TruthBook Religious News Blog

The wildly popular "Left Behind" book series may be a good read but it is bad theology, the Roman Catholic bishops of Illinois have told the state's 3.8 million Catholics.

The state's six diocesan bishops urged Catholic libraries, bookstores, schools and parishes to no longer carry the "anti-Catholic" series because the 11 books contain a view of the end of the world that is not supported by Catholic teaching.

"When Jesus told us to be alert and ready for his return, he also warned there would be false prophets," the bishops said in a statement. "One of the most attractively marketed recent false 'prophets' has been the 'Left Behind' series."

The Catholic Church, however, does not believe in a rapture of the church.

It's not the first time the "Left Behind" theology has come under fire. In 2001, the Rev. A.L. Barry, the late president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, said the books portrayed a vision of "confusion, chaos and hysteria" that is inconsistent with Scripture. Later that year, the Presbyterian Church (USA) said the books' theology is "not in accord" with its understanding of the end times.

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An Encouraging Portrait Of India

According to an exhaustive survey released recently by the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press, which covered more than 40 countries, including 2,189 Indians, 64% of Indians agree that religion is a personal matter and should be kept separate from government, compared with only 55% of Americans and 53% of Bangladeshis. Only 33% of Pakistanis agree with that statement, reflecting the inherent religious identity of that country.

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Saturday, June 28, 2003

Dispute Erupts Over Teaching of Religion in Spanish Schools

Civil rights groups and leftist political leaders are fuming after the conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said it would make religion class obligatory in high school.

The education reform was expected to be ratified as early as Friday by Aznar's cabinet and to take effect in stages over the next few academic years, said Education Ministry spokesman Roberto Rodriguez. It does not require parliamentary approval, since it will be promulgated as a royal decree.The reform gives all high school students a choice of taking confessional religion classes in their own creed or an alternative class in the history and philosophy of religions, said Rodriguez.

Those classes will count toward the student's grade point average. The average is necessary for graduation and also a factor in determining university entrance eligibility in restricted areas of study such as engineering and medicine.

Currently religion classes are optional in high school and there is no grading. The classes are available in the major monotheistic faiths but 90 percent of those who request them opt for Roman Catholicism.

One labor union said it "brings us back to the Franco area," when the church held sway in matters of education and other social questions such as film censorship.

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Americans giving despite hard times

Even in hard times, when unemployment is up, the stock market is down and general anxiety is stirred by terrorism and war, Americans continue to donate their hard-earned money to their favorite causes.

Charitable giving held steady last year, according to a recent national study by an arm of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel.

In its annual Giving USA report, the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy found that Americans gave about $241 billion to charities in 2002, compared with $238 billion in 2001. Adjusted for inflation, charitable contributions last year declined by about half a percent, according to the report.

The Giving USA report, first published in 1955, also found that charitable contributions by corporations increased in 2002 by 8.8 percent when adjusted for inflation. About 70 percent of American households contribute to 1.4 million charities, including religious congregations, in any given year, the report says.

The report, however, does not tell the whole story. Some charities are having to replace funding from governmental sources as federal, state and local grant programs fall victim to austerity measures. And despite overall giving totals, many charitable organizations have suffered from significant declines in donor contributions.

The struggle of some charities while overall contributions held steady suggests that donors may have altered their giving habits. Instead of spreading donations among several organizations, for instance, many contributors may have given to only two or three.

The bottom line: Charities struggling because of the weak economy might have to consolidate or piggyback to make sure clients get served.

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Do You Have a Guardian Angel?

Do guardian angels exist? Do they sometimes come to the aid and comfort of humans in need? Why do they appear to and help some people and not others?

A recent poll published in Time magazine revealed that 69 percent of Americans believe in angels, and 46 percent of that group believe they have a personal guardian angel. There is no scientific evidence for angels, of course. The only "evidence" we have for their existence is the long religious tradition, stories from the Bible and the many anecdotes, like the one above, from people who believe these spiritual beings have affected their lives.

Guardian Angels are thought to be spiritual beings that are "assigned" to assist people here on Earth in various ways. But whether you believe in them or not, or whether you want one or not, believers insist that you do have a guardian angel.

So why don't angels come to a person's aid every time it's asked for? Sometimes, "angels must stand back, whilst giving loving support only, as we work things out for ourselves - these are the times when we feel alone, the dark before dawn."

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Friday, June 27, 2003

Seniors make up backbone of the volunteer sector

Nearly 75 per cent of the total number of volunteer hours in Canada were performed by less than 10 per cent of the Canadian population.

Volunteering... A Booming Trend -- a study done in 2000 by Volunteer Canada, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, states that 35 per cent of Canadians who volunteer are between the ages of 45-54, 30 per cent are between the ages of 55-64 and 23 per cent is over 65.

“There’s a small percentage of people who are doing a tremendous amount of work and the population of volunteers is very much older than the general population,” said Rowe.

“Volunteers with a religious affiliation gave more time on average than did those without one,” found a survey done by Statistics Canada in 2000.

The National Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) found those with religious affiliation donated about 168 volunteer hours a year versus 149 from those without one.

Rowe said a lot of seniors have a strong background in religion, which might spur them on to get out and give back to the community.
“A lot of them have a strong belief system around religion and spirituality and it’s part of that belief system that makes them go out and help others,” said Rowe.

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Young Latinos ? strong believers

If you want to know why Hispanics are driving pollsters crazy, according to political studies professor Harry P. Pachon, go figure this one out: the very young are religious and ethically as conservative as the first generation of immigrants; yet they identify predominantly with the Democratic Party.

In Pachon's survey, for example, 53 percent of a representative group of the original immigrants stated they relied "a great deal" on religion for day-to-day living. Of their children's generation, only 46 percent affirmed this level of faith, and among Latino Catholics the share had dropped even further - to 38.2 percent, whereas 70.3 of Hispanic evangelicals stressed the importance of faith. This is, by the way, the only instance where the two Christian communities differ considerably; on most other issues they show similar patterns.

But remarkably, the grandchildren show even more religious fervor than the original immigrants themselves. Of this "third generation," 53.6 percent told the pollsters that they relied heavily on their faith. The same goes for church attendance. Of the first generation, 52.2 percent went to a service at least once a week; with the second generation that figure slipped to 50 percent. However, of the third generation, a whopping 57 percent go to church every Sunday.

The young are almost a supportive of school prayers (72.3 percent) as the immigrant generation (72.8 percent), and significantly more so than their own parents (62.6 percent). Though 32.5 percent of the third generation support unrestricted abortion right, this figure is still below that of their parents' generation (35.2 percent); of the grandparents, a mere 18.1 favored this.

A 56.4 percent majority opposes homosexuality as "always wrong," thus edging back to the grandparents' position on this issue (63.9), and proving to be considerably more conservative than the second generation (50.9 percent). According to Pachon, all indications suggest that the next generation - the fourth - will continue this movement toward a more traditionalist set of values.

And yet, young Hispanics identify more with the Democratic Party (53.1 percent) than the first (34.2) and second (51.4) generations. The reason for this is, Pachon said, that Latinos feel strongly about issues such as gun control and public health insurance.

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Thursday, June 26, 2003

U.S. scared of Islamic law, says Ba'asyir

An Indonesian Muslim cleric accused of leading a terror network accused the United States Thursday of orchestrating his treason trial to stop him fighting for the establishment of Islamic law.

"This is indeed a conspiracy. This is an orchestrated project aimed at stopping (the struggle to uphold) Islamic law, of which America is afraid," Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 64, told Elshinta radio in an interview before the latest trial session.

"I'm not a criminal. I just want to uphold the law," he said. "I say what is right is right. What is wrong is wrong."

Ba'asyir heads the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI), which is campaigning for Islamic law in the country.

Prosecutors say Ba'asyir also heads the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) regional extremist group and that he tried to overthrow the Indonesian government through terrorism and to establish an Islamic state.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2003

White House Outlines Stance on Faith-Based Hiring Rules

The White House officially spelled out its reasoning for supporting religious hiring practices of faith-based organizations that some critics have found discriminatory.

Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, said federal law currently embodies at least five different approaches to hiring by faith-based groups that receive government funding. The administration, he said, wants the law clarified."Congress currently has a thicket of laws that are very confusing at the street level for providers of social services," Towey said in a conference call with reporters.

The White House also released a nine-page booklet, "Protecting the Civil Rights and Religious Liberty of Faith-based Organizations: Why Religious Hiring Rights Must Be Preserved," which Towey said has been sent to members of Congress.

The controversial hiring issue--which critics say could lead to various kinds of discrimination--has stalled faith-based legislation on Capitol Hill and is currently being debated concerning Head Start programs.

The booklet compares groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Planned Parenthood--which receive millions in federal money each year--to faith-based groups that have a particular position or viewpoint.

"A secular group that receives government money is currently free to hire based on its ideology and mission," the document reads. "Allowing religious groups to consider faith in hiring when they receive government funds simply levels the playing field--by making sure that, when it comes to serving impoverished Americans, faith-based groups are as welcome at the government's table as nonreligious ones."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a critic of the Bush administration's faith-based initiative, called the new document a" crusade" to convince Congress to permit employment discrimination on religious grounds. "It's bad constitutional analysis and unethical public policy to give religious groups an affirmative right to discriminate in hiring using tax dollars," the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said in an interview.

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Vatican puts its treasures on the Web

Vatican City- The Sistine Chapel is now online.

The Vatican put its enormous art collection on the Web yester day, launching a new site for the Vatican Museums that it hopes will attract more tourists while also disseminating the church's message around the globe. The site, at http://mv.vatican.va , allows visitors to take a vir tual-reality tour of some of the dozen museums and galleries that make up the Vatican collec tion, zooming in on a frescoed panel in the Raphael Rooms or viewing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel with a three-dimensional video.

