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The religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories. A new poll by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, mixing elements of diverse traditions, including one-quarter of adults who express belief in tenets of certain Eastern religions.

Many say they attend worship services of more than one faith or denomination -- even when they are not traveling or going to special events like weddings and funerals. Many also blend Christianity with Eastern or New Age beliefs such as reincarnation, astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects. And sizeable minorities of all major U.S. religious groups say they have experienced supernatural phenomena, such as being in touch with the dead or with ghosts.

One-third of Americans (35%) say they regularly (9%) or occasionally (26%) attend religious services at more than one place, and most of these (24% of the public overall) indicate that they sometimes attend religious services of a faith different from their own. Aside from when they are traveling and special events like weddings and funerals, three-in-ten Protestants attend services outside their own denomination, and one-fifth of Catholics say they sometimes attend non-Catholic services.

Roughly one-quarter of adults express belief in tenets of certain Eastern religions; 24% say they believe in reincarnation (that people will be reborn in this world again and again), and a similar number (23%) believe in yoga not just as exercise but as a spiritual practice. Similar numbers profess belief in elements of New Age spirituality, with 26% saying they believe in spiritual energy located in physical things such as mountains, trees or crystals, and 25% professing belief in astrology (that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives). Fewer people (16%) believe in the "evil eye" or that certain people can cast curses or spells that cause bad things to happen to someone.

Compared with other religious traditions, white evangelical Protestants consistently express lower levels of acceptance of both Eastern beliefs (reincarnation, yoga) and New Age beliefs (spiritual energy in physical things and astrology). For example, roughly one-in-ten white evangelicals believes in reincarnation, compared with 24% among mainline Protestants, 25% among both white Catholics and those unaffiliated with any religion, and 29% among black Protestants. Similarly, 13% of white evangelicals believe in astrology, compared with roughly one-quarter or more among other religious traditions. There are few differences among religious traditions in belief in the "evil eye," though black Protestants stand out for high levels of belief on this question (32%).

Among Protestants, high levels of religious commitment are associated with lower levels of acceptance of Eastern or New Age beliefs. Among both evangelical and mainline Protestants, those who attend church weekly express much lower levels of belief in reincarnation, yoga, the existence of spiritual energy in physical things and astrology compared with those who attend religious services less often. Among Catholics, by contrast, frequency of church attendance is linked much less closely with these kinds of beliefs, although those who attend less often do express higher levels of belief in astrology compared with weekly attenders.
Source: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 2010-01-07
 
A Los Angeles judge is deciding whether a case against Occidental Petroleum brought by the Peruvian Achuar people can proceed here or be sent back to Peru, writes Dan Collyns for BBC News.

A modern David and Goliath story has emerged in which no one thought the alleged giant causing destruction to a pristine wilderness could be stunned by sticks and stones. But the Achuar tribe living in the Amazon rainforest in north-eastern Peru rallied sticks and stones in the form of a lawsuit against Occidental Petroleum. A Los Angeles judge is now deciding the venue of the case.

Oil drilling began over 30 years ago when the Peruvian government recognized their natural resources wealth and issued open invitations to oil companies. Occidental, which denies liability, pulled out eight years ago and its operations were taken over by Pluspetrol. Pluspetrol only agreed to change practices after the Achuar, following repeated efforts to negotiate, took direct action last year.

The government and its citizens were slow to recognize the devastation that would ensue. Tomas Maynas, spiritual leader of the Achuar and plaintiff in the lawsuit, notes that “the animals ran away, the fish died and crops started to wilt.” According to Collyns, the lawsuit alleges that “Occidental Petroleum ignored industry standards and employed out-of-date practices, dumping around 9 billion barrels of toxic waste water into streams and rivers over 30 years.”

Last year, in a dramatic “peaceful” show of shotguns and spears, writes Collyns,.the Achuar occupied and held the Amazon oil wells until the government and the company, “losing millions of dollars a day, were forced to come to the negotiating table.” The Achuar won a commitment from Pluspetrol to reduce practices leading to contamination, initiate a 10-year healthier plan, as well as contribute large sums to a clean-up.

