TruthBook Religious News Blog

More Canadians, especially young people, are sitting in church pews these days, says Reginald Bibby, one of Canada's best-known pollsters on religion. And all the groups from Protestant to Roman Catholic to non-traditional are showing "important signs of new life."

Attendance is up by as much as "four or five percentage points" since the late 1990s, says the University of Lethbridge sociologist who has just published a new book, Restless Churches, in which he argues his case through a blizzard of statistics. "What we're looking at is fairly modest stuff. But it's consistent."

Lots of people are hurting, struggling to find meaning and worried about their kids, said Bibby. "People are saying, 'Well you know, jeez, I'd like my kids to turn out OK.' " If they can find meaning in a church, "that makes people feel good about the organization."

In a survey Bibby completed in 2003, 26 per cent of Canadians said they attended religious services about once a week, up five per cent from a similar poll in 2000. Another 50 per cent or so indicated that they just needed a good reason to get involved. Bibby attributes the trend to religious groups "doing a better job of ministering to younger people," he said in an interview. For instance, the churches are moving away from spectator-style services to participatory worship, adding day-care facilities and producing more visually driven materials for Sunday schools.

Although Bibby doesn't cover non-Christian faiths, religious diversity in Canada is growing. The number of Canadians declaring themselves Muslims more than doubled in the decade between 1991 and 2001, from 253,000 to 580,000, says Statistics Canada. Among Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs, the census numbers were all up by about 80 per cent in the same period. Most of this growth was due to immigration and birth, not conversion, said the agency.

For years, the media and religious academics have reported that the number of Canadians professing no religion was climbing. But that number, said Bibby, represents only 16 per cent of the population, mostly young people who more often than not become religious within 10 years.

In a national survey of youth aged 15 to 19, those passing through a church door on a weekly basis fell to 18 per cent in 1992, but rose to 22 per cent in 2000 - a surprise for Bibby, who had thought the number would continue to drop.

Among adult Canadians who attend less than once a month, 55 per cent indicated they would consider more involvement if they found it rewarding. Among teens who don't attend regularly, 40 per cent said they were open to more involvement.

The pre-post-boomer syndrome is also at work, said Scorsone. "The pre-boomer people tended to be much more religious." For those who are part of the baby boom generation, "the rate (of attendance) tends to be lower." Then following them "it goes up. Their kids are coming out."

She thinks younger people - 18 to 35 year olds - are looking for meaning in their lives. They're faced with the ultimate questions, such as what they're supposed to be living for.

Whether the return to religion among Canadians is permanent won't be known for 10 to 15 years, said Bibby. "It's very embryonic. At least at a minimum ... things have halted as far as the decline" in regular attendance goes.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Monday, December 27, 2004

A surprise stronghold of religion: The young

In a national survey conducted on behalf of MTV last August, a majority of young adults said they believed in God, and thought that religion or spirituality was a very important part of their life.

Yes, a majority: As in, 80 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds believe in God or some other higher being. Two-thirds identify with a particular organized religion or church. Only 21 percent say that religion plays a small or unimportant role in their life.

The results came as a surprise to the people who run a television station synonymous with cutting-edge youth culture, and all the glitz, skepticism and outrageousness that implies.

From the generation that gave us gangsta rap and bare midriffs, there's a yearning for a new Madonna.

There's no doubt that this is a nation in the midst of a profound consideration of the role that faith plays in personal and public life, and we ought to listen to what the future is saying. Not only to be nice - the way young people envision "moral values" could provide a template for the politics of tomorrow.

And, if the data are to be believed, young people do have their own take on morality. They see it as an individual imperative to do what is right rather than a preemptive judgment on others' behavior.

"Young people are less interested in what other people are doing, and more concerned about what they, themselves, are doing," says Paul B. Raushenbush, associate dean of religious life at Princeton University, who, as "Pastor Paul," answers questions from teens on the Web site Beliefnet.com.

Indeed, the MTV research found that young people are tolerant and open-minded toward those who hold different beliefs. The vast majority of the 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed, for example, "follow their own religious and spiritual beliefs, but also think that other religious beliefs could be true, as well."

They are also more likely to see individual choice, fairness, and social justice in religious contexts. Although they mirror the rest of the nation on abortion (fairly evenly split between those who think it should remain legal and those who think it should be banned), they break with their elders on gay rights, with strong support for civil unions and same-sex marriage.

And they also split with their elders on issues of economic justice. John C. Green of the University of Akron released a major study of the American religious landscape and political attitudes in September. Last week, he graciously agreed to separate the responses into two groups: 18 to 29-year-olds, and respondents 30 and over. No wild swings between the generations (except on gay rights), but plenty of subtle differences.