Now visitors can view entire galleries of the Egyptian and Etruscan museums, the Pinaco teca painting gallery, the Ra phael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel - part of a collection that the U.N. agency, UNESCO, has recognized for its place in the world's cultural patrimony.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Study Findings Show Sexual Behavior Rates High Among Religious Teens

The most in-depth analysis to look exclusively at the sexual values and behaviors of teenagers active in congregational life reveals that, despite lower rates of sexual intercourse than in secular studies, religious teens are engaging in other sexual activities, including oral sex, at high rates. In addition, teens are virtually unanimous in wanting their faith-based institutions to do more to help them relate their faith to dating, sexual decision-making, marriage and parenting.

Only 31 percent of the 12th graders surveyed said they have had sexual intercourse, compared to 60.5 percent of 12th graders in data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While many religious teens are not having sexual intercourse, those involved in faith-based institutions are involved in other sexual behaviors. Twenty-nine percent of the 11th and 12th grade males and 26 percent of the 11th and 12th grade females say they have had oral sex. In addition, 70 percent of the 11th and 12th graders have fondled a partner's breasts and/or genitals, and half had been nude with a member of the opposite sex. Eighty-nine percent of the 11th and 12th grade males and 71 percent of the 11th and 12th grade females masturbate.

Other key findings:

-- Youth from congregations that provided young people with information about contraception and STDs (about 8 percent of responding congregations) reported no instances of pregnancy or STDs. Youth from those congregations were not any more likely or less likely than other youth in the study to have had sexual intercourse. Youth from congregations that did not furnish this information were not so fortunate. Eleven percent of the females who have had intercourse experienced a pregnancy, and 9 percent percent of the youth who have had intercourse or oral sex reported having had a STD.

-- Half of the female teens who became pregnant chose to end that pregnancy with abortion. This included teens from denominational traditions that are strongly pro-life. In many instances, teens said that the potential disapproval of their families and congregations if they became unwed mothers played a role in the decision to have an abortion.

"Clergy consistently think the young people in their congregations are less sexually involved than they really are," says Rev. Steve Clapp, president of Christian Community, Inc. "It is imperative that faith communities of all denominations begin to more realistically address the sexual health needs of the youth they serve. Teens need and want help relating their faith to their sexual decisions."

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Monday, June 23, 2003

The Search for Jesus

A provocative look at who contemporary thinkers and researchers reflection on the Jesus of history. Scholars debate his birth, death, and more.

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A resurgence in life of prayer

After decades of Communist rule in former Yugoslavia, monasteries are enjoying a revival.

All across the Orthodox lands of the former Yugoslavia - Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and parts of Bosnia - monasteries are enjoying a revival. Tito's Yugoslavia suppressed religion and turned old churches and monasteries into "cultural monuments." Now, religion is permissible again, and many young people are turning to it even as their society falls increasingly under the influence of Western secular culture.

The monastic revival springs not just from pent-up religious feeling, but also from the resurgence of nationalism. In the 1990s, Orthodox priests in Bosnia and Croatia blessed Serb fighters who carried out "ethnic cleansing" in the name of the Serb people. In Kosovo, Serbian Orthodox clergy supported Slobodan Milosevic when he began his crackdown on ethnic Albanians. Today, when the tables have turned, Serb monks fight to defend their monasteries and the province's Serb remnant from the hostile Albanian majority.

Not everyone is pleased by the resurgence of religion. It worries liberals, who see the growing influence of the Orthodox Church as an impediment to the development of a Western-style separation of church and state. Politicians curry the favor with the church in all sorts of ways. In Macedonia, the government is building a massive 250-foot-high cross on the mountain above the capital. In Serbia, the government instituted compulsory religious education this year.

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Giving increased slightly in 2002

Charitable donations in the United States were up slightly in 2002, with religious organizations getting substantial increases but human-services groups taking a hit, according to a study to be released today.

An estimated $241 billion was given to non-profits last year. That was up from $238 billion in 2001. Donations are estimated to have represented 2.3 percent of gross domestic product, a bit lower than 2001's 2.4 percent of GDP, according to Giving USA, an annual report published by the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy.

As in other economic down times, giving to human services, $18.6 billion, suffered a drop of more than 9 percent. These charities received about 8 percent of all donations in 2002.

Giving to religious groups, though, was up nearly 5 percent for a total of $84 billion, or 35 percent of all charitable giving across the country -- the largest recipient category.

``Despite the economic difficulties, giving is up,'' Cardaronella said. But Americans ``are distributing it in different ways,'' he said.

A Giving USA survey of non-profits found that 49 percent of organizations reported an increase in charitable contributions from 2001 to 2002; 46 percent experienced a drop.

The report, prepared by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, is based on surveys of organizations and economic studies that use tax data, government estimates for economic indicators and information from other research institutions.

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Sunday, June 22, 2003

Why parents prize education's fourth R - religion

Religious schools are soaking up students - and funding - as parents push for values-added private education.

A new religious school opens somewhere in NSW every six weeks. This phenomenon, however, is not merely about religion. Non-believers are moving their children out of state schools to be educated alongside the children of the devout and religiously ambivalent.

As Phillip Heath, president of Australian Anglican Schools, sees it, parents are flocking to religious education for "the package" that provides "a moral and ethical educational framework".

NSW is leading this spiritual revival in non-government education. Some 330,000 students, or 30 per cent of the state's total, attend religious schools. Brendan Nelson, the federal Minister for Education, says religious schools offer the trifecta that parents are looking for: identity, discipline and values. "They increasingly want values that inform the personal development of their children."

The surge in religious schools does not mean Australians are holier - but fewer are prepared to admit to godlessness. At the 2001 census, just over 15 per cent of the population listed "no religion", compared with 16.5 per cent in 1996.

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Saturday, June 21, 2003

Australian Bible gets church backing

The Virgin Mary is referred to as a 'special kind of Sheila'

The Bible, already translated into 2,000 languages, has now been published in a new version - the Australian - and backed by, among others, the Archbishop of Sydney.

Among other changes, the Three Wise Men are "eggheads from out East", while the Virgin Mary is a "pretty special Sheila."

Meanwhile the parable of the Good Samaritan is "the story of the good bloke."

And the Three Wise Men greet the King of the Jews with a cheery, "G'day, your majesty."

"I'm really aiming it at anyone who doesn't read the Bible and who thinks, 'that's a really boring old book, there's nothing in that for me'," Kel Richards, the author of the new version, told BBC World Service's Reporting Religion programme. "This is a reading book - it's what I call a bedside, bathtub and beach Bible," Richards stressed.

"It's what you pick up because it's fun to read. Anyone who thinks that the Bible's no longer fun to read - this is for them."

Newsflash: There were drovers camped out in the paddock nearby keeping a eye on their mob of sheep that night. Their eyes shot out on stalks when an Angel of the Lord zapped into view and the glory of the Lord filled the air like 1,000 volts. The angel said: "Stop looking like a bunch of stunned mullets. Let me give you the drum"

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50% of Americans don't believe in evolution

In 2001 a Gallup poll showed that nearly half of Americans don't believe in evolution.

Forty-five percent say humans were created as is, 37 percent say humans evolved with God's help, 12 percent say humans evolved without God's help.

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Friday, June 20, 2003

Abrahamic faiths crack the door to deeper dialogue

Since Sept. 11, most Americans have become starkly aware of the great gaps in understanding and heightened tensions among Muslims, Christians, and Jews at home and abroad. Recognizing the need to build bridges and to strengthen moderate voices, many are experimenting with new forms of what some call "Abrahamic dialogue."

Last fall, Mr. Feiler and his publisher encouraged the formation of "Abraham salons" around the country by offering discussion materials to interested groups. Some 500 requests poured in within two months from libraries, bookstores, individuals, and religious institutions, he says, and about 5,000 have downloaded the materials from a website.

At the same time, the heightened violence in the Middle East has also taken its toll on interfaith communication in the US. Muslim and Jewish communities in the Los Angeles area, for example, had a well-developed dialogue going on. Yet, according to Leila Al-Marayati of the Muslim Women's League, it has disintegrated to such a degree that people "can't even admit there needs to be a dialogue." She spoke at Harvard University last month on a panel of women leaders, Jewish and Muslim, concerned with the lack of civil discourse.

Interfaith dialogue is needed to humanize the other groups and to counter hate-mongering, the women agreed.

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PBS Show Examines Black Americans' Faith

An ambitious goal: To shine light on the religious faith of black Americans, while exploring what sealed their devotion across three centuries of history.

That is what "This Far By Faith" sets out to do. Airing 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday (June 24-26) on PBS (check local listings), the six one-hour segments add up to a sweeping portrait of the black experience - from the arrival of the early African slaves through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Depression, the civil rights era and the advent of the 21st century.

One point repeatedly brought home: Black Americans' spiritual focus has been more than a survival mechanism; it is a natural state of being.

"There is no word for religion in many African languages," explains the narrator in the series' first moments, "for in a traditional African view of the world, there is no place where God is not."

June Cross, a producer of the series, cites a Harris Poll conducted in January that found higher levels of religious belief among blacks than among whites and Hispanics.

"One of the underlying threads to the entire series is that this is a human experience," says James. "For most people, a religious or spiritual experience is very much a part of being fully human, and what we're saying is this: Wherever you find your spirituality, it's beyond any racial or ethnic connotations."

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Thursday, June 19, 2003

Religious Canadians usually want children

Religious Canadians are more likely to want children than those who have no religion, says Statistics Canada in its newly released summer 2003 issue of Canadian Social Trends.

"Religious traditions are generally linked with values and attitudes that support marriage and parenthood," says an article based on the 2001 General Social Survey (GSS) on family and friends. "Research shows that there is a positive association between religious participation and traditional attitudes about family formation."

The article, entitled Childfree by Choice, reported that Canadians with no religious affiliation are more likely not to plan a family than their religious counterparts. Among those in the age group 20-34, 12 per cent of those with no religious affiliation expected to stay childfree, compared to six per cent of religious Canadians.

The data confirm the survey of 1995, which found that weekly attenders of religious services placed greater importance on lasting relationships, getting married and having at least one child than those who never attended.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Belief-O-Matic™

Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-Matic™ knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.

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Of Politics and Patina: Is the Case Closed for the James Ossuary?

