|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << June08, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] Advani resignation |
June09, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] Prisoner's plight & Pak news >> |
|
[1] From: yogi sikand <ysikand@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Jun 7, 2005 Subject: Join New Yahoo Group on South Asian Leftists Dialoguing With Religion Friends, For too long have progressive intellectuals and groups ignored the powerful appeal of religion in shaping popular discourse and politics. By doing so we have allowed fanatics and fascists to assert their claim of speaking for religious and community 'interests', leading to unimaginable murder and destruction. We have also been guilty of a blind, mechanical application of a Eurocentric understanding of 'Revolution' that has little or no role for religion or spirituality. Just as progressive intellectuals and groups need to seriously revise their stance on religion so, too, we believe, must religious practitioners take what Leftists are saying more seriously. There is an urgent need for a closer dialogue between the Left and religious practitioners, to work together for social justice and communal harmony in South Asia, which, we believe, are as central to true spirituality as they is to the agenda of the Left. This discussion group aims at helping promote this sort of dialogue. We welcome discussion on a range of issues, including religion and politics, communalism, fundamentalism and its links with imperialism and fascism, interfaith dialogue, rights of gender and sexual minorities, alternate, progressive understandings of religion and liberation theology. We do not confine ourselves to any particular religious tradition. Although the main focus of our discussions would be Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism as well as Tribal and Dalit religions (including the multiple interpretations and traditions within each of these broad categories) we welcome insights drawing on other religious traditions as well. Our geographical focus is South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal, but reflections drawn from other areas are also welcome. We invite you to join this list and contribute your views on religion and the Left. To join, click on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southasianleftistsdialoguingwithreligion -------------------------------------------------- [2] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Jun 7, 2005 8:46pm Subject: Religious zeal sets U.S. apart from allies http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050606.wreli0606/EmailBNStory/International/ Religious zeal sets U.S. apart from allies By RACHEL ZOLL Monday, June 6, 2005 Updated at 10:43 AM EDT Associated Press Religious devotion sets the United States apart from some of its closest allies. Americans profess unquestioning belief in God and are far more willing to mix faith and politics than people in other countries, AP-Ipsos polling found. In Western Europe, where Pope Benedict XVI complains that growing secularism has left churches unfilled on Sundays, people are the least devout among the 10 countries surveyed for the Associated Press by Ipsos. Only Mexicans come close to Americans in embracing faith, the poll found. Unlike Americans, however, Mexicans strongly object to clergy lobbying legislators, in line with the nation's historical opposition to church influence. "In the United States, you have an abundance of religions trying to motivate Americans to greater involvement," Roger Finke, a sociologist at Penn State University, said. "It's one thing that makes a tremendous difference here." The polling was conducted in May in the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain. Nearly all U.S. respondents said faith is important to them, and only 2 per cent said they do not believe in God. Almost 40 per cent said religious leaders should try to sway politicians, notably higher than in other countries. "Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies, and religious leaders have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps," said David Black, a retiree from Osborne, Pa., who agreed to be interviewed after he was polled. In contrast, 85 per cent of French object to clergy activism ??” the strongest opposition of any nation surveyed. France has strict curbs on public religious expression and, according to the poll, 19 per cent are atheists. South Korea is the only other nation with that high a percentage of nonbelievers. Australians are generally split over the importance of faith, while two-thirds of South Koreans and Canadians said religion is central to their lives. People in all three countries strongly oppose mixing religion and politics. Highlights Australia: Three-fourths of Australians say religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. Just over half say religion is important in their lives. Just under half say they definitely believe in God, though some have occasional doubts. Australians are not closely aligned with one religion. The Roman Catholic church claims the largest share at 27 percent. Britain: A majority of Britons, 57 percent, say religion is not that important to them. Three-fourths think religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. Only about a third say they definitely believe in God, and some of those admit to occasional doubts. Almost six in 10 Britons describe themselves as Protestant, with 14 per cent saying they're Catholic and 19 per cent saying "no religion." Canada: Almost two-thirds of Canadians say religion is important to them, but most seem to prefer that religion and politics not mix too closely. Seven in 10 Canadians say religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. A majority of Canadians say they believe in God, though some believers admit to occasional doubts. Four in 10 Canadians describe themselves as Catholic, 14 per cent as Protestant, with others saying they had other religions or no religion. France: Though many French describe themselves as Roman