The under-30 crowd was more inclined to think that minorities and the disadvantaged deserve government assistance and that public spending should be increased to provide services. That could provide one explanation for why this demographic voted Democratic in November.

Here's another, hidden in the minutiae of a huge, ongoing UCLA study of spirituality among college students: As expected, students who are highly engaged religiously differ from their less religious classmates on casual sex, abortion, and marijuana and are more likely to identify themselves as conservative. But the religious kids are also more in favor of federal control of the sale of handguns, and of abolishing the death penalty.

It is good to have our stereotypes scrambled, to envision a 25-year-old who goes to church regularly and is against abortion, but favors gun control and government help for the poor. It is good to be reminded that the simplistic characterizations of what it means to be "religious," so prevalent in the national discourse, mask the complexity of the real thing.

By Jane Eisner
Contact columnist Jane Eisner at 215-854-4530 or jeisner@phillynews.com. Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/janeeisner.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

A third of Kentucky's adults are unchurched

Although churches routinely are packed for Christmas services, a new survey commissioned by the Kentucky Baptist Convention shows that about one in three Kentucky adults are "unchurched." That's nearly 1 million people with no meaningful connection to any of the thousands of churches in a state in the heart of the Bible Belt.

The California-based Barna Research Group, which conducted the survey in October, defines the "unchurched" as those who have not attended services once in a six-month period except for special occasions.

The survey says an additional 650,000 Kentucky adults, or 21 percent of the population, don't view themselves as committed to the church they attend.

Barna, a prominent Christian research firm, based its data on a telephone survey of 2,175 people and more extensive interviews with those who identified themselves as unchurched. The margin of error was plus or minus two percentage points.

The unchurched in the study included atheists and followers of non-Christian religions, but the vast majority considered themselves Christians.

"Most of the unchurched are not opposed to faith, or even to Christ. ... But they have tried Christianity and found it wanting," the report states.

The Barna Research Group says the number of unchurched American adults has nearly doubled to 75 million since 1991. The rate of unchurched Kentuckians equals the national rate of one-third, the Barna report said. But where 54 percent of unchurched Americans say they are Christians, that figure is 82 percent among unchurched Kentuckians.

The Rev. Bill Hammer, associate pastor at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, said he wasn't surprised by the survey numbers, noting that many people identify themselves as Catholic but don't associate with any parish.

"In the archdiocese, we do encourage parishes to engage in outreach ... trying to take the faith to people who are not connected in any way," he said.

And Hammer said he often finds himself apologizing to people who have been offended by a member of the clergy.

Several who recently gathered at Heine Bros. said they are turned off by churches that preach that homosexuality is sinful and that only Christians are going to heaven.

"My division from religion came when I could not sit in catechism and believe that little kids in Africa were condemned" for not being Christians, said Ruth Fister of Louisville.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Britain Is Losing Its Religion, Survey Finds

People who believe God exists are now in a minority and almost everyone acknowledges Britain is becoming increasingly secular, according to a survey released today.

A Gallup poll in 1968 revealed 77% of Britons said they believed in God. According to the new YouGov survey, the figure has now fallen to 44%.

A majority of people in Britain neither hopes nor fears for a life after death with just about a third believing in heaven, and even fewer in hell and the devil.

Young people especially are significantly less religious than older generations, with more than a third describing themselves as either agnostics or atheists.

Among middle-aged people and the elderly, the figure is far smaller, according to the survey published today in The Daily Telegraph.

The proportion who do not believe in God has trebled from 11% in the late-1960s to 35% today.

One in four of YouGov’s sample, asked to say whether or not they believed in God, replied “don’t know“.

Among the 35% who said they did not believe in God, considerably more described themselves as agnostics rather than outright atheists.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Science or Miracle?; Holiday Season Survey Reveals Physicians' Views of Faith, Prayer and Miracles

A national survey of 1,100 physicians, conducted by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City over the past weekend, found that 74% of doctors believe that miracles have occurred in the past and 73% believe that can occur today.

The poll also indicated that American physicians are surprisingly religious, with 72% indicating they believe that religion provides a reliable and necessary guide to life.

Those surveyed represent physicians from Christian (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christian and other), Jewish (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and secular) Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions.

"The picture that emerges is one where doctors, although presumably more highly educated than their average patient, are not necessarily more secular or radically different in religious outlook than the public, stated Dr. Alan Mittleman, Director of The Finkelstein Institute.

"Our business is to determine physicians' needs and requirements relevant to the health care environment and this study was a great opportunity for us to use our methodology to explore physicians' spirituality and personal beliefs," explained Glenn Kessler, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, HCD Research in Flemington, NJ. The study affirmed earlier polls conducted by HCD that indicate a correlation between physicians' spiritual and political conservatism.

