TruthBook Religious News Blog

The question was: "¿Do you believe the Catholic Church should allow priests to Marry?"

Miami, FL (PRWEB) September 11, 2009 --

A poll conducted by EmoClick among members of the major Faith based Social Networking Site KuMundi.com indicates a considerable majority of the 28,288 Internet users agree the Catholic Church should allow Catholic priests to marry if they so desire.

The question was: "¿Do you believe the Catholic Church should allow priests to Marry?"

The results of the poll required reveal a clear divergence of opinion with the requirement of celibacy by the Catholic Church. A total of 18,561 visitors voted in favor of lifting the rule, and only 5,727 voted in favor of preserving the traditional requirement.

For the results visit http://encuesta.elcelibato.com/

The survey, offered in promotion of the release of the new book "El Celibato" received the response of 15,365 visitors who identified themselves as Catholic, and 5,006 who identified themselves as Evangelical (the poll also included the participation of other religious denominations including agnostics and atheists). The countries representing the highest number of participants were México, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

El Celibato is the debut novel by Daniel Garza. Audio novel is also available starting September 24th narrated by voice talents Andres Garcia Jr. and Elluz Peraza.

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: Catholic, celibacy, Daniel Garza, El Celibato, EmoClick, KuMundi.com, priests

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

Buddhism forced to turn trendy to attract a new generation in Japan

Priests visit bars to reach out to young sceptics amid dramatic decline

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Thursday January 10, 2008
The Guardian

In the days ahead, millions of Japanese will visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to mark the arrival of the Year of the Rat. For many, this will be the only contact they have with their spiritual roots for the entire year.

More than 1,200 years after its arrival in Japan from mainland Asia, Buddhism is in crisis. About 75% of Japan's 127 million people describe themselves as Buddhists, but new year apart, many see the inside of a temple only when a local head priest is asked to arrange a traditional (and expensive) funeral for a dead relative.

As a result, public donations are drying up and many of the country's 75,000 temples are in financial trouble. Applications to Buddhist universities have fallen so dramatically that several schools have dropped the religious association from their titles.

Being served sake by a priest is just one of the novel ways in which sceptical Japanese are being encouraged to get in touch with their spiritual roots. Baijozan Komyoji temple in Tokyo has opened an outdoor cafe in front of its main hall, and in Kyoto, Zendoji temple operates a beauty salon. At Club Chippie, a jazz lounge in Tokyo, the saxophone makes way for Sanskrit once a month as three shaven-headed monks wearing robes chant sutras and encourage bemused customers to join in.

And recently, dozens of Buddhist monks and nuns took to the catwalk in colourful silk robes as part of a public relations exercise at Tsukiji Honganji temple in Tokyo. The event, called Tokyo Bouz Collection, opened with the recital of a Buddhist prayer to a hip-hop beat and ended in a blur of confetti shaped like lotus petals.

"Many priests share the sense of crisis and the need to do something to reach out to people," said Kosuke Kikkawa, a 37-year-old priest who helped organise the event. "We won't change Buddha's teachings, but perhaps we need to present things differently so that they touch the feelings of people today."

Explainer: How faith spread

Buddhism found its way to Japan via China and Korea in the sixth century, according to early historical records.

In its earliest forms Japanese Buddhism was considered the preserve of learned priests, who spent their days praying for the health of the imperial household from their lairs in the great temples of the ancient capital of Nara.

The forerunner of the Jodo Shinshu - True Pure Land - sect was founded in 1175 and promoted the idea of gaining salvation through belief in the Buddha Amida. Jodo Shinshu continues to have millions of followers today.

Zen Buddhism, which reached Japan at about the same time, proved popular among members of the military elite, who were attracted by its message of enlightenment through meditation and discipline. Another influential sect, Nichiren, revelled in opposing other Buddhist schools and remains popular, providing the basis for many of Japan's "new religions".

They include Soka Gakkai, which was founded in 1930 and whose members went on to form the political party Komeito, now the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition.

Japan's Buddhists have survived several political struggles, notably with the Meiji government of the late 19th century, which promoted Shinto as the new state religion.

About 90 million Japanese say they are Buddhist, compared with only about 1% of the country's 127m-strong population, who consider themselves Christian.

Labels: Buddhism, Japan, Justin McCurry, priests, religion