USA - A new report - Religion Among the Millennials - by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life indicates that more than one-quarter of Americans in the 18-29 age bracket have no religious affiliation or preference making them the least religious generation of those alive today - and perhaps ever in American history. Though the generation born after 1981 may be unaffiliated with traditional religions and churches, it appears their faith in the power of prayer and in God is likely as strong as those of previous generations in the same age grouping.
"If you think of religion primarily as a matter of whether people belong to a particular faith and attend the worship services of that faith ... then millennials are less religious than other recent generations," said associate director of research, Alan Cooperman. "But when it comes to measures not of belonging but of believing, they aren't so clearly less religious."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Dancing again
Alaska, USA - "This is the way God made us, to express our thankfulness to Him with dancing," says Bobby Wells, a 53 year-old Inupiat Eskimo in Alaska. Traditional native dances were banned by missionaries as primitive idolatry in settlements a century ago. Even today, the old ways of worship being considered evil remains a consensus in a number of Native villages across the state. But a number of communities have broken with the missionary ideology and have resurrected the old rituals.
In the dances, songs and movements represent various cultural activities and a sacred means to push away bad spirits or dispel sickness. "It was our only way of prayer," said Theresa Arevgaq John, a Native studies professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a Yup'ik Eskimo. She emphasizes dancing had nothing to do with devil worship. "Can you imagine someone coming in and saying your way is wrong?"
In one village, the revival required bringing in dancers from other villages to teach the long forgotten moves.
In the dances, songs and movements represent various cultural activities and a sacred means to push away bad spirits or dispel sickness. "It was our only way of prayer," said Theresa Arevgaq John, a Native studies professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a Yup'ik Eskimo. She emphasizes dancing had nothing to do with devil worship. "Can you imagine someone coming in and saying your way is wrong?"
In one village, the revival required bringing in dancers from other villages to teach the long forgotten moves.
See the Shroud
Italy - For only the sixth time in 100 years, the Shroud of Turin is slated to go on display this spring. Over 2 million visitors are expected to converge on the small chapel in a northern Italian city and over one million tickets have been pre-ordered to insure the opportunity to view the relic.
The linen cloth bears the image of a man and is believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Housed in a climate-controlled, bulletproof case, each viewer will be allowed a maximum of five minutes to view the object described by the Vatican as 'a powerful symbol of Christ's suffering'.
There have been disputes over authenticity. Carbon-dating by some researchers suggested the Shroud was made between 1260 and 1390 A.D. Other scientists contended the dating results were flawed and the testing results were due to contamination over the ages. This position was further bolstered by the findings of two Israeli scientists who discovered plant pollen on the cloth that originated in the Holy Land.
The linen cloth bears the image of a man and is believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. Housed in a climate-controlled, bulletproof case, each viewer will be allowed a maximum of five minutes to view the object described by the Vatican as 'a powerful symbol of Christ's suffering'.
There have been disputes over authenticity. Carbon-dating by some researchers suggested the Shroud was made between 1260 and 1390 A.D. Other scientists contended the dating results were flawed and the testing results were due to contamination over the ages. This position was further bolstered by the findings of two Israeli scientists who discovered plant pollen on the cloth that originated in the Holy Land.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Monky business
Austria - A 15th century Franciscan monastery is offering men an interesting weekend excursion - the chance to see what it would be like to be a monk. The unique recruiting campaign hosted by the monastery at Maria Enzersdorf near Vienna, Austria, will afford attendees a chance to work and pray with the Franciscans which providing them with a realistic grasp of what the life of a monk is all about.
This free weekend was started last October and to date three men are now seriously considering becoming monks themselves. It is open to men up to the age of 40.
In 1454, Johannes von Capistran founded the monastery but the current buildings date back to 1725 when the site was rebuilt after the destruction of the original monastery by the Turks. The image of Our Lady, Salvation of the Diseased - considered to be miracle working - is to be found at the Franciscan parish church.
This free weekend was started last October and to date three men are now seriously considering becoming monks themselves. It is open to men up to the age of 40.
In 1454, Johannes von Capistran founded the monastery but the current buildings date back to 1725 when the site was rebuilt after the destruction of the original monastery by the Turks. The image of Our Lady, Salvation of the Diseased - considered to be miracle working - is to be found at the Franciscan parish church.
Friday, February 19, 2010
He's My Brother
Canada - Canadian healer, Brother André, has been proclaimed a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. Founder of the St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Brother André was born in 1845 in St-Gregoire-d'Iberville, Quebec. Considered unimposing in his presence and functionally illiterate, he has become the most popular religious figure in Quebec. Tens of thousands attribute miraculous healing to his intervention with his patron, St. Joseph.In 1904, with the help of his working-class followers, Brother André built a small oratory (shrine) to St. Joseph on the slopes of Mount Royal. He was subject to poor health throughout his own life but nobly accepted his lot in the spirit that suffering brings one closer to Jesus on the cross. He died in 1937 at the age of 91.
Praising the saint as a "a humble man" whose "faith could move mountains," Cardinal Archbishop Turcotte said, “Brother André’s life shows us the power of faith and the importance of concern for the sick and others in need."
Mother Mary
Australia - Sainthood for Mother Mary MacKillop has been approved by Pope Benedict XVI making her Australia's first saint and was best known for her work among the needy and founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph.Considered a strong-willed advocate, Mother Mary was once excommunicated for challenging more conservative thinking and inciting her followers to disobedience, but was then exonerated by a church commission a few years later. She and her Order built dozens of schools, clinics, and orphanages for the needy across the Australian Outback in the 1800's. Wholly dedicated to helping the poor, MacKillop had taken a vow of abstinence from owning personal belongings as part of her religious commitment. She died in 1909.
