\Graphic by Viacom International The Next Normal Project

Viacom International, the media corporation owning MTV networks and numerable communications platform  is spearheading an ambitious research endeavor. “The Next Normal” plans to be the largest, sharpest, and most comprehensive survey of Millennials (Gen-Y, predecessors to “Digital Natives) in the world. In April, research conducted by the project reported a comprehensive look at the generational character on religion, spirituality and faith  nation by nation.

Some of the most significant findings include South African millennials having the most trust for religious leaders of any nationality, and that Japanese and Saudi Arabian Millennials are the most inflexible in terms of individualism and choice in religious matters.

Most significant of all is that these numbers are powerful and help plot the future of interfaith around the world.

The study shows,

In exploring Millennial attitudes toward religion, faith and spirituality across the globe, we found that overall, this generation believes that everybody should have the right to choose their own religion. But their openness and tolerance are also marked by distrust in organised religion, as well as distinctions between faith and spirituality in some countries.

On average, only 9% of Millennials say they trust their religious leader and only 10% name “religious leader” among the top 5 inspirational people or bodies of people in their lives (compared to 19% for celebrities and 14% for sports stars).  In terms of trust in religious leaders (who could be anyone from a local priest, preacher, imam or rabbi to the Pope), South Africa comes out strongest with a score of 29% trust – still a relatively small minority – followed by USA on 24% and Turkey on 17%.

Trust in religious leaders is lowest in France (2%), Japan and Spain (both 3%).

Continue reading the report…

by Rev. Anne Benvenuti, PhD

Board Trustee, The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions

© April 2013

The “Nones” are the largest and fastest growing segment of the population on the religious landscape in America, according to the most recent Pew survey. In just the last five years, this group of willfully unaffiliated people has grown from 15% to 20% of the population. They are people who have no religious affiliation, and who don’t want one. Yet only 5% of those surveyed call themselves atheists. In other words, the Nones include many people who, while they don’t want a religious label also don’t want the traditional secular-rationalist-humanist label. 28% of them have practiced yoga, and I wonder how many of them have meditated. That question wasn’t asked. But 60% of these people feel close to the natural world. The majority of the Nones are white people who were raised in religiously affiliated homes. Beyond this, they cut across many of the more common culture divides; they are people with college degrees and people without a college education; they have incomes over 75K, as well as incomes under 30K. In this they defy traditional interpretations, that people who go to college outgrow a childish intellectual dependency on religion, and that poor people lean on religion to support them in living with poverty and its attendant adversity. And it’s especially noteworthy that the Nones are disproportionately young: they’re people who grew up on a socially networked planet, not a religiously networked town.

I’d like to suggest that many of the Nones have “gotten off the bus,” an expression that refers to travelers who want to escape pre-packaged tourism so that they can discover a place as it “really” is. I know a lot of Nones and many of them are Alls. They celebrate the Winter Solstice, and Easter sunrise, they may do yoga or meditate, and they give thoughtfully to charities, all in no particular order, but depending on where they are, how they feel, what seems to be called for. They resist labels produced by media-saturated culture to represent certain predetermined sets of characteristics. They distrust such prepackaged beliefs, and also distrust religious institutions that are so often corrupt and hypocritical. Yet they value human spiritual heritage, often in great variety, and many of these people are more comfortable in a variety of religious settings than they would be in only one.

As a Trustee of the Parliament, I feel it is very important to acknowledge the Nones, and particularly the Alls among them, to notice that they have gotten off the bus and don’t want to get back on. They are not looking for certainties. The old definitions are not relevant for them. Atheist? No. Agnostic? No. Believer? No. They live in verbs more than in nouns; they are more about experience itself and less invested in beliefs about experience.