Additional findings indicate:

-- (58%) (over half) attending worship services at least one time per month

-- 46% (a plurality) believe that prayer is very important in their own lives

Physicians views of the Bible and religious teachings

Often, religious conviction, especially a belief in the miraculous, declines as level of education increases. This does not appear to hold true for physicians. Perhaps because of their frequent involvement with matters of life and death, physicians show significant openness to religion. Regarding their views on miracles and the source of the Bible:

-- 37% physicians believe that the Bible's miracle stories are literally true while 50% believe they are metaphorically true. 12% indicated that they did not believe in the Bible's description of miracles

-- 9% believe the Bible was written by God, 58% believe the Bible was inspired by God and 34% consider it human ancient literature.

-- 55% believe that medical practice should be guided by religious teaching (44% do not)

Religion and the practice of medicine

Perhaps the most surprising result of the survey is that a majority of doctors (55%) said that they have seen treatment results in their patients that they would consider miraculous (45% do not). Most physicians pray for their patients as a group (51%). Even more, 59% pray for individual patients.

67% encourage their patients to pray. Of those physicians, 5% did so for God to answer their prayers, 32% for psychological benefits and 63% for both reasons. 33% did not encourage their patients to pray.

Religious Differences

The quality of doctors' religiosity differs according to their own religious background. Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian doctors tend to hold more supernatural views than Jewish doctors, with the exception of Orthodox Jewish physicians, who resemble their Christian peers. For example, 60% of Protestant doctors believe that the miracles stories of the Bible are literally true. By comparison, although 53% of Orthodox Jews agree, among Conservative and Reform Jews the percentage drops to 12% and 4% respectively. Such differences do not indicate that Christians are more religious than Jews. They do indicate that Christians tend to be religious in a more traditional way, while Jews are religious in liberal way. 79% and 95% of Conservative and Reform Jews say that they are liberal believers, as compared with only 48% of Protestants.

Physicians differ regarding their perceptions of their control of treatment outcomes versus the influence of the supernatural or of acts of God. 35% of Catholics believe that all or a lot of the outcome of treatment is due to these non-medical sources, 46% of Protestants concur while only 20% of Jews attribute outcomes to non-medical influences.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the poll, or to speak with Dr. Mittleman or Glenn Kessler, please contact Sherry Kirschenbaum in the Department of Communications at (212) 678-8953; or email shkirschenbaum@jtsa.edu.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Friday, December 17, 2004

Girl's Dramatic Recovery From Rabies Follows Web-Fueled, Worldwide Prayer

When a brown bat fell into the aisle during a Mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 15-year-old Jeanna Giese didn't hesitate to scoop up the furry mammal and hurry it outdoors to freedom. The soft-hearted teen was well-known for rescuing creatures in need.

A bite or a scratch, so tiny it seemed insignificant, took the parochial school girl on a journey to hell, with a return so triumphant that believers around the world have deemed it a miracle of prayer made possible by the connecting power of the Internet.

Medical experts say Jeanna is the first person in the history of recorded medicine to have survived a full-blown case of human rabies without having been given an initial series of anti-rabies injections.

Her father, construction worker John Giese, explains the recovery this way: He simply called people to say, "We need to start praying -- if there's anything you can do to think about her."

From there, "it snowballed."

Jeanna's story turned global through Internet prayer chains. The International Herald Tribune, circulated widely throughout Western Europe, carried her story. It quoted Dr. Charles Rupprecht, the leading expert on rabies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, calling the recovery a miracle.

"By all indications, she's cleared of infection," Rupprecht said during a press conference in Milwaukee. "What makes it historic is that she's the first."

"Rabies is considered 100 percent fatal," said Rodney Willoughby, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital and an associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "We didn't have much to offer."

The five known survivors of rabies, besides Jeanna, received immediate anti-viral treatment after contact with a rabid animal.

Using a maverick approach they called an informed gamble, the teen's medical team put Jeanna into a coma to protect her brain and give her immune system "time to catch up." On the third day she was started on a "cocktail" of four drugs, one that needed CDC approval.

While Jeanna was in the coma, her mother, Ann, read her daughter e-mailed letters of prayer and hope that came from across the country, and eventually from around the world.

The Rev. John Radetski, a priest at St. Patrick's Church, cautions against calling his parishioner's recovery a "miracle" because of a quantity of prayers. He believes conversations with God should be in the context of servitude and seeking God's will.

"I don't think this happened because some kind of prayer quota was filled. Why would he grant healing in one instance, but not in another?" he said.

Some people would like to view prayer from the standpoint that if they get enough people together they can "lobby to God" and change his mind, the priest noted. He doesn't believe it works that way.

"Prayers can be directed at healing, but we don't call the shots. Mass prayer is not going to change the outcome of something. Maybe science made a breakthrough in this case. But when God worked a healing through Jeanna, it was for the glory of God and for people to witness his saving grace," he said.

