Politicians who imagine that their public service improves their chances of getting into heaven may get an unwelcome surprise when they stand before the pearly gates, according to a new study published today by The Australia Institute.

Of the six politicians included in the survey, Peter Garrett has the best chance of going to heaven, with 74% of respondents handing him his wings.

John Howard, on the other hand, has the lowest chance of getting past the gatekeepers, with only 47% of respondents saying he deserves to spend eternity upstairs. 53% said he’ll spend eternity elsewhere.

Tony Abbott, a devout Catholic, only fares marginally better than the PM — 52% of respondents said he’s destined for heaven. He needn’t be distressed by that assessment. Pauline Hanson is right there beside him, also on 52%. Respondents gave Kevin Rudd a 61% chance of moving in with God.

“I think there’s quite strong support for the view that politicians overall deserve to got to heaven. It’s striking that PM does so poorly, I suppose,” Clive Hamilton, co-author of Do politicians deserve to go to heaven?, told Crikey.

“But I think that Australians are perhaps more forgiving of our politicians than our general hostility in public debate would suggest. We love to bag our politicians but I suspect that underneath that there’s a recognition that they have a pretty tough job and mostly try to do a good job.”

Hamilton added that, other than in the PM’s case, there wasn’t a strong connection between people’s political allegiances and their assessment of whether a politician deserved a comfortable afterlife.

“If you look at Peter Garrett, you’ve got two thirds of Coalition voters saying that he deserves to go to heaven. Even among Labor voters you’ve got 66% saying Bob Brown deserves to go to heaven. So I think there’s a lot of personal moral standing here. People like Garrett and Bob Brown, even though you may not agree with them, have taken a particular stance and are regarded with respect for it.”

Nor does religious conviction improve one’s chances. Although Peter Garrett is a practising Christian, Bob Brown, a firm atheist, rated more highly than either Abbott or Howard. 

“John Howard is more conspicuous than Peter Garrett in declaring his religious beliefs. For Garrett, it’s a private matter, but people often see the Prime Minister turn up in church at strategic moments. I’m not sure people really believe him. Most people see what he does through a political lens now.”