Leading Israeli scientists have ruled the inscription linking this ancient box to Jesus a forgery. But is the case really closed?

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Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Jews in Israel outnumber U.S. Jews

The number of Jews in Israel has surpassed the number of Jews in the United States, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

On the eve of Independence Day, the CBS reported that there are 5.4 million Jews living in Israel, compared to 5.2 million in the U.S., according to the latest United Jewish Appeal Federation survey.

The data indicates the closure of an historical circle: For the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple, Israel has once again become the largest concentration of Jews in the world.

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Half of Koreans Are Religious

Five out of 10 South Koreans are followers of a religion with Buddhism accounting for the lion's share, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry yesterday.

The study, whose figures are based on a social index released by the National Statistical Office in 1999, showed that 26.3 percent of respondents were Buddhists, 18.6 percent Protestants and 7 percent Catholics. Confucianism accounted for 0.7 percent of the total while other religions made up 1.1 percent.

The ministry also said the number of followers of religions is on the rise, growing from 42.6 percent in 1985 to 50.7 percent in 1995 and 53.6 percent in 1999.

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New diversity rules catch firms napping

United Kingdom - Employers face a surge in employment tribunal claims because they are unprepared for new legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion and belief.

Exclusive research by Personnel Today and law firm DLA shows the majority of organisations will be vulnerable when the legislation comes into force on 2 December.

The survey of 1,400 HR professionals reveals that just 8 per cent of employers know the sexual orientation of their workforce and only 13 per cent are aware of their religious beliefs,

In addition, more than 60 per cent of respondents don't believe their line managers have the skills to deal with equality and diversity issues.

Makbool Javaid, partner at DLA, said the findings indicate that many employers will be in for a rude awakening when the EU Employment Framework Directive comes into force.

"There is currently no definition of religion and belief, so it will be hard for line managers to ensure they are complying with the law," he said.

The survey also reveals a worrying lack of support or interest in the issue from business leaders. Just 42 per cent of those polled report their top management tier is genuinely committed to improving diversity.

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Sunday, June 15, 2003

Building a Progressive Islam

"Islam is simple" is a slogan used as an excuse to avoid discussion, and even disagreement. Islam is not simple because Muslims are not simple.

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'Passion' fuels Mel Gibson conflict.

Actor-producer Mel Gibson recently threatened legal action against religious watchdogs who questioned his upcoming film about Jesus.

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Fewer people putting faith over finances

Churches and nonprofit Christian ministries across the United States have been reporting a significant decline in financial support in the past year and a half. Some attribute the change to competition for charitable dollars since the Sept. 11 terror attacks; others blame the poor economy.

Consistent tithers are a small group - about 3 percent of American adults last year, according to a recent study. And the proportion of tithers appears to be dropping, the survey indicates. In 2001, 8 percent of adults surveyed reported that they tithed, according to the poll of 1,010 adults by Barna Research Group, based in Oxnard, Calif. The independent marketing research firm has tracked cultural trends related to beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors since 1984.

Even among born-again Christians, just 6 percent tithed last year, compared with 14 percent in 2001, the survey shows.

Among evangelicals - defined for the survey as people who believe that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Jesus with non-Christians - 9 percent tithed, according to the survey.

Pollster George Barna attributes the decline in the number of people tithing to the soft economy, the threat of terrorism, the scandals involving Catholic priests and long-term demographic shifts.

According to Barna's survey, people older than 55 are far more likely to tithe than younger people. Tithing has more typically been a more significant tenet of Protestant than Catholic traditions.

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Room for doubt

On the surface, President Bush enjoys wide public support for his campaign to expand religious involvement at every level of government. A closer look reveals that most Americans are wary of his faith-based solutions. They have reason to

The media uncritically cite opinion polls indicating that 75 percent of Americans support tax funding of faith-based social services.

Scratch the surface, though, and the same polls reveal profound reservations that indicate an astonishing disconnect between the public's general approval of anything religious and its anxieties about what churches might actually do with tax money.

According to a poll conducted in 2001 by the Pew Forum (and there is no reason to believe that public opinion has shifted significantly), nearly eight out of 10 Americans opposed public funding for religious organizations that hire only members of their own faith. Bush has simply ignored this caveat.

Furthermore, the public has grave doubts about the ability of religious groups to deliver services in areas clearly affected by religious doctrine. In the Pew poll, only 39 percent felt that religious organizations were best qualified to provide pregnancy counseling. Secular community-based groups were favored by 42 percent; another 16 percent chose the government.

And government, not private religious or secular organizations, was seen by a large majority as the most effective provider of health care, job training and literacy programs. Faith-based organizations were viewed as most effective only for feeding the homeless and counseling prisoners.

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Saturday, June 14, 2003

In Troubled Times, Country Radio Gets Spiritual

Terrorism, war, economic hard times, and a certain amount of bandwagon jumping are among the factors country radio programmers cite for the rise in religious-themed songs getting play in the format right now.