On Nov. 18, Willoughby declared Jeanna officially cured, even though she remains under close supervision.

The teenage girl with a soft spot for animals is expected to be home by Christmas.

Skeptics can say what they want, but Jeanna's family believes her healing is an act of God. Said her father, John Giese, "We believe that prayer got us to this point."

By Sharon Roznik
Religion News Service

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Study: Married Adults Healthier Than Most

Confirming what many couples already knew, a government study from the National Center for Health Statistics concludes it's healthy to be married.

"Overall, this association between marital status and health persists regardless of socio-economic status, education and poverty, where people were born or their ethnicity," health statistician Charlotte Schoenborn said.

"In general, married adults were the least likely to experience health problems and the least likely to engage in risky health behaviors, with the notable exception of being overweight," Schoenborn wrote.

In addition to reporting better health overall, the study found that married people said they had less low back pain, fewer headaches and less psychological stress. They also were less likely to drink and smoke and were more physically active than people in general.

However, they're not immune to the weight problems plaguing America.

Currently more than half of all adults are overweight or obese - 56.7 percent - the center said.

An association between marriage and health was first reported in the 1970s.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

New Age Britons register more than 170 faiths

Britons follow more than 170 faiths or belief systems, according to newly-published official figures suggesting that spirituality is thriving.

The huge range of belief, much of it exotic or New Age, has been revealed by the raw statistics collated during the 2001 census, the first national count of religious affiliation.

The headline findings released last year showed that the overwhelming majority in England and Wales - 71.1 per cent - still regards itself as Christian, with Muslims making up the second largest religious group.

But the complete figures, which have now been published on the Office of National Statistics' website, show that spiritualism and paganism is thriving, and that beliefs range from vodun (voodoo) to the Native American Church, whose worship is based around peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus.

The country's south-east emerged as the capital of fringe faiths and sects, with London and the south-west not far behind.

The census found spiritualism, the belief that the dead can be contacted through mediums, was the eighth largest faith group, with 32,404 people claiming allegiance.

The first spiritualist church was established in England in 1853. Just behind them were the pagans, with 30,569 supporters, although their numbers rise to nearly 40,000 if wiccans (witches) and druids are included.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Prayer power

A CBS/New York Times poll earlier this year, found around 30% of Americans pray on a daily basis.

An estimated 45% of Canadians pray every day.

A national survey taken last year found six out of 10 of us "definitely" believed in God, while only 10% were dead sure He isn't around to hear our constant pleas.

Despite our strong faith, it's a minority who regularly attend church. For the rest, God is asked to make house calls.

But in bed in the middle of the night, or knuckles white on the steering wheel, or kneeling on a prayer mat in a living room, it's still a sweet array of very old words, and a few new beliefs, that we ask to be heard. Or are required to recite.

Ed Elkin, a Princeton-educated rabbi at Toronto's First Narayever Congregation, sees prayer for Jews -- at least three times a day -- as part of a promise, a covenant, with God. And no, he says, pointing to the history of the Jewish people, not every prayer is answered.

In one study in the early 1980s, 393 patients in the San Francisco General Hospital's coronary care unit took part in a double-blind test of the therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (godly pleas offered by a third party). None of the patients knew whether they were being prayed for or not by members of a local church.

Patients who were prayed for had fewer deaths than those in the control group left off the list. Those prayed for also had less need for CPR, required fewer antibiotics and didn't use mechanical ventilators as much.

A 1998 study by Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, N.C., looked at the blood pressure of 4,000 people over the age of 65. Doctors found those who prayed and attended weekly church service had lower blood pressure.

And a study by the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia, which chronicled the lives of almost 2,000 twins, found those who lived a spiritual lifestyle were healthier and had better marriages.

By Thane Burnett -- For the Toronto Sun

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

"Reflectively religious" have the highest purpose in life

Churchgoers who carefully wrestle with their faith have a greater sense of wellbeing than those who uncritically hold to their beliefs, groundbreaking research has found.

The first comprehensive Australian study to investigate the relationship between community wellbeing and religious and spiritual orientation supports a growing body of overseas evidence that a spiritual framework is good for your personal health and that of the community.

But the benefits might be more marginal for those who have blindly inherited their faith from parents or have adopted them from another culture.

The study, a project of the National Church Life Survey, Edith Cowan University, Deakin University and Anglicare Sydney, surveyed 1514 people across Australia to map the relationship between spirituality and wellbeing.

It concluded that those with a spiritual outlook were more positive, more generous with their money and time, and exhibited a greater sense of purpose in life than those with a "here and now" mindset.

Peter Kaldor, the principal author, says the exploration of spirituality appears important to a healthy society. But the more eclectic nature of alternative religions might not provide as clear a framework for living as mainstream faiths.