My best guess is that the Nones, and especially the Alls among them, express a vital spiritual pulse in the contemporary human world; one that samples spiritual practices, just as people sample the music and cuisine of many cultures. I’ve seen many religious eyes roll at the notion that people are sampling religion like hors d’oeuvres. I’ve heard religious people say that this cannot possibly be a path of spiritual depth, selecting from the menu the most delectable items while eschewing the solidly nutritious, wanting the pleasures of spiritual comfort without the disciplines of communal practice. But, I ask, why make such negative attributions to our fellow humans, especially when we know well the struggles of relating old institutions to an ever-changing world? Once the familiar critique from those who practice solely within specific religious institutions has been stated—and I think it worth a listen– where are we?

I think that we are on a new page, in a new chapter; maybe we are in a new book. For the first time in the history of human psyches, human life is global as a matter of course. At the same time, this global planet is suffering from the collective impact of the human species. It might well be this context that makes the traditional religious issues seem trivial, tribal, and irrelevant. A very legitimate question might be, “Who cares what you believe, much less about religious in-fighting, when we are on the brink of ecological disaster?” Perhaps those who carry forward the religious institutions should seek in the depths of our heritage the wisdom that is relevant to the global and ecologically threatened context in which humans, indeed, all species now live. We should expect to bring forward something of value for this utterly new context, and we might need to accept that many people will engage our traditions on their own terms, not on ours.

As an Episcopal priest I think it is time to welcome conversation with the Nones, and to welcome spiritual practice with the Alls. It is time to listen and to see the way that the Nones can so easily incorporate the All of humanity’s spiritual heritage. We may offer to the Nones and Alls from our own religious heritage, but we need to respect them for what they are too. They invite us to get off the bus, to experience the contemporary world as it really is, a place in which increasing numbers of people are not only comfortable in mixed cultural settings, but who are themselves multicultural individuals living in a multicultural world. We can at least consider that some of the Alls are genuinely interfaith individuals, bringing religions into a new and global era in human history.

Marina Mazur, left, and Allie Jordan, right, Columbia students, work with residents of Covenant House in a therapy session.

from The New York Times
by Sharon Otterman

The psychology graduate student ran a wooden stick across the edge of a Tibetan Buddhist singing bowl on Tuesday and asked the five homeless young men sitting in front of him to listen to the undulating sound, and to raise their hands when they could no longer hear it. One by one hands went up, until well after the sound had seemed to dissipate.

Then the student asked the men to take long breaths and to visualize themselves not in their current circumstances — living in transitional housing near the Lincoln Tunnel — but as their “best selves.” With eyes closed, the young men pictured those best selves loving their present selves. Then they visualized sending that love across the room, first to one of the other men, then to all of them.

After 15 minutes, they opened their eyes. They were still in a fluorescent-lighted conference room at Covenant House with a few plants, a coffee machine and a microwave. But their faces were relaxed. Over the course of 16 weeks of group therapy and meditation, a bond had formed among them, the young men said, one that they said filled them with a sense of possibility.

Click here to read full article 

by Christopher Gordon, M.D. and Ben Herzig

from The Huffington Post

National surveys have consistently found that the vast majority of Americans identify as religious and/or spiritual in one way or another. But is there any room for spirituality or religious practice in psychiatric treatment? Is there a place at all for faith in an era that so privileges the brain over the mind and posits neurochemical explanations — and pharmaceutical treatments — for most ailments?

Nowadays, slick television commercials and glossy magazine ads market antidepressants directly to sufferers and their treatment providers, promising extraordinary relief and happiness. In the real world, life is not so simple. It is actually a rare case when a person’s problems are satisfactorily resolved by a prescription alone. Much more commonly, anxiety or depression or other symptoms are part of a larger picture, requiring a more complex solution. So how do we figure out what is the matter, and what might be helpful, beyond a symptom-targeted medication?

It is useful to think about human problems from four perspectives, and then to bring these perspectives together to get a sense of the whole person. The first useful perspective is a social one, which looks at what is going on in someone’s life, particularly their important relationships, to assess whether something important is occurring there. Examples might include domestic violence, or, less drastically, marital unhappiness, or being bullied in school, or some other important life circumstance. Clearly, we don’t want to offer medication when the problem requires addressing some real problem in living — for which counseling can be very helpful. The second perspective, however, is a biological one. In fact, many times depression and other mood disorders and anxiety disorders do reflect “chemical imbalances,” which have a biological component and are amenable to medical treatment if that is what the person prefers.