Randy Travis' recent chart-topper, "Three Wooden Crosses," is joined by such spiritual singles as Jeff Carson's remake of MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine," Phil Vassar's recent "This Is God," Sherrie Austin's "Streets of Heaven," Buddy Jewell's "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)," Clay Walker's "A Few Questions," and Jimmy Wayne's upcoming single, "I Love You This Much."

"People are looking for answers and comfort and find both in religion," radio consultant Joel Raab says, explaining the proliferation of these singles.

Raab thinks the songs reflect the core values of the "vast majority" of country listeners. "Country listeners are, as a lifegroup, more religious, more conservative, and patriotic than the average Americans, so it's a natural."

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Faith polls hearten secularists

Pollsters who pry into matters of faith know they have to phrase their questions carefully.

One big question goes something like this: "What is your religion?" As a rule, few dare to answer "none."

But researchers at the City University of New York made a subtle change in 2001 when updating their portrait of U.S. religious identities. They asked: "What religion do you identify with, if any?" A stunning 14 percent said "no religion" -- nearly 30 million Americans. Another question asked if respondents were religious or secular, and 16 percent chose "secular."

"Those two words -- 'if any' -- made a big difference," said Fred Edwords, editorial director of the American Humanist Association.

"Those two little words signaled that it was acceptable for people to say that they didn't believe in God or at least didn't practice any particular religion."

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Friday, June 13, 2003

Religion not a major factor in voting

Neither President Bush’s status as a born again Christian, nor Joseph I. Lieberman’s Orthodox Jewish faith will have much affect on voter attitudes about them as candidates, according to a poll released Thursday.

The national survey by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found that 69 percent of those polled said the incumbent Republican president’s religious beliefs will have no influence on their vote.

Another 18 percent said they would be more likely to vote for Bush because he is a born again Christian, while 11 percent said they would be less likely to vote for him because of his religion.

Other findings in the poll include:
• 92 percent of those surveyed said they believe in God and 74 percent said they believe in life after death.
• 63 percent of the poll’s respondents said they belong to a religious congregation and 39 percent said they attend services every week or almost every week.
• 69 percent of those surveyed expressed support for organized prayer in public schools.

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Thursday, June 12, 2003

Giving God a Break

God must be feeling dizzy, listening to American evangelicals pray for help in converting Muslims from their vile faith while Muslims appeal for assistance in stomping out bloodthirsty Christian infidel invaders.

So maybe God, along with all of us, will find relief following a milestone last month: some leading evangelicals called on their own prophets of pugnacity to zip it. We can, er, pray, that responsible Muslim leaders will follow that wise example and similarly rein in their own extremists.

The "loving rebuke" by conservative Christians of their fire-breathing brethren came at a Washington conference. This helped move us back from the clash of civilizations that hard-liners in both Islam and Christianity are pushing us all toward.

The demonization of Islam by the Christian right always seemed opportunistic. Cal Thomas, the evangelical commentator, notes that both left and right need enemies to galvanize fund-raising, and he adds: "The right has been looking for an enemy to replace communism since 1990. And maybe Islam is it."

Nonetheless, even if it's about P.R. more than substance, the step toward civility is important.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2003

More Than 40 Percent of Americans Discuss Moral, Faith Issues

Almost half of American adults surveyed say they discuss moral issues with others in a typical week, while 42 percent say they discuss spiritual topics.

The Barna Research Group of Ventura, Calif., found that 49 percent of Americans said they discuss moral issues or situations with others each week. A slightly lower percentage said they talked about spiritual issues and beliefs.

The most popular of seven topics evaluated was the content of movies or television programs, which 66 percent of adults said they discuss with others each week.

The people who were most likely to engage in chats about moral issues included those younger than 55, those with a college degree and above-average household incomes, blacks, attendees of mid-sized and large churches and Texas residents.

Researchers found that those most likely to talk about religious issues included women, those with college degrees and above-average household incomes, blacks, residents of the South, Republicans, conservatives, attendees of churches with more than 100 people and Texas residents.

The data is based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,002 adults in May and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

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Comparison shopping to settle on a church home

Princeton University religion sociologist Robert Wuthnow polled 1,530 people nationwide in 1999 and found that 38 percent had shopped for a church or synagogue.

Also, Wuthnow said, a survey last winter of 2,910 people who attend religious services found that 50 percent "sometimes attend at other places," 37 percent of them "frequently" or "fairly frequently."

And people who shop are looking far and wide, not bound by the denomination of their birth, Balmer said.

"We've reached an age in American religion where the shopping mentality, the consumer mentality, means people choose what appeals to them," he said.

Balmer attributed the lateral movement to "a kind of homogenization of Protestantism" and to public mobility.

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Monday, June 09, 2003

Survey shows Americans less trusting, more suspicious than ever

Decades of opinion polling show a remarkably consistent slide in the overall level of trust.

The mother of such surveys, at the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center, reveals the depressing truth in a few simple numbers.

Asked whether "most people can be trusted," 53 percent of Americans agreed in 1964. That dropped to 49 percent in 1971, 44 percent in 1980, 39 percent in 1991 and 35 percent in 2002, the most recent poll in 2002.

"We're talking a 20 percentage point drop, and the majority of Americans have switched positions from optimistic to pessimistic," said Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey at the research center.