"Of all the groups across the spiritual spectrum, it is those who are reflectively religious who have the highest purpose in life. They are also the ones that are going to give voluntary service and give to charities," Dr Kaldor said. "They also register higher than average levels of personal growth."

But how a person arrived at their beliefs appeared important to their likely levels of growth, sense of purpose and contribution to others in the community, he said.

"There is a caveat, and the caveat is that those who are non-reflectively religious have much lower levels of personal growth, lower levels of purpose in life than the reflectively religious and are nowhere near as involved in giving to community life.

"While a smaller group than the reflectively religious, and still with a greater sense of purpose and contribution than those with a here and now mindset, this group shows how different the various approaches to spirituality may be."

Some people "go on a journey carefully and reflectively like sitting beside a placid lake and some of us might go on a spiritual adventure more like bungee jumping; 'let's journey to the edges for the experience of what we might find out there'."

Most Australians (74 per cent) believe in God or a spirit, higher power or life force, two-thirds say a spiritual life is important to them and a third pray or meditate at least weekly.

The national president of the Uniting Church, the Reverend Dean Drayton, said the survey served as a telling reminder to the church that getting people to engage in the journey was as important as the journey itself.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Friday, December 10, 2004

From 'liberal' pews, a rising thirst for personal moral code

Mainline Protestant congregations, known for emphasizing the social-justice and global-equity dimensions of the Gospel, are increasingly making space for airing parishioners' day-to-day moral dilemmas, which they used to leave largely between an individual and God.

Often, this thirst for a personal code of conduct is being satisfied among lay members themselves, who gather in small groups in homes, cafes, and church basements to talk over daily moral challenges.

Guidance in private moral matters helps keep the spirit alive, says Jim Adams of the Center for Progressive Christianity in Cambridge, Mass. "I think people want it and need it," he says. "Progressive churches that are thriving do pay as much attention to the personal as they do to the social and the political.... That's where people get what they need to sustain their lives."

Such daring encounters with one another's moral struggles have become remarkably regular at "St. Bart's," a progressive congregation whose average Sunday attendance has leapt from 100 to 1,200 since the early 1990s. Small groups that discuss personal dilemmas deserve much of the credit, according to Rector William Tully.

Other churches reversing years of decline say the same is true for them as well.

"This modern resurgence of interest [in small groups] in the past 15 years is authentically a new thing," says Ian Evison, director of research at the Alban Institute, a think tank for mainline American Christianity in Herndon, Va. "People found themselves with all these self-help groups, and it tended to create a culture for how things are dealt with."

Churchgoers are increasingly willing to go to their peers in the pews for guidance, says Mr. Evison, in part because few want to rely on clergy for one-on-one counseling in an era charged with sexual-abuse scandals.

Another reason has to do with urban lifestyles that include fewer "occasions for natural friendships" among adults who miss the blunt advice given in childhood and college days, according to Mr. Adams.

Whatever the causes, some hope they've found an effective way to stem decades of declining numbers in mainline churches.

Forging small groups for support and encouragement is not entirely new to mainline Protestantism.

In the 18th century, Methodism founder John Wesley pioneered "class meetings" for 12 or fewer who would help one another live morally upright lives. Today's accountability groups follow in this Wesleyan tradition.

As small-group ministries mature, moral self-improvement is in certain circles coming to be understood as something of an outreach project of its own. So it seems to the Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Okla.

"In the past, there was a tendency for liberals to see evil as something out in the world that we are called to stop, such as poverty or oppression," says Mr. Lavanhar.

"Today there is a growing sense that part of the work of countering evil and building up our world is done through self-awareness and personal transformation."

In seeking moral counsel, religious progressives are opening a door by which others in the community might influence their preciously guarded domain of individual conscience. Yet in doing so, they hope to reach what is for them an even higher priority.

"We tell each other what we think the gospel would have us do," says Potter. "We say, 'Tell us how you really feel,' and then we ask, 'Is there a target that would be more Christlike?' "

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Britons are religious but privately

Almost three in four people in Britain believe in God - but less than a quarter regularly attend religious services, a new poll has found.

A survey of more than 21,000 people in 21 countries found that 72 per cent of Britons believed in a supernatural being or "creator".

However, only 69 per cent associated themselves with a particular faith, of which 40 per cent said they were Protestant, 29 per cent Catholic and four per cent Muslim.

Three quarters of women identified with a particular religion compared to only 63 per cent of men, the research for the Wall Street Journal Europe found.

A fifth of those who considered themselves aligned to a particular faith "almost never" went to religious services, while a further fifth went less than four times a year.