Catholics, nearly half either say they do not believe in God or are agnostics. They overwhelmingly believe that religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions, with 85 per cent taking that view. Germany: Most Germans say they do not think religious leaders should try to influence government decisions, and about half say they do not believe in God, though many in that group say they do believe in some kind of higher power. Just over half say religion is important in their own lives. More than a third, 36 per cent, said they were Protestant, while about a fourth said they were Catholic. Italy: Italians are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and most, 80 per cent, say religion is important to them. Yet almost two-thirds say they do not think religious leaders should try to influence government decisions. More than two-thirds said they definitely believe in God. Mexico: Mexicans are as devoutly religious as people in the United States. Eight in 10 in the heavily Catholic country said they definitely believe in God, and slightly more said religion is important in their own lives. But three-fourths of Mexicans oppose religious leaders' getting involved in politics. South Korea: Two-thirds of South Koreans say religion is important in their own personal lives, although only half said they definitely believe in God. Two-thirds said religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. About one-third in South Korea identified themselves as Christians ??” either Catholic or Protestant ??” and one-fourth identified themselves as Buddhist. Four in 10 said they have no religion. Spain: More than half of Spaniards say that religion is not important in their personal lives. About half say they definitely believe in God, and three-fourths say religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions. The lukewarm enthusiasm for religion comes even though Spain is heavily Roman Catholic, with eight in 10 describing themselves as Catholic. United States: People in the United States have some of the strongest religious sentiments of all the countries polled. Eight in 10 say they definitely believe in God, and most in that group say they believe it without doubt. Almost nine in 10 say religion is important in their own personal lives. Almost four in 10, 37 per cent, said they believe religious leaders should try to influence government decisions, the highest rate of any country polled. The AP-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the countries were taken May 12-26. Each has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Associated Press Researchers disagree over why people in the United States have such a different religious outlook, said Brent Nelsen, an expert in politics and religion at Furman University in South Carolina. Some say rejecting religion is a natural response to modernization and consider the United States a strange exception to the trend. Others say Europe is the anomaly; people in modernized countries inevitably return to religion because they yearn for tradition, according to the theory. Some analysts, like Mr. Finke, use a business model. According to his theory, a long history of religious freedom in the United States created a greater supply of worship options than in other countries, and that proliferation inspired wider observance. Some European countries still subsidize churches, in effect regulating or limiting religious options, Mr. Finke said. History also could be a factor. Many countries other than the United States have been through bloody religious conflict that contributes to their suspicion of giving clergy any say in policy. A variety of factors contribute to the sentiment about separating religion and politics. "In Germany, they have a Christian Democratic Party, and they talk about Christian values, but they don't talk about them in quite the same way that we do," Mr. Nelsen said. "For them, the Christian part of the Christian values are held privately, and it's not that acceptable to bring those out into the open." In Spain, where the government subsidizes the Roman Catholic Church, and in Germany, which is split between Catholics and Protestants, people are about evenly divided over whether they consider faith important. The results are almost identical in Britain, whose state church, the Church of England, is struggling to fill pews. Italians are the only European exception in the poll. Eighty per cent said religion is significant to them, and just over half said they unquestioningly believe in God. Even in Italy, however, home to the Catholic Church, resistance to religious engagement in politics is evident. Only three in 10 think the clergy should try to influence government decisions; a lower percentage in Spain, Germany and England said the same. Within the United States, some of the most pressing policy issues involve complex moral questions ??” such as gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research ??” that understandably draw religious leaders into public debate, said John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron. The poll found Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to think clergy should try to influence government decisions ??” a sign of the challenges ahead for Democrats as they try to reach out to more religious voters. "Rightly or wrongly, Republicans tend to perceive religion as, quote-unquote, 'on their side,'" Mr. Green said. The survey did find trends in belief that transcend national boundaries. Women tend to be more devout than men, and older people have stronger faith than younger people. The Associated Press-Ipsos polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the 10 countries were taken May 12-26. Each has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. |
|
| << June08, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] Advani resignation |
June09, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] Prisoner's plight & Pak news >> |
|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on India Thinkers Net |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |