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| Olde Tyme Religion | ||
| New Pew Study Finds Diverse Beliefs In Muslim World | ||
| 2012-08-10 | ||
| [Dawn] WASHINGTON: The global Moslem community of 1.6 billion people agree on the core principles of their faith, but differ widely in religiosity and religious tolerance, according to a poll published Thursday. "Moslems are unified by core beliefs and in core practices" like faith in a single God, believe in the Prophet Mohammed ((PTUI!)) and fasting during Ramadan, but "there are differences, sometimes widely" in religious interpretation, James Bell, the principal author of the new Pew Research Center study, told AFP. The report, which Bell said was "unprecedented" in scope, was conducted in over 80 languages in 39 countries that account for 67 per cent of the world's Moslem population. Researchers interviewed around 38,000 people in 2008-2009 and 2011-2012 as part of a larger project on changes in global religions. Between 85 and 100 per cent of Moslems believe in God and revere the Prophet Mohammed ((PTUI!)) , the survey said. Eight of ten people interviewed in sub-Saharan Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia say religion is "very important." But only six in ten agreed in sample countries of the Middle East and North Africa, and only one in two agreed in former Soviet countries like Russia and some Central Asian republics. In the Middle East and North Africa, Moslems aged 35 and over are more religious than their younger counterparts. The opposite is true of religiosity in Russia. In 39 countries surveyed, men are more likely than women to pray at a mosque, which Bell explained "is likely to do with social culture about how women publicly observe their worship." Still, "in most countries surveyed... women are about as likely as men to read (or listen to readings from) the Koran on a daily basis," the report said. A median figure of 63 per cent of Moslems in surveyed countries believe there is only one way to interpret Islam. Only 37 per cent of American Moslems agreed with that statement.
Conversely, in predominantly Sunni Pakistain, 41 per cent of Moslems believe Shias are not true Moslems. A quarter of everyone surveyed "identify themselves neither as Sunni nor Shia but as 'just a Moslem.'"
Conversion rates are highest in former communist countries, with seven percent of all converts in Russia. Many of the converts were raised in atheism. "When it comes to conversion ... it is not playing a large role in expanding or growing the number of Moslems around the world," said Bell. Pew plans to publish another survey soon on Moslems' social and political attitudes. | ||
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #14 Hey, I bet you're really hot in there! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-08-10 21:29 |
| #13 nice bag. Is that cotton? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-08-10 20:04 |
| #12 They're in it for the social aspects? I'm guessing they're not in it to meet girls. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-08-10 20:00 |
| #11 What's the point of this study? Every couple of years some version of this study gets reported. The study was kind of a softball study that didn't really get at much. One could say Christians are diverse in their beliefs without doing such a study. I would have liked to see questions that got at whether or not participants believed in Sharia law? Whether or not people believed in Islamic supremacy and jihad. Questions that were a little more relevant to Americans. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-08-10 13:26 |
| #10 "When it comes to conversion ... it is not playing a large role in expanding or growing the number of Moslems around the world," said Bell. I missed that when I posted the article, but it's possibly the most important point in the article. Islamists base their plans for the triumph of Islam on three points: differential birthrate (but as David P. Goldman aka Spengler has pointed out, the Muslim birthrate is crashing, in some countries to well below replacement), conversions (but the Pew report certainly makes it look like conversions are much fewer than apostacies, reported by various appalled Muslim sources as above 6 million/year of formal out-conversions)...all they have left is that loving death more than we love life thingy, which has mostly got them dead jihadis and dead Muslims. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2012-08-10 11:39 |
| #9 A quarter of everyone surveyed "identify themselves neither as Sunni nor Shia but as 'just a Moslem.'" A quarter! That's like 1 in 4, which is really a lot. Except if you turn the binoculars around, and look from the other end, it means 75%, a strong majority, identified as either Sunni or Shia - choosing sides in a religious schism which has been going on since the git go and grounds for committing mass murder against the 'other guys'. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-08-10 09:25 |
| #8 >Ummm, if you don't believe in God how can you possibly be a Muslim (or Jew, Catholic, Presbyterian, etc.)? That's the great divide in the Church of England. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-08-10 09:05 |
| #7 They're in it for the social aspects? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-08-10 08:42 |
| #6 85 and 100 per cent of Moslems believe in God Ummm, if you don't believe in God how can you possibly be a Muslim (or Jew, Catholic, Presbyterian, etc.)? Isn't that the single defining belief? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-08-10 08:28 |
| #5 I wonder how much it cost them to figure this out. And who paid. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2012-08-10 08:02 |
| #4 Charitable trusts, quite well intended when begun [particularly from a tax standpoint], are generally chaired by heirs who have no real vocation or responsibilities. They tend to tack to port. I iggy them and do not contribute. A foundation I can recommend. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-08-10 07:59 |
| #3 "The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of fixed |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2012-08-10 07:47 |
| #2 There exists "diverse beliefs" among a population of nearly 2 billion people? How thought provoking a concept. "The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life." What would we do without them ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-08-10 07:43 |
| #1 About the proper way to kill infidels? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-08-10 05:16 |