c. 2004 Religion News Service
Survey: Most Protestant Ministers Not Very Familiar With Other Faiths
(RNS) Most Protestant ministers expressed little familiarity with the key beliefs of a number of non-Protestant religious groups, a survey has found.
The faith perspectives most likely to be “extremely familiar” to Protestant clergy were Roman Catholicism (41 percent), Judaism (33 percent), Mormonism (21 percent), Jehovah’s Witnesses (21 percent) and Islam (21 percent).
The findings by Ellison Research, a marketing research company in Phoenix, were first reported in the September/October edition of Facts & Trends, a magazine published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
When researchers combined the top two levels of familiarity stated by Protestant clergy, 85 percent said they were relatively familiar with the core tenets of the Roman Catholic Church and 80 percent expressed similar knowledge of Judaism. That level of familiarity was 61 percent for Mormonism and 60 percent for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Otherwise, a minority of Protestant ministers expressed relative familiarity with non-Protestant groups: 47 percent with Islam, 43 percent with New Age beliefs, 31 percent with Satanism, 28 percent with Buddhism, 27 percent with Hinduism, 15 percent with Scientology, 13 percent with Wicca, 13 percent with Baha’ism and 5 percent with Sikhism.
The survey is based on a sample of 700 Protestant ministers in 50 states and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Information suitable for a graphic below:
Relative Familiarity of Protestant Clergy with Non-Protestant Groups
Roman Catholicism: 85 percent
Judaism: 80 percent
Mormonism: 61 percent
Jehovah’s Witnesses: 60 percent
Islam: 47 percent
New Age: 43 percent
Satanism: 31 percent
Buddhism: 28 percent
Hinduism: 27 percent
Scientology: 15 percent
Wicca: 13 percent
Baha’ism: 13 percent
Sikhism: 5 percent
Source: Ellison Research
_ Adelle M. Banks
New `Catholic Voting Project’ Looks Beyond Abortion
(RNS) A new grass-roots group called the Catholic Voting Project hopes to convince American Catholics that there are more issues to consider than just a candidate’s position on abortion.
The fledgling New York-based group said a “wide range of moral, social and economic issues” have been overlooked as some Catholic leaders criticized Democratic nominee John Kerry’s support of abortion rights.
The group’s Web site, http://www.votingcatholic.org, contains a voter’s guide that compares Kerry’s and President Bush’s positions on issues that were cited by the U.S. Catholic bishops as election-year priorities.
The guide stands in contrast to one produced by an apologetics group, Catholic Answers, that highlights abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and gay marriage as “non-negotiable” for “serious” Catholic voters.
“We feel there are very important issues that Catholics need to consider, but there are a whole range of issues the bishops have identified, not just five,” said Chris Korzen, a spokesman for the Catholic Voting Project.
Korzen said the group was started last spring by a group of “concerned Catholic” lay people, but he could not detail the organization’s size, budget or list of directors. Korzen said the group was intentionally nonpartisan.
“We don’t want to be pigeonholed, we want to steer a course that fosters more dialogue … that gets Catholics thinking,” he said.
The Catholic Answers voting guide, available online at http://www.catholic.com, has been embraced and distributed by the Archdiocese of St. Louis but has met resistance from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops prefer that parishes distribute the bishops’ “Faithful Citizenship” document instead, according to a report by the Culture of Life Foundation.
Church officials have resisted attempts by some groups _ including House and Senate Democrats _ to compare voting records on select issues with legislative priorities laid out by the bishops’ conference.
The voting guide drafted by the Catholic Voting Project compares positions on issues ranging from abortion to welfare to immigration to capital punishment. Some analysis seems to favor Kerry _ the guide notes that “10,000 Iraqis, 5,000 Afghanis and 800 U.S. soldiers” died on Bush’s watch, but only says Kerry “voted to support the use of force in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The guide also notes that Bush’s faith-based initiative “eliminated anti-discrimination safeguards” while Kerry supports them.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Millions of Sikhs Mark Holy Anniversary in India
(RNS) More than 3.5 million Sikhs are expected to converge on the Indian city of Amritsar on Wednesday (Sept. 1) to mark the 400th anniversary of the installation of the religion’s holy book at a sacred shrine.
Sikhs _ the world’s fifth-largest religion _ will mark Parkash Utsav, the compilation and presentation of the Sikh scriptures, Granth Sahib, in the spiritual capital of Amritsar in 1604.
Sikhism has been guided by 10 gurus; the fifth, Guru Arjan Dev, compiled the book and installed it in the temple in 1604. The last guru, Goband Singh, declared before his death that Sikhs did not need a living guru and appointed the sacred scriptures as his eternal successor.
The Reuters news agency reported that first Sikh to serve as India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, was expected to lead the five-day celebration.
Sikhism was founded in the late 15th century by Guru Nanak as a blend of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Followers believe in one god and stress the equality of all humans.
The anniversary was marked Aug. 18 at the White House in Washington, although some Sikh leaders chose not to attend when they were told they could not wear a kirpan, or ceremonial dagger, because of security reasons.
“While we appreciate the White House arranging this event to honor the Sikh community, we cannot compromise on the principles of our faith,” Tarunjit Singh, secretary-general of the World Sikh Council _ American Region, based in Columbus, Ohio, said at the time. “The White House cannot honor our faith and at the same time deny us the practice of our faith.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom and Adelle M. Banks
Muslim-Christian Scholar Honored by Pakistani Government
WASHINGTON (RNS) John L. Esposito, a Georgetown University professor who has tried to build bridges between Christians and Muslims, has been awarded the highest civil award given by the Pakistani government.
Esposito was one of 14 foreigners among the 130 people awarded the Hilal-I-Quaid-I-Azam Award announced by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Aug. 13. The awards, which honor Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder and first president of Pakistan, will be presented on March 23, 2005.
The awards are given for excellence in cultural, academic and government professions. Other winners include Sen. John Warner, R-Va.
Esposito is the founding director of Georgetown’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the author of more than 30 books. He said he was “delighted” to receive the award from Pakistan, which has “one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, and it is a country that has struggled both to define its Islamic identity and implement democracy.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Moody Bible Institute President to Resign To Pursue Preaching, Teaching
(RNS) The president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago has announced his resignation.
On Aug. 26, Joseph M. Stowell announced to students, faculty and staff of the evangelical organization that he would resign effective February 2005.
“Over the last few years I have had a growing and now unshakeable conviction that God is calling me to give myself singularly to his word and its life-changing impact through the ministry of preaching and teaching,” Stowell said in a statement.
The institute, founded in 1886 by Dwight Lyman Moody, includes undergraduate and graduate schools, Moody Publishers and the Moody Broadcasting Network.
Stowell, 60, has been president since 1987 and recently led the restructuring of the ministries of the institute to focus on education broadcasting and publishing.
Moody Board Chairman Paul Johnson expressed his appreciation for Stowell’s years of leadership.
“He has been the right man for this time in our history and will be remembered for his gifted contribution to Moody and to the cause of Christ in his service with us as president,” Johnson said in a statement.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Crisis Magazine Editor Deal Hudson
(RNS) “In the past few days, I’ve been told by several people _ individuals who actually agree with me on most things _ that I can come across as arrogant and self-righteous. And if I’m honest with myself, I know that they’re right. So I’m going to address that, and will try to exhibit humility and charity, even in disagreement.”
_ Deal Hudson, editor of Crisis magazine, writing to supporters about the fallout from a decade-old sexual harassment case involving a female undergraduate student while he taught at Fordham University. After the case resurfaced, Hudson resigned as an unpaid adviser to the White House on Catholic issues.
DEA/PH END RNS