Only a quarter attended once a week or more, compared to 43 per cent in the US and 72 per cent in Turkey.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Thursday, December 09, 2004

Famous Atheist Now Believes in God

A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God more or less based on scientific evidence, and says so on a video released Thursday.

At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.

Flew said he's best labeled a deist like Thomas Jefferson, whose God was not actively involved in people's lives.

"I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins," he said. "It could be a person in the sense of a being that has intelligence and a purpose, I suppose."

There was no one moment of change but a gradual conclusion over recent months for Flew, a spry man who still does not believe in an afterlife.

Yet biologists' investigation of DNA "has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved," Flew says in the new video, "Has Science Discovered God?"

The video draws from a New York discussion last May organized by author Roy Abraham Varghese's Institute for Metascientific Research in Garland, Texas. Participants were Flew; Varghese; Israeli physicist Gerald Schroeder, an Orthodox Jew; and Roman Catholic philosopher John Haldane of Scotland's University of St. Andrews.

Flew said. "My whole life has been guided by the principle of Plato's Socrates: Follow the evidence, wherever it leads."

Flew told The Associated Press his current ideas have some similarity with American "intelligent design" theorists, who see evidence for a guiding force in the construction of the universe. He accepts Darwinian evolution but doubts it can explain the ultimate origins of life.

A Methodist minister's son, Flew became an atheist at 15.

Early in his career, he argued that no conceivable events could constitute proof against God for believers, so skeptics were right to wonder whether the concept of God meant anything at all.

Another landmark was his 1984 "The Presumption of Atheism," playing off the presumption of innocence in criminal law. Flew said the debate over God must begin by presuming atheism, putting the burden of proof on those arguing that God exists.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Money issues leading cause of holiday stress for Americans

What causes the most stress during the holiday season? Money issues were the top vote getters for holiday stress, according to a recent poll by the American Psychological Association (APA).

The Survey found that 61% of Americans listed lack of money as the top cause of holiday stress followed by the pressures of gift giving, lack of time, and credit card debt. Survey results also show that younger Americans are more worried about lack of money and gift giving compared to people over the age of 35.

One in five Americans are worried that holiday stress could affect their physical health and 36% say they either eat or drink alcohol to cope with holiday stress. Forty-five percent say they rely on exercise to relieve stress while 44% turn to religious and spiritual activities. A small number turn to massage and yoga.

"People tend to reduce stress in ways they have learned over the course of time because they turn to what they know," says Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., APA executive director for professional practice. "Ironically, they may take comfort from eating or drinking because it's familiar, even though it's not good for their health. But, there are other behaviors people can learn to further relieve stress and the its effects that may be both better for them and longer lasting."

Newman recommends the following tips to help deal with holiday stressors and to build resilience.

* Make connections. Good relationships with family and friends are important. So, view the holidays as a time to reconnect with people. Additionally, accepting help and support from those who care about you can help alleviate stress.

* Set realistic goals. Taking small concrete steps to deal with holiday tasks instead of overwhelming yourself with goals that are too far reaching for a busy time.

* Keep things in perspective. Try to consider stressful situations in a broader context and keep a long-term perspective. Avoid blowing events out of proportion.

* Take decisive actions. Instead of letting holiday stressors get the best of you, make a decision to address the underlying cause of a stressful situation.

* Take care of yourself. Pay attention to your own needs and feelings during the holiday season. Engage in activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Taking care of yourself helps keep your mind and body primed to deal with stressful situations.

---

For more information on how to build resilience, visit www.APAHelpCenter.org or call 1-800-964-2000 to order a free brochure, The Road to Resilience.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

The etiquette of workplace gift-giving

We spend so much time with our co-workers, it's not surprising that we wonder if we should get them gifts. But what kinds of gifts? The expectations surrounding holiday giving vary so much from office to office that it is difficult to generalize.

However, here are 11 tips to help you indulge in the holiday spirit without running afoul of the law or good taste:

* Check the rules. Some organizations have strict regulations about what kinds of gifts their employees can give and receive. In government agencies, this can be a matter of law, and repercussions for violating cost ceilings or reporting requirements can be severe. For more information, visit the agency's Web site. In other cases, it's a matter of voluntary ethics. Read your employee handbook for guidance.

* Give to the group. Instead of individual gifts to your office mates, give something everyone can enjoy. Food is generally well-received. If you're a good cook, bake a tasty treat. If not, surprise everyone with coffee and pastries from a bakery one afternoon. Besides saving you money, and the time it would take to wrap gifts, this approach has another advantage: If people have diet restrictions -- due to diabetes or a food allergy, for example -- they can simply pass on the offering without making a big fuss.

* Keep it secular. Not everyone is Christian, but people of all faiths will usually welcome a cheerful "Happy Holidays." If you send out greeting cards to colleagues, choose those without an overtly religious message. They may be different from the ones you send close friends and family.