Click here to read full article 

Logo for Spirituality in the 21st Century Conference.

from Inter-disciplinary.net

The contemporary study of spirituality encompasses a wide range of interests. These have come not only from the more traditional areas of religious scholarship—theology, philosophy of religion, history of religion, comparative religion, mysticism—but also more recently from management, medicine, and many other fields.

This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to expand the range of ideas, fields, and locales of Spiritual work for the 3rd Global Conference. Perspectives are sought from those engaged in the fields of Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation, Business, Counseling, Ecology, Education, Healing, History, Management, Mass/Organisational/Speech Communication, Medicine, Nursing, Performance Studies, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, Reconciliation/Refugee/Resettlement Projects, Social Work, and Theatre. These disciplines are indicative only, as papers are welcomed from any area, profession and/or vocation in which Spirituality plays a part.

Presentations, papers, performances, reports, works-in-progress and workshops are invited on issues related to any of the following themes:

• Conceptualizations of Spirituality
• Social and/or Cultural Aspects of Spirituality
• History(ies) of Spirituality
• Interpreting elements and examples of Spirituality
• The Liminal elements and facets of Spirituality
• Research and/or Pedagogical Approaches to Spiritual Work
• Social and cultural aspects of Spirituality
• Spirituality and Children
• Spirituality in Education, Curriculum Development and/or Pedagogy
• Spirituality Compassion and Reconciliation
• Spirituality and Cultural Identity
• Spirituality and Healing
• Spirituality and Addiction, Health Care, Medicine, and/or Nursing
• Spirituality in Counseling, Healing, Hospice Care, Psychology, Psychiatry, Social Work, Therapy and/or Wellbeing
• Spiritual and Ecological Maintenance of Health and Life of Human Beings
• Spirituality as Therapy
• Development of Personality as a Process of Spirit Creation
• Cultural Expressions of Spirituality via Art, Dance, Film, The Internet, Literature, Music, Radio, Television and/or Theatre
• Spirituality and Communication
• Spirituality and the Environment
• Spirituality in Business and/or Management
• Spirituality and Gaia
• Teaching Spirituality
• Theology and Spirituality – use and/or abuse
• Teleology and Spirituality
• Comparisons and/or Contrasts between Spiritual Theory, Praxis and Pedagogy

The Steering Group particularly welcomes the submission of pre-formed panel proposals. Presentations, Papers and performances will be considered on any related theme.

Click here to go to the website and submit a paper/presentation to the Conference

by Diane Winston and John Green
from the Washington Post

A new survey of news consumers and reporters reveals a significant gap between the two groups [the media and the public] on what’s important and how it’s covered. Two-thirds of the public says the news media sensationalizes religion, a view shared by a little less than one-third of reporters. Significantly, almost 70 percent of the public prefers coverage on religious experience and spirituality, while reporters’ focus is on religion and politics.

…One reason for shortcomings in current coverage is that many reporters lack expertise. Half of those surveyed say they don’t know a lot about religion. Only a fifth claimed to be “very knowledgeable,” and most in that small segment said their information was from their own religious practice, self-study and their family background. In the past, news organizations encouraged staff to attend seminars and workshops for continuing education. But in the recent climate of cutbacks, journalists are reluctant to spend time away from the newsroom even if enhancing their skills.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read the original report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

		Wednesday, November 9, 2011 10:00am U.S. Central Time

Christopher Peters

Christopher Peters (Pohlik-lah/Karuk) was born and raised on his people’s territories in northwestern California. Chris is President and CEO of Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development – a Native-led Indigenous Peoples public foundation. For more than 35 years his work has focused on grassroots social justice organizing, protecting sacred sites, working for holistic community renewal, rebuilding traditional economies, and supporting cultural revitalization efforts.

