Haven't we heard this argument before, at least in the context of television violence? Does exposure to violence breed violence? Many people would suggest a connection, but here's a twist: a study that considered the effect of exposure to violent scripture. In the March 8, 2007 edition of Nature (this article…
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Stark is the "highest ranking elected official that rejects God." Here's more on the story, from the Washington Post: Stark, whose district is in the San Francisco Bay-area town of Fremont, confirmed his belief in a statement to The Associated Press late Monday. He said he was "a Unitarian who does…
My country, India, claims to be a multi-cultural, multi-religious country. Though there is a sizeable Muslim and Christian population here, 80% of Indians are Hindu by faith. And unlike Christianity or Islam, the tenets of Hinduism are not put down in a book like the Bible or Q’oran. In fact, the Hindu religion has no specific tenets. Religious beliefs, customs, rites, and rituals, vary from region to region (and in some cases family to family). And unlike followers of other major religions of the world, Hindus do not worship any particular god. In India, it is very common for one Hindu to ask another, “Which God do you worship?” While Hinduism does have its mythology, there is no “official” version put down in Book X or Book Y. You simply believe that a certain god exists, and believe your community’s version of the life history of that particular god.
This mythic form of religion contrasts strongly to the rigid and institutionalized religions of the west. One could also say that Hindu beliefs are transmitted through a ‘mythic consciousness’, as opposed to western religions which rely on a consciousness that is linear in nature. While science requires tangible evidence to confirm an event or object to be true or ‘real’, western religions such as Christianity or Islam consider any mention of that event or object in their holy book to be evidence for truth or ‘existence’ of that event or object. Note that western religions still rely on the principle of …
It's a matter of "how" rather than "whether" to teach religion in public schools, according to the panel over at "On Faith." The question put to the panel was whether religion should be taught in public schools. There was one naysayer (a retired episcopal priest), who argues that trying to teach religion objectively is too prone…