Americans turn to Hindu beliefs

Americans turn to Hindu beliefs

economictimes.indiatimes.com

WASHINGTON: Americans are becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the way they think about God, themselves, and eternity

The first indication of this comes in a poll that shows many Americans no longer believe in the idea that theirs is the only true religion and all others are false

According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65% of Americans believe “many religions can lead to eternal life”, including 37% of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe salvati

(visit the link for the full news article)

I read a more in-depth article such as this one a few days ago, i'll try to find it. It was on newsweek.

HERE IT IS:
www.newsweek.com...

Came on newsweek first then indiatimes

I think it's very true if you think about it, and if you read the fuller article you'd agree more.

I guess people are starting to realize a few things.

No offense to anyone, but any growing distance from abrahamic religions is always a good thing!



economictimes.indiatimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 18-8-2009 by ModernAcademia]

S&F.

I took directly to Hindu philosophy, among many others, but not to their religion.


Hinduism contains a beautiful and extremely inclusive philosophy. A lot of parallels have even been drawn between Hindu concepts and modern science.

Unfortunately so little about Hinduism is understood here in the West by most people, I doubt this thread will get a whole lot of attention.

I think it's great. For so long, Christians have been weighted down with dogma. It's refreshing to see that our minds can be opening up.

Hmm, I'm not seeing the correlation the article is making between those statistics and Hinduism.

Religious Tolerance is a good thing, and those statistics show that Americans are becoming more Religiously Tolerant. Good for those Yanks! About time!!!

The 24% of Americans believing in Reincarnation doesn't equate to us becoming Hindi either. Judaism believes in Reincarnation, although only described in Kabbalistic literature, the proponents of Kabbalah have included some of the greatest Talmudic Scholars, such as Maimonides, Nachmanides, Ari, and Vidal. Likewise, Christians believe in Reincarnation, but not of the body...but the concept is the same, it's just a matter of semantics.

I think these statistics are great news and I appreciate them OP, but they are not indicative of Americans becoming Hindi en masse any time soon.

Originally posted by fraterormus
Hmm, I'm not seeing the correlation the article is making between those statistics and Hinduism.

That's because it's not making one. It's all in the title... "Americans turn to Hindu beliefs".

The beliefs many Americans are turning to are similar to those of Hinduism, and since this article is from India Times, they're not likely to compare these beliefs to anything else.

If the article were from a Tibetan news paper, the title would probably read "Americans turn to Buddhist beliefs"...

All in all, it's just an indication that people's minds are opening. Slowly but surely people are beginning to question beliefs they never questioned before.

Doing a little bit of independent thinking are we... naughty American public... If they're questioning their own religious beliefs, what's next? 9/11?

reply to post by Unit541


No no this article is originally from a Newsweek article, or at least that's the article that appeared 2 days before this one from indiatimes came up.

I'm trying to find it

if you look at the poll results it really only relates hindusim
if you disagree you can make your own comparisons as well

By the way, although hinduism is a good religion, if you want to call it that, most of what you see is not hinduism.

Hinduism is not about praying all the time or singing mantras

It's mostly about meditation and education and attaining a higher spiritual level. But you don't see that in photos or the news much, you just see praying.

[edit on 18-8-2009 by ModernAcademia]

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

Americans turn to Hindu beliefs

economictimes.indiatimes.com

WASHINGTON: Americans are becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the way they think about God, themselves, and eternity

The first indication of this comes in a poll that shows many Americans no longer believe in the idea that theirs is the only true religion and all others are false

According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65% of Americans believe “many religions can lead to eternal life”, including 37% of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe salvati

(visit the link for the full news article)

Maybe thats a sign we are maturing as a culture and species (I hope we don't take to long, I don't have that long to wait)

I'm one of those Americans who has turned to Hinduism. I believe in reincarnation & karma. I also like its teachings on ahimsa (do no harm), vegetarianism, & meditation. I also practice gnana yoga (path of knowledge). It was how I woke up.

Thirty percent of Americans call themselves "spiritual, not religious," according to a 2009 NEWSWEEK Poll, up from 24 percent in 2005. Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, has long framed the American propensity for "the divine-deli-cafeteria religion" as "very much in the spirit of Hinduism

www.newsweek.com...

It came on the Newsweek website before any other site

Actually the Newsweek article is much better

Some of you may also find this interesting
Interesting comparisons between Hinduism and Science:
sanatandharma.tripod.com...



[edit on 18-8-2009 by ModernAcademia]

I my self am a Deist, but I have looked into Buddhism a little, but never Hinduism.. Just seems like an odd religion to turn to, being Polytheistic and all, so different from Christianity.. I don't think it's any secret Americans or, Westerners for that matter, feel spiritually ill .. Christianity imo, never allowed much "spiritual" exploration as it was far to indoctrinated.

I am curious about the Hindu religion, I work with and am friends with several people who practice hindu, I admire their gentleness, their family values, and the way they value all life. I def believe in karma myself, I see now all the time the way it works. I was raised southern baptist, and turned away from my church due to hypocrites and theives within, but I am more aware today of God than ever.

Well think about it. Ask how many Americans believe in reincarnation and Im guessing a large % would say yes. Isnt that right at the forefront of the Hindu religion?

reply to post by tjeffersonsghost


I think that's Buddhism.

I think the article was just saying that because more and more Americans are accepting of "other religions" to salvation that in a sense they are Polytheistic, thus more in line with Hinduism.. but of course, that's not a direct relationship at all.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


During the expeditions of Alexander The Great he established his Hellenic Gods and forms of worship in places he conquered. He had a great desire to mix and mingle the cultures which is evident throughout his expeditions. When he came to India he named the group of people living there as Hindus. After conquering the land he established his gods to camouflage with the Indian culture and thus Hinduism.

murugan.org...

So is America gonna go back to paganism...

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by tjeffersonsghost

 

I think that's Buddhism.

I think the article was just saying that because more and more Americans are accepting of "other religions" to salvation that in a sense they are Polytheistic, thus more in line with Hinduism.. but of course, that's not a direct relationship at all.

I think Buddism and Hinduism are similar arent they? BTW I like yourself lean more towards the Deist ideology.

Turning to far-eastern spirituality is a natural and predictable step in the evolution of human intelligence. Ancient sanskrit texts are so advanced that even modern physics derives sustenance from them.

_________________________________

Rockpuck: Buddhism is based on Hinduism. Buddhism is a stripped-down version of Hinduism, with less talk of Gods etc.

[edit on 29-8-2009 by Skyfloating]

Originally posted by Rockpuck
Just seems like an odd religion to turn to, being Polytheistic and all, so different from Christianity..

Hinduism is not polytheistic
Those who claim it is are only westerners who don't understand it
they see many gods and jump to conclusions

there is only one god in hinduism
but if god has no name then it must have many names
if god is formless it must have many forms

every god you see in hinduism is an avatar(reincarnation) of the one true god. Different reincarnation(form/name) for different roles.

that's all
but if you really look into the religion you will findi it's monotheistic
you just can't read about it, you have to understand it

also fyi, cows aren't sacred they are just respected and the caste system has nothing to do with hinduism

thx