Religious Beliefs

Stanford researchers have discovered that the introduction of Western religions is changing hunting patterns in the Amazon and affecting the region's biodiversity. The biologists extensively questioned members of the Makushi and Wapishana tribes in the Guyanese Amazon about their eating habits and which animals they hunted. They found that in areas where Western religions had gained a foothold, hunting and eating animals that had been banned by traditional shamans increased. Likewise, consumption of other animals increased in areas that had been protected by shamanic practice.

In journalism, a “standing hed” is a headline that can be used over and over because the event it describes is recurring. My favorite standing hed is “Pope Prays for Peace,” but the New York Times this week had one that is becoming equally familiar: “Bishops Reject Birth Control Compromise.” The main point of the story was that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had rejected the Obama administration's latest tinkering with its...

I read the religion section regularly and enjoy it greatly. I thought the Nov. 25 page was particularly good in many ways, but mostly because two articles dealt with our cultural ignorance of and bias against Islam and Muslims. (I have already congratulated Connie Regener). I am Christian (member of the Crystal Cathedral) and am pained by the insensitivity of society's attitudes and stereotyping of these beautiful persons (at least the several dozen Muslims that I have met). Thanks for your part in attempting to enlighten us all. MARGIL W. WADLEY Adjunct Professor in Chemistry Chapman University Re "Let's Make Tolerance a Holiday Goal," Nov. 25: This is an unusual time for "Tolerance"--Christianity: Advent; Islam: Ramadan; Judaism: Hanukkah--all within the same month.

Stanford researchers have discovered that the introduction of Western religions is changing hunting patterns in the Amazon and affecting the region's biodiversity. The biologists extensively questioned members of the Makushi and Wapishana tribes in the Guyanese Amazon about their eating habits and which animals they hunted. They found that in areas where Western religions had gained a foothold, hunting and eating animals that had been banned by traditional shamans increased. Likewise, consumption of other animals increased in areas that had been protected by shamanic practice.

In these days when religious fundamentalism is on the rise, it is good to read an article such as "Heavenly Harmony" (Nov. 15), where Orange County people of different religious faiths get together in fellowship and harmony, tolerant of the beliefs of each other. That is what religious freedom in our country is all about. However, this is not the same "religious freedom" that the growing Christian fundamentalist movement today complains about being lacking in our society. What our fundamentalists want is the freedom to force their narrow Christian beliefