Now here’s an interesting article. Turns out, 6 in 10 Americans are already blending their own personal religious beliefs with New Age and Eastern spirituality.
Concepts like reincarnation, meditation, yoga, and astrology are fast becoming adopted into people’s spiritual beliefs. Doesn’t matter if they’re Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.
So not only do we mix and match our clothes, we do the same with spirituality.
Love to hear your thoughts on this. Can’t wait to read your comments!
Americans Surprisingly Flexible About Religion and Faith
By DAN HARRIS and WONBO WOO from ABC News
A new poll finds Americans are doing a tremendous amount of personalizing – picking and choosing from a diverse variety of religious traditions. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly six in 10 Americans from all religions blend their faith with New Age and Eastern beliefs, like astrology, reincarnation, and the spiritual – not just physical – benefits of yoga.
“What we’re really finding here that we haven’t known before is how much Americans mix and match their religious beliefs and practices. That is, how often people who are regular churchgoers also believe in things like astrology and reincarnation,” said Alan Cooperman of the Pew Forum. “Individual Americans hold within themselves elements of diverse religious traditions. And they practice in many cases, more than one faith.”
Rabbi David Ingber was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, but abandoned Judaism in his 20s. He studied Taoism, martial arts and yoga as part of what he calls his “spiritual journey.” After a decade away from the faith, he felt called back to Judaism.
“When I came back to Judaism, in my early 30s, I brought back my experiences that I had had in my 20s.”
Ingber became a rabbi and founded a congregation in New York City called Romemu – its slogan is Judaism for mind, body and spirit. He leads his congregation in yoga and incorporates meditation into his services.
“I do think that it’s a level of maturity involved in being so secure in your own root tradition that you can dabble, that you can borrow and that you don’t feel that it’s in some way sacrificing your own identity,” Ingber said.
The Pew survey also finds that a quarter of Americans sometimes attend services of a faith or denomination other than their own.
Glenda Somerville was raised in a strict Catholic family — her father is a Roman Catholic deacon and her mother is deeply religious. Somerville still considers herself a Catholic, but regularly attends Protestant services, and attends retreats and prayer groups with non-Catholics.
“I’m not just Roman Catholic,” she said. “I believe in worshiping with other people because I do believe that God embraces all of us — so I refuse to just ignore other people in their denominations.”
Somerville has been particularly moved by the role of women in churches, like Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, Md., where she often attends Sunday services.
“There are women who are ministers who understand and provide the message from a woman’s perspective,” she said. “And I don’t necessarily get that from Roman Catholic priests.”