* Nix the "family newsletters." Even if year-in-the-life essays are your favorite holiday tradition, please don't send them to business associates. The contents of such letters usually are of interest only to family members.

* Forget about booze. What seems like a generous gift to you could be an unfortunate trigger for a recovering alcoholic, or just plain useless to someone who doesn't drink for personal, medical or religious reasons.

* Keep it modest. Remember, if half of us plan to give gifts, that means the other half do not. People should not feel guilty if they don't have the means or desire to reciprocate. The more expensive the gifts you dole out, the more likely you will make someone in your office uncomfortable.

* No knickknacks. Please. Most of us can barely see our desks as it is. The last thing we need is another coffee mug, paperweight, clock or pen-and-pencil set.

* Stick to what you know. Or rather, who you know. If you have never met someone, don't feel compelled to give him a holiday gift. There's nothing rude about limiting your generosity to your own department. This isn't kindergarten, and the good people in accounts receivable aren't going to cry because you didn't give them a toy.

* Be inclusive. Publicly anyway. If you plan to give gifts to only a few co-workers with whom you are particularly close, do it outside work.

* Keep it clean. This should go without saying. Do not consider gag gifts that rely on sexual innuendo or ethnic stereotypes to be funny. Do not give anything that could remotely be considered intimate.

* Be generous down the chain. Give your assistant or intern at least as nice a gift as the one you give your boss.

By Mary Ellen Slayter
The Washington Post

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Sunday, December 05, 2004

Most Americans believe the Virgin Birth is literally true, a Newsweek poll finds

Seventy-nine percent of Americans believe that, as the Bible says, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without a human father, according to a new NEWSWEEK poll on beliefs about Jesus.

Sixty-seven percent say they believe that the entire story of Christmas—the Virgin Birth, the angelic proclamation to the shepherds, the Star of Bethlehem and the Wise Men from the East—is historically accurate. Twenty-four percent of Americans believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention written to affirm faith in Jesus Christ, the poll shows. In general, say 55 percent of those polled, every word of the Bible is literally accurate. Thirty-eight percent do not believe that about the Bible.

In the NEWSWEEK poll, 93 percent of Americans say they believe Jesus Christ actually lived and 82 percent believe Jesus Christ was God or the Son of God. Fifty-two percent of all those polled believe, as the Bible proclaims, that Jesus will return to earth someday; 21 percent do not believe it. Fifteen percent believe Jesus will return in their lifetime; 47 percent do not, the poll shows.

When asked if there would be more or less kindness in the world today if there had never been a Jesus, 61 percent of all those polled say there would be less kindness. Forty-seven percent say there would be more war if there had never been a Jesus (16 percent say less, 26 percent say the same); 63 percent say there would be less charity; 58 percent say there would be less tolerance; 59 percent say there would be less personal happiness and 38 percent say there would be less religious divisions (21 percent say more and 26 percent say the same).

Just 11 percent of those surveyed say American society as a whole very closely reflects true Christian values and the spirit of Jesus; 53 percent say it somewhat reflects those values. But 86 percent say they believe organized religion has a “a lot” or “some” influence over life in the United States today. Nine percent say it has “only a little” influence.

Sixty-two percent say they favor teaching creation science in addition to evolution in public schools; 26 percent oppose such teaching, the poll shows. Forty-three percent favor teaching creation science instead of evolution in public schools; 40 percent oppose the idea.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Being of Service to Others

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
~~ Albert Einstein

The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.
~~ Albert Einstein

A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.
~~ Albert Schweitzer

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
~~ Anne Frank

All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal -- a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends -- wisdom, money, material and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.
~~ Aristotle

He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.
~~ Confucius

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
~~ Edmund Burke

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
~~ Emily Dickinson

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.
~~ James M. Barrie

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me . . . I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
~~ Jesus

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profundity.
Kindness in giving creates love.
~~ Lao-Tse

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
~~ Mahatma Gandhi

Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.
~~ Mahatma Gandhi

The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose.
~~ Mahatma Gandhi

Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
~~ Martin Luther King, jr.

The noblest service comes from nameless hands, And the best servant does his work unseen.
~~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble.
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?
~~ Vincent Van Gogh

Permalink |

Christmas gift suggestions

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, good example.
To yourself, respect.

~~ Oren Arnold

Permalink |

Tips to Help Maintain a Healthy Brain

While National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month is recognized each November, making lifestyle choices that can help maintain a robust and healthy brain is something that should be important all year long.

Over 4.5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer's disease, and 19 million have a family member who suffers from the disease. "Practically everyone in America knows someone who either has the disease or has a loved one afflicted with the disease," said Dr. Sandra Timmermann, gerontologist and Director of MetLife's Mature Market Institute. "About one in ten people over the age of 65 has Alzheimer's, and the percentages rise dramatically with age; the disease affects up to fifty percent of people over the age of 85. This has profound economic and emotional effects on our society."