Pope John Paul II in 1995 beatified her in 1995. "This is a great, great tribute to the Catholic Church and a great, great tribute to her hard work in education," Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said of the announcement of sainthood.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
World welfare
India - The welfare of the world and the humanity in general should be the aim of all religious congregations according to Dr. Chrysostum of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. "God leads us to light as light shows the way,” and continued by saying man had no right to destroy the world created by God. He was addressing attendees at the ongoing Maramon Convention near Kozhencherry, India.
Bishop Vinod Victor of the Church of South India said people should understand the sufferings and problems of fellow-beings and should offer assistance to them in his discourse. He also said they should follow the teachings of their religion and could live peacefully with a firm faith in God.
Thomas Mar Timotheos, the Bishop of Marthoma Church, held forth In another address that all spheres of the society, political, social and cultural, are facing problems on account of value erosion and the solution to the present dangerous situation faced by the mankind is the spiritual way.
Bishop Vinod Victor of the Church of South India said people should understand the sufferings and problems of fellow-beings and should offer assistance to them in his discourse. He also said they should follow the teachings of their religion and could live peacefully with a firm faith in God.
Thomas Mar Timotheos, the Bishop of Marthoma Church, held forth In another address that all spheres of the society, political, social and cultural, are facing problems on account of value erosion and the solution to the present dangerous situation faced by the mankind is the spiritual way.
World ills not solved by pills
India - The panacea for ills facing the world is rooted in prayer according to Bishop Robert M. Solomon of the Methodist Church in Singapore. In his keynote address at the ecumenical meet held as part of the 115th annual Maramon Convention in India, the Bishop called upon the faithful to lead a life of prayers and unity rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
" The message of the Cross is to dissolve the differences in society with love and compassion," he said. Another part of the Maramon Convention was a meeting centering on social evils. Bishop Sebastian Thekkethuchery of the Vijayapuram diocese of the Latin Catholic Church addressed the faithful calling them to crusade against social evils and work towards saving humanity and society in general from degeneration.
This Christian convention, held annually on the vast sand-bed of the Pampa River in February, is organized by the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association.
" The message of the Cross is to dissolve the differences in society with love and compassion," he said. Another part of the Maramon Convention was a meeting centering on social evils. Bishop Sebastian Thekkethuchery of the Vijayapuram diocese of the Latin Catholic Church addressed the faithful calling them to crusade against social evils and work towards saving humanity and society in general from degeneration.
This Christian convention, held annually on the vast sand-bed of the Pampa River in February, is organized by the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association.
Graves online
Japan - New Japanese online services offer subscribers opportunities to live, streamed videos of graves or memorial photos of relatives who have died. Cyberstone is one such site, run by the Kudokuin Buddhist temple in Toshima Ward. Users can see a picture of a departed family member or special memorial message.
The Buddhist temple Honkokuji provides the service whereby a bereaved relative can use a remote-control system to use one of three cameras set up in its graveyard to cyber-visit a tomb of a departed loved one. The site has about 1,000 hits a month. These services allow users to visits their departed's resting place day or night, unhampered by weather or distance.
"An increasing number of people have been finding it hard to visit the tombs of their ancestors," says a senior monk at Kudokuin, Nyokai Matsushima. The veneration of ancestors is a predominant religious attitude in Japan.
The Buddhist temple Honkokuji provides the service whereby a bereaved relative can use a remote-control system to use one of three cameras set up in its graveyard to cyber-visit a tomb of a departed loved one. The site has about 1,000 hits a month. These services allow users to visits their departed's resting place day or night, unhampered by weather or distance.
"An increasing number of people have been finding it hard to visit the tombs of their ancestors," says a senior monk at Kudokuin, Nyokai Matsushima. The veneration of ancestors is a predominant religious attitude in Japan.
Tiger New Year downplayed
India - A religious ceremony where thousands of Buddhist monks and foreigners gathered at Tsuglagkhank, the main Buddhist temple in Dharamsala, northern India, had Tibet's spiritual leader send out wishers for the Tibetan New Year, but the Dalai Lama also reminded attendees,
"We are not celebrating the New Year, Losar, in a very grand way; we are only performing the religious ceremony and rituals. I wish all the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet and also forward my greetings of Losar to all followers in Himalayan regions, and to all the friends and Buddhist followers. I would only say that every Tibetan and Buddhist follower should study and learn Buddhist philosophy, and study modern culture and Tibetan philosophy."
This is the second year celebrations of the lunar new year have been downplayed in remembrance of the suffering of people inside Tibet.
"We are not celebrating the New Year, Losar, in a very grand way; we are only performing the religious ceremony and rituals. I wish all the Tibetans inside and outside Tibet and also forward my greetings of Losar to all followers in Himalayan regions, and to all the friends and Buddhist followers. I would only say that every Tibetan and Buddhist follower should study and learn Buddhist philosophy, and study modern culture and Tibetan philosophy."
This is the second year celebrations of the lunar new year have been downplayed in remembrance of the suffering of people inside Tibet.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Year of Metal Tiger
Today begins the Chinese New Year - the year of the Metal Tiger. Forecasters using Chinese astrology predict a turbulent year with pronounced dangers of violence and hold that acts of terrorism are likely to increase. Warning that wrong people will try to lead and cast themselves as heroes, seers say that the noble-minded who practice their religion will come through all crises unscathed by conflicts and global turmoil. Righting injustices will also play a prominent role in this year and those who conduct themselves with grace and dignity will be held in ever greater respect and favor.
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