Predicting the Future: Apocalypse or maybe global war?

TERRIFYING VISION OF 2050? No, this is the cover of a 1952 comic book series.If Christ is returning, will we also see Global War? Many Americans predict Christ’s Second Coming by 2050, as we discussed yesterday. This means that many Americans believe the Christian Apocalypse is about to unfold. If so, then we should see other signs of the end times – global war among them.

Indeed, the majority of Americans (58%) expect a world war by 2050, according to the April 2010 survey by Pew and Smithsonian magazine. Our nation’s youth are the most likely to fear a new world war: 68% of Americans 18 to 29 foresee a world conflagration in the next 40 years. The proportions are lower in other age groups, but the majority of Americans in every age group also foretell war.

Education and belief in an imminent Second Coming are correlated, as we talked about yesterday. Those with less formal education are more likely to say Christ will return by 2050. The same pattern applies to predictions of world war: 69% of those with a high school education or less predict such a conflict, compared with 48% of those with at least a college education.

And there are differences by political ideology as well, the survey finds. While majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all foresee a global war in the next 40 years, Republicans and Independents are more likely to make this predication than Democrats.

What do you think?
Do you predict another world war by 2050?
Which is more likely: The Second Coming or World War III?

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