God' Religious News Service the conservative statement, and the more recent liberal one, seem almost certain to become tools for galvanizing support on either side. According to one report, the conservative "Memphis Declaration" is being sent to Methodists across the nation in an effort to gain as much support for it as possible before the convention begins. Signers of the California statement urge tolerance and continued study of sexuality. They note, "Today the whole understanding and experience of sexuality is changing. We cannot discern God's will for us in this important area of our personal lives without intensive reflection and extensive study." The latest paper also criticizes historic Christianity for participating in "male domination of women" and for the "arrogance" and "unjustified contempt" Christians have shown toward Jews.

Calling for tolerance toward other faith groups, the paper says, "We recognize that other religious traditions have attained wisdom that is different from ours but not, for that reason, unreal or false." truth to which the Spirit calls us," the statement said. It was signed by 20 lay and clergy delegates scheduled to represent the church's California-Pacific region at the church's General Conference scheduled for May 5-15 in Louisville, Ky. Headquarters for the regional offices are in Pasadena. The 950-word paper urges tolerance on matters of sexuality and cautions against relying on tradition-bound norms of behavior that may prevent "free discussion of the new challenges that arise as time passes." Like their counterparts in other mainline Protestant denominations, Methodists are engaged in an intense, divisive battle over sexual norms that in recent years has focused on the subject of homosexuality. While the California-Pacific paper does not mention the topic specifically, homosexuality is at the top of the agenda for the 8.8-million-member denomination and expected to take center stage in debates at the General Conference.

In weeks leading up to the conference, both A group of United Methodists from California, including a prominent theologian and several well-known pastors and laypersons, has issued a statement affirming sexuality as a gift "to be enjoyed and used in the service of God." The document, drafted by the Rev. John Cobb, professor emeritus at the School of Theology at Claremont is intended as a rebuttal to a previous statement issued by a group of evangelical Methodists. That statement, called "The Memphis Declaration," focused at length on "sins of the flesh" and called on the church to uphold "Christian sexual morality." But the latest statement, entitled "Our Calling To Fulfill," asserts that moral values are culturally conditioned. "Legalistically repeating teachings that were formulated by past generations, during a time when Christians did not affirm human sexuality as truly good, will close us to the new Editor Thomas J. Billitteri News editor Fred Smith Editorial assistant Nancy Paradis Cover: Photo by Fred Victorin; design by Roger Fischer Production: Joseph Elbon 2(E TIMESf Bf.