Not everyone believes the long slide will continue until no one trusts a soul.

"I have to be optimistic," said Ivie, who formed her Loose Ends service five years ago. "We've hit a low. Like all things in life, the pendulum swings. We can't afford to go any lower."

The only way to combat the natural suspicions, she suggested, is to prove oneself trustworthy time and again.

"When you don't pretend to be above it all, people respect that," she said. "We're only as good as the ethics we practice on a daily basis. It's a daily test."

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Saturday, June 07, 2003

Survey says there's no cure-all for church growth

Researchers involved in a large-scale study of U.S. congregations have found there's no one secret to success.

The U.S. Congregational Life Survey is the largest profile of worshippers and their congregations ever produced in the United States--a survey of more than 300,000 worshippers from more than 2,200 congregations, taken in April 2001 as part of a broader body of research done in the United States, England, Australia and New Zealand. The congregations surveyed came from more than 50 faith groups, including non-denominational and Pentecostal congregations, Protestants and Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Jews, Buddhists and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

*Size does not determine a congregation's success. "Meaningful worship happens in congregations of all sizes," not just those with the resources to put on what Woolever called "the best show." In fact, people are more likely to participate actively in small congregations--to attend a Bible study or hold a leadership position, for example--than in bigger ones.

*Conservative congregations and those that are historically black tended to do better on a number of measures than did mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. Conservative and historically black congregations were more likely to be places that helped people grow spiritually, where people found worship to be meaningful, where they actively participated and felt a sense of belonging.

*Mid-sized congregations--those whose worship attendance was between 100 and 350--were given the best ratings in caring for children and youth. Catholic parishes scored the lowest in this, and conservative Protestant churches the highest.

*Several factors seemed to predict growth. The strongest predictors for whether a congregation would get bigger were if the congregation did a good job caring for children and youth, had high levels of participation in small groups and other activities, and seemed welcoming to new people.

*People who attend small congregations are more likely than those from mid-size or larger congregations to say they're growing spiritually and to feel empowered to use their gifts and talents for leadership. People also report a strong sense of belonging in small congregations.

*Worshippers who are younger than the average age of those attending worship also have a strong sense of belonging, and "the sense of home is particularly important to younger people," Woolever said. Congregations whose members are younger also tend to do a better job caring for children and teenagers.

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Friday, June 06, 2003

Groups Weigh Risks, Morality of Evangelizing in Postwar Iraq

On Wednesday, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life brought together leaders of Christian aid groups and Christian and Muslim scholars to discuss the moral and political problems surrounding evangelical projects in Iraq.

Many in the Middle East, where Christian missions have historically been viewed as an arm of European colonial powers, remain suspicious of Christian proselytizers. Today, Christian evangelical activity in the region is seen as a kind of neocolonialism, said Abdulaziz Sachedina, chairman of the Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

"Ultimately, the U.S. is seen as a Christian power," he said, noting that the term "occupation" is often used in reference to Christian missions in the Middle East.

Last month an evangelical summit in Washington reaffirmed Christian missionaries' right to proselytize as part of new guidelines to improve communication between the two faiths. Speakers at the forum, sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals, urged Christians to engage in dialogue with Muslims in order to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ but cautioned against making inflammatory remarks about Islam.

Other missionary organizations, however, say their sole purpose is to bring aid to those who need it. "We draw inspiration from the faith, but we stop short of proselytizing," said Katherine Moynihan, the deputy regional director for Catholic Relief Services in the Middle East and North Africa. Moynihan, who just returned from Baghdad, said religious messages sometimes get in the way of relief work. "Right now, it's about getting aid to people who need it and not complicating things with an agenda that creates suspicion," she said.

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Thursday, June 05, 2003

Canadian Census results are not what they seem

Canada appears still to be an overwhelmingly Christian nation. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of the population continue to call themselves Christian. This has shrunk over the previous decade from four-fifths (83 percent) -- largely due to continued decline in Canada's three mainline Protestant denominations (United, Anglican, and Presbyterian) -- but it still makes Christianity by far the dominant religious orientation. "No religion" is the second-most-reported "affiliation," up from 13 percent in 1991 to 16 percent, which leaves only 8 percent for everybody else.

The "no-religion" sector deserves another look or two. For one thing, sociologist Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge -- Canada's leading authority on such matters -- has emphasized that one-quarter of these "religious nones" are under the age of 15.

It also bears remembering that "no religion" does not mean "no spiritual interest." Statistics Canada has yet to offer the option of "do-it-yourself spirituality" on the census. Thus many Canadians who construct their own forms of religious life opt for "no religion" to indicate "no 'proper noun' religion -- but I'm still spiritual."

And yet, a number of such people still opt to call themselves "Christian." Bibby's research has shown that a significant minority of self-identified Christians in Canada believe in reincarnation, among other heterodox beliefs. So one might well wonder about how Christian, in any normative sense, this three-quarters of the national population actually is.

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Wednesday, June 04, 2003

Born Again!

Many rural churches are struggling. But many others are finding new life and new members in those moving into farm country.

"Most people think rural churches are dying," says Jere Gilles, a University of Missouri rural sociologist who helped coordinate the latest survey. "But in our most recent sample (415 churches in 99 townships from 1982 to 1999), that doesn't appear to be necessarily true."

In fact, almost 80% of rural congregations held their own or actually grew. The reasons how and why some churches grew vary case by case. But one important factor for many was the influx of new families who moved from cities to the countryside to savor a rural lifestyle.

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AMAZING GRACE - No matter what's on the plate, giving thanks is universal

The act of slowing down begins with the blessing of a meal. In a 1998 Gallup poll, 64 percent of Americans said they express gratitude by saying grace at meals; in 63 percent of families with children under 18, someone says it aloud.

"Mealtime prayer is a pretty enduring feature in many people's lives," says Gustav Niebuhr, a fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion in Princeton, N.J. The numbers, which have stayed constant since the 1960s, suggest that families lean on the pillars of tradition, but individuals are also joining the ranks in creative, ecumenical ways.

"It's not just that the food is blessed but that the process of eating is itself a renewal," says Mark Jurgensmeyer, professor of sociology and religious studies and director of Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara. "The idea of ingestion is almost universal within religious traditions as a sacramental act."

Even for individuals who are not traditionally religious, "There is this little pause at the beginning of a meal," Jurgensmeyer says. "You don't eat before everybody is served, and often there is a toast, a salute. And that will be a kind of grace -- a moment of reflection and appreciation. And that's all grace is."

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Thank heaven for this food and this company. May it be good for us. -- Damianos Theodosios

In this food I see clearly the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence. -- A Buddhist contemplation

For each new morning with its light. For rest and shelter of the night. For health and food, for love and friends. For everything thy goodness sends. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Oh God, bless this food we are about to receive. Give bread to those who hunger; and hunger for justice to us who have bread. -- A blessing based on Gandhi's principles

This ritual is One. The food is One. We who offer the food are One. The fire of hunger is also One. All action is One. We who understand this are One. -- Ancient Hindu blessing

The plate is filled with food. I am aware that each morsel is the fruit of much hard work by those who produced it. -- A Buddhist contemplation

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Tuesday, June 03, 2003

3 Religious Groups Launch Voter Drive

Three conservative religious organizations have teamed up for a massive church-based voter registration drive leading to the 2004 presidential and congressional elections.

The Christian Coalition, the National Pro-Life Religious Council and the anti-abortion Catholic group Priests for Life will target millions of Christians on four "National Christian Voter Registration Sundays" between now and next year's election, the groups announced Monday.

But a religious liberty watchdog group criticized the move as an effort to build a church-based political machine.

"This is step one down a path toward turning every church into a cog in a political machine," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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New study shows teens using less narcotics

The recently published results of a survey on drug and alcohol use among local youth brings mainly good - but some bad - news to parents, prevention advocates and educators.

The good news - the vast majority of teens in Santa Cruz County are not using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis.

"It really looks as though most kids in the county - about 90 percent - are not using drugs," said Denise Gannon, prevention program manager for Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Inc. "It's really only a small group that is, but I think that often gets overlooked."

"Sure some people party a lot, but there's also a lot of kids that are goal-oriented," Alfanso Collazo, a Watsonville High School senior, said.

Besides goals, other students cited religion and parents as the reason they've chosen to remain clean and sober.

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Monday, June 02, 2003

King Blames Trousers for World's Ills

MBABANE - Swaziland's absolute monarch has singled out women wearing trousers as the cause of the world's ills in a state radio sermon that also condemned human rights as an "abomination before God."

"The Bible says curse be unto a woman who wears pants, and those who wear their husband's clothes. That is why the world is in such a state today," Mswati, ruler of the impoverished feudal nation of about one million, said late on Thursday.

The Times of Swaziland reported that the monarch, who reigns supreme in the landlocked country run by palace appointees and where opposition parties are banned, went on to criticize the human rights movement.

"What rights? God created people, and He gave them their roles in society. You cannot change what God has created. This is an abomination before God," the king told an audience of conservative church leaders.

Mswati is Africa's last absolute monarch. He is currently married to nine wives.

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Sunday, June 01, 2003

God And The E.U.

When Valéry Giscard d'Estaing unveiled his long-awaited preamble to the long-awaited draft, there were shout-outs to ancient Greek, Roman, and Enlightenment thinkers — but not to God or Christianity.

That did not satisfy Christian Democrats who had pushed for an explicit nod to God; or religious E.U. states, current and future, including Italy and Poland; or, of course, the Catholic Church. "Enlightenment wasn't born out of nowhere. It came out of Christianity," says Vatican diplomat Achille Cardinal Silvestrini. "They make a point of talking about roots. If you're going to do that, you have to talk about them all."

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Anglican Church Establishes Islamic Centre

The Kaduna province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has established a centre for the study of Islam. According to Fearon, the Islamic centre was established in collaboration with the Barnabas Fund, United Kingdom.

The objective was to enable students have basic knowledge of Islam, "so as to be able to hold meaningful discussions with their Moslem neighbours and also help them (Moslems) to understand the Christian faith as well."