A new generation of “community” leaders have grown up in the Amazon rainforest. Says 29-year-old resident Petronila Chumpi, “A whole generation had their health damaged. How can we keep quiet as our parents did?” The Achuar have opposed President Alan Garcia’s idea to privatize large areas of the rainforest. Local leaders say this would continue to have adverse impacts and so far have rejected any new oil exploration in their territory, reports Collyns.
Source: Common Dreams News Center 2008-04-03
 
As Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama (a “Dalai clique”) of orchestrating rebellion in Tibet, the Nobel Peace laureate urged all parties to remain peaceful, writes Audra Ang for the Associated Press. The current protest against Chinese rule began peacefully in Lhasa on March 10, marking the date of a 1959 uprising that failed. Tibetan Buddhist monks led the demonstrations which spun out of control as more and more Tibetans joined the march and were ordered to disperse.

The increasing violence spread to neighboring provinces with reports of as many as 80 deaths. However, the Chinese blackout of the media, including blocking of the Los Angeles Times web access, made it difficult to determine the accuracy of reports. “China’s tight control over information and ban on trips by foreign reporters restricted independent reporting from the region,” writes Ang.

The uprising focused world attention on China as the host of the summer Olympic Games in August, with some observers calling for a boycott based on human rights violations. The Dalai Lama, while suggesting that “Chinese agents could be involved” in the unrest, continued to urge non-violence on both sides and declared his opposition to a boycott of the Olympic Games. The Chinese people, he said, take pride in the Games, and “deserve” to host them.

Chinese authorities in Tibet made some arrests over the weekend and threatened sweeping arrests if protesters did not turn themselves in by Monday midnight. However, the deadline passed with no evidence of surrender or a major crackdown.

The Dalai Lama issued a statement that he would resign as the political leader and head of state if Tibetans chose a path of violence. “If things become out of control,” he said, his “only option is to completely resign.” An aide issued the clarification that he would not resign as the Dalai Lama but as a political leader.

The India-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported thousands of demonstrators in the streets in Seda in the southern province of Sichuan and noted that the situation remains “extremely tense.”
Source: Associated Press and Los Angeles Times 2008-03-20
 
Bill Gates wonders why capitalism isn’t working for everyone and points to the neglected human need to help others. Speaking to Robert A. Guth of the Wall Street Journal recently before addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the software tycoon and famous philanthropist plans to speak to the issue of why the economic system we revere is working only for a few and has failed so many. Advances in technology, education and health care, he told Guth, rapidly help the top third of six billion people, but is “unsatisfactory for the bottom third – two billion people.”

While still committed to capitalism as the best system we’ve discovered so far, he outlined the need for a “creative capitalism” that marshals market forces to address poor countries as well as rich countries. In his world travels on behalf of Microsoft, Gates has seen first-hand the disease and poverty in areas such as the South African slum of Soweto. Human beings want the opportunity, he told Guth, to exercise kindness as well as make a profit.

The enlightened philanthropy of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (established in 2000) emerged gradually as the Seattle billionaire traveled, observed and read about global economic issues, reports Guth. Gates believes that large companies should focus on products and services that help the poor. “Such a system,” he says, “would have a twin mission: making profits and also improving lives for those who don’t fully benefit from market forces.” He noted several programs which “stretch the reach of market forces:” A World Health Organization project which sells a meningitis vaccine in Africa at affordable prices; a program for African coffee farmers which links them to rich coffee buyers in other parts of the world. This view places Gates in the ranks of those who have devised entrepreneurial ways to address the greed of unfettered capitalism, which hasn’t solved critical social problems. Among them is Nobel Peace Prize winner (in 2006) Muhammad Yunus who developed the Grameen Bank which provides small loans to poor individuals. This and other such programs demonstrate that the profit-oriented side of human nature is only half of the picture: a core aspect of human nature is “the satisfaction derived from helping others.”

Drawing from the writings of Adam Smith, whose treatise, “The Wealth of Nations” has guided Western capitalism, Gates highlights Smith’s 1759 book, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments,” which preceded the famous Wealth of Nations. It makes the case for the other half of the equation: that human beings take pleasure in supporting the good “fortunes of others.”

Critics of philanthropic efforts over the past three decades argue that there is little evidence that the trillions of dollars to poor countries have provided tangible benefits. Gates says that economic growth is not the only measure of “success.” He cites a study by Hans Rosling, a Swedish professor of international health, who has graphed statistics which show “that in the previous four decades, life expectancy and family size in developing countries has approached the levels of developed countries.”

His increasing emphasis when he retires in June in order to devote full-time to his Foundation, he told Guth, will be to prod major corporations to focus on “astonishing new abilities to diagnose illness, heal disease, educatie the world’s children, create opportunities for the poor and harness the world’s brightest minds to solve our most difficult problems.”
Source: Wall Street Journal Online 2008-03-06
 
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