Title: Native American Earth-Based Spirituality
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees:
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees:
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/829798934

by Kim Lawton
from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

Nestled in the hills between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is a small village called the Oasis of Peace—in Hebrew, Neve Shalom and in Arabic, Wahat al-Salam. While the Middle East conflict continues to churn all around, here they are trying to create a different reality, one that says Israelis and Arabs can live side-by-side in peace.

Click here to watch the video

by Imam Abdullah Antepli

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This is the month in which the Holy Qur’an started to be revealed to prophet Muhammad. So Ramadan marks the historical birth of Islam as the youngest sibling of the Abrahamic family. Ramadan has been primarily a joyful celebration of this birth in prayerful and devotional ways for the last fourteen hundred years by Muslims of all different backgrounds.

All religions carve out specific periods of time to be more intentional and deliberate about their core teachings and ideals. Ramadan is that special time for believing and practicing Muslims when they try their very best to be more intentional and focused about their relationship with the Divine by taking on various physical and spiritual disciplines and by devoting significant amount of quality time to ponder about the state of that relationship.

Every day during this holy month, practicing adult Muslims of good health around the world spend the daylight hours fasting completely. They abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs during the daylight hours. It is a time to purify the soul, refocus attention on God, and practice self-sacrifice.

But Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking. Muslims are called upon to use this month to re-evaluate their lives in light of Islamic guidance. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties with family and friends, do away with bad habits — essentially clean up our lives, our thoughts, and our feelings. The Arabic word for “fasting” (sawm) literally means “to refrain” – and it means not only refraining from food and drink, but also from evil actions, thoughts, and words. So Ramadan is a month of self-auditing. Muslims are expected to slow down and deeply reflect on their lives. They are called to note all the plusses and minuses, weak and strong areas. They are invited to give intense gratitude and thanks to the Divine and their loved ones for those plusses and ask forgiveness and guidance for the minuses from the same sources.

During Ramadan, every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from peering at unlawful possibilities. The hand must not touch or take anything wrong. The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. The feet must refrain from going to improper places. In such a way, every part of the body observes the fast.

Therefore, fasting is not merely physical, but is rather the total commitment of the person’s body and soul to the spirit of the fast. Ramadan is a month long spiritual gym where Muslims work hard on their spiritual muscles. Muslims are called to do this year-round, but Ramadan gives them an opportunity to push these ethical and moral ideals into their bones and instill them in the very tissue of their brains. Ramadan helps Muslims develop these internal and spiritual strengths by forcing them to be more intentional every 11 months.

Ramadan is also a month of charity and empathy. Through these physical disciplines that we take on, Muslims try to improve their empathy with those who are less privileged than them and with those for whom hunger and starvation is a way of life. This deeper empathy and understanding is expected to increase our motivation and determination to attend the needs of our fellow human beings.

Eid al-Fitr marks the successful completion of month long struggle and internal purification at the end of Ramadan. Muslims often invite their non-Muslim friends to join them and celebrate their spiritual achievements.

And also, following are the special Islamic Dates during Fall-2011:

Ramadan Starts -First day of fasting August 1st, 2011
Ramadan Ends August 29th, 2011
Eid al-Fitr (Celebration of the end of Ramadan) August 30th, 2011
Hajj (Muslim Pilgrimage) days November 4-9th 2011
Eid al-Adha ( Celebration of the Pilgrimage) November 6th, 2011

by Robert Hunt
from Patheos

In a recent conversation a Muslim friend took exception to a caricature of Islam that (I confess) I may have inadvertently helped promote. Specifically she objected to an understanding of spirituality associated only with Sufism or certain types of Shi’ism. And she is right. The term spirituality has increasingly become associated with esotericism, the cultivation of aesthetics, emotional states, and metaphysical speculation. And it has been increasingly disassociated with ritual worship, obedience to divine law, rationality, and observation and appreciation of the physical world.

Click here to read the full article