While no known cure for Alzheimer's exists, according to Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a licensed clinical neurophsycologist and the author of Brain Health and Wellness, research suggests that simple steps can be taken that could help delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. He offers the following suggestions to help maintain brain health:

-- Don't smoke. Smoking represents a major risk factor for stroke, not to mention cancer and heart disease.

-- Follow your physician's advice. A healthy relationship with your personal physician is critical to living a healthy life. Keep in mind, however, that only you are in charge of your body, so develop a proactive approach and take responsibility for those negative aspects of your life that may decrease your longevity potential.

-- Exercise regularly. Exercise and physical activity are essential at any age. Aerobic exercise, weight training, and recreation are critical to cardiovascular health, but also to brain health.

-- Reduce the overall calories you consume daily. Pay close attention to how much you eat, and try not to go to bed stuffed. Also, think about what you're consuming, eat healthy, and don't feel guilty about "wasting" food--most people would be better off if they ate only 80 percent of what they ordinarily consume at every meal.

-- Socialize and have fun. Try to stay engaged and enjoy life. Social interaction is an essential part of feeling and staying alert and young--and besides that, it's enjoyable!

-- Develop your spirituality. Evidence continues to emerge that prayer, meditation, yoga, and other relaxation techniques are health-promoting activities, and actually have neurophysiological benefits. At the very least, they can help to combat the stresses of life and focus on the challenges ahead.

-- Engage in mentally stimulating activities. New learning translates to neurophysiological growth and to mental stimulation the same way that aerobic exercise translates to cardiovascular health. Challenging yourself and developing new skills can not only make you more well-rounded, but also keep your brain healthier.

-- Maintain your role and sense of purpose. Retirement means many things, but it doesn't have to mean losing who you are. It can also represent an opportunity to find new ways to participate in society, and, possibly, discover even greater relevance.

-- Start saving for the future now. Research suggests that having some money late in life correlates with better health. If you're unsure where to begin to save for the future, consider retaining a financial planner. You're never too young or too old to begin saving.

-- Develop and maintain a social network of relationships. Having friends and family helps us stay active and involved in society, and can provide us with much-needed emotional support. "Getting by with a little help from your friends" can not only make life easier--it can keep you healthier.

---

MetLife is the trade name of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
To help develop good habits that can positively impact your physical and mental health, MetLife offers a free brochure, entitled "About...Healthy Aging," which is available by calling 1-800-MY-AGING (1-877-692-4464).

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Church named most 'spiritually fulfilling activity' for 23% of Americans

About half of the U.S. adult population is able to identify something in their spiritual life they would be willing to change, according to a new national survey by The Barna Group, of Ventura, Calif. Eight out of every nine adults (87percent) is able to identify an activity that they say brings them the greatest degree of spiritual satisfaction or fulfillment.

The most common effort was attending church services and events, which 23 percent named as the most fulfilling spiritual activity in their life. Half as many (12 percent) indicated that spending time with their family produces the greatest sense of spiritual satisfaction, while the same proportion (12 percent) mentioned any of a variety of creative and leisure endeavors.

Although most adults (62 percent) consider themselves to be “deeply spiritual,” nearly half of the public (46 percent) is satisfied enough with their spiritual condition that they have no aspects of their spirituality that they would like to change. Among the half of adults who would like to enhance their spiritual make-up, the desired transformations varied greatly.

The most commonly noted shift was the desire to be more heavily involved in a church. That was named by 12 percent of all adults – almost all of them already active in a church or religious center. The next most prominent transition, suggested by 7 percent, was a desire to be more devoted to spiritual things, ranging from the stated need for more time to devote to spiritual matters to developing a deeper or stronger faith in God.

Beyond that, 5 percent said they would like to figure out how to be a better person, and another 5 percent mentioned more knowledge or reading of the Bible as their top priority for spiritual change. Having a better prayer life was offered by 4 percent, while 3 percent gave each of a trio of alternatives: doing God’s will or being more Christ-like, being closer to God, and having a more dynamic faith experience with their family.

Church size affected the responses generated. Adults attending churches of 100 or fewer people were the least likely to identify church participation or prayer as their most certain means to spiritual fulfillment, and they were more likely than others to suggest that creative and leisure endeavors (such as creative arts, sports, nature, and hobbies) were their greatest source of spiritual fulfillment. People who attend churches of 500 or more adults were more than 50 percent more likely to mention prayer as their source of fulfillment than were adults who attend smaller congregations.

Also, adults under 40 were much more likely than older adults to say they desire more involvement in or connection to a church.