Buddhist and Hindu populations growing steadily in the U.S.

The Buddhist and Hindu religious groups have steadily increased in numbers, according to data compiled from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census. The greatest concentrations occur in the New York Metropolitan Area, and big cities in Texas, California, Illinois, and Georgia.

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Are the eyes the window to the soul?

Yale psychologists, wondering if our souls really are located within our eyes, set out to test if the long-held belief was a universally shared intuition.

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More Americans pray for improved health

The American Psychological Association says in a new study that praying among Americans about health issues has risen dramatically in the past three decades; it notably increased by 36 percent between 1999 and 2007.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data used for the study suggest that praying increased among those not only with chronic health problems but also with an acute health issue to cope with their changing circumstances. The groups of people more likely to pray about their health included females, African-Americans, those of the lowest income status, the well educated, and people who exercise less.

While the study didn’t indicate which types of prayer people used, lead author Amy Wachholtz, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School said: “There is also a greater public awareness of Buddhist-based mindfulness practices that can include prayerful meditation, which individuals may also be using to address a variety of health concerns.”

“We’re seeing a wide variety of prayer use among people with good income and access to medical care,” Wachholtz said. “People are not exchanging health insurance for prayer.”

The article appears in the May issue of the APA journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.

Anxiety about death leads people to believe in intelligent design

Individuals concerned about their impending deaths show greater support for the theory of intelligent design and are less inclined to embrace evolutionary theory, according to a University of British Columbia (UBC) study.

The study, led by UBC Psychology Asst. Prof. Jessica Tracy with co-authors Joshua Hart, assistant professor of psychology at Union College, and UBC psychology PhD student Jason Martens, is the first of its kind to examine the implicit psychological motives that underpin one of the most heated debates in North America. Despite scientific consensus that intelligent design theory is inherently unscientific, 25 percent of high school biology teachers in the U.S. devote at least some class time to the topic of intelligent design.

“Our results suggest that when confronted with existential concerns, people respond by searching for a sense of meaning and purpose in life,” says Tracy. “For many, it appears that evolutionary theory doesn’t offer enough of a compelling answer to deal with these big questions.”

However, the study also indicated that those individuals who were inclined toward the belief in naturalism – the scientific approach that underlies evolution, but not intelligent design – showed reduced belief in intelligent design after being reminded of their own mortality. Carl Sagan, the cosmologist science writer, argued that the belief in naturalism can also provide a sense of meaning.

Tracy says, “These findings suggest that individuals can come to see evolution as a meaningful solution to existential concerns, but may need to be explicitly taught that taking a naturalistic approach to understanding life can be highly meaningful.”

Study indicates religion is on the road to extinction in nine countries

A research team studied census data from nine different countries and concluded religion is headed toward extinction in those countries due to a steady rise in individuals claiming no religious affiliation.

The countries in the study included:

• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• the Czech Republic
• Finland
• Ireland
• the Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Switzerland

One of the team members, Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and the University of Arizona, stated: “In a large number of modern secular democracies, there’s been a trend that folk are identifying themselves as non-affiliated with religion; in the Netherlands the number was 40%, and the highest we saw was in the Czech Republic, where the number was 60%.”

The team used a mathematical model to project the rate of extinction, using parameters that include nonlinear dynamics, such as social status and motives in being associated with certain groups.

Dalai Lama considering retirement in 2011

Although he plans on remaining committed to serving as a spiritual leader to the people of Tibet, the Dalai Lama stated his intentions of fully retiring as political leader of the Tibetan exile movement in the coming year and would hand over most of his political powers to the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile. He has been in semi-retirement since the movement first elected a political leader in 2001.

Such intentions will be discussed with the Tibetan parliament in exile, when it reconvenes in March 2011.

In a televised statement on December 14th, the Dalai Lama said the move does not mean he will dissociate himself from the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom. “I am a Tibetan and every Tibetan has the moral obligation to carry out the struggle,” the 75-year-old Tibetan leader said, adding that to resolve the Tibet issue would remain his top priority.

According to the Dalai Lama’s office, the spiritual leader’s statement was delivered after reports of Tibetans living in Tibet expressing anxiety and confusion over his retirement plan.

Study points to ‘secret ingredient’ in religion that makes people happier

Past studies consistently indicate that people who proclaim to be religious also reveal that they are happier compared with those who are not religious. Now a new study reveals the real reason for the increased satisfaction in life.

“Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction,” said Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study. “In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier.”

The findings occur among those who belong to a Christian-based organization, and even occur among groups of practicing Jews and Mormons.

The more friends and social connections associated with church-related activities, adding to one’s sense of belonging to a moral community, the more extremely satisfied the survey’s participants were. “To me, the evidence substantiates that it is not really going to church and listening to sermons or praying that makes people happier, but making church-based friends and building intimate social networks there,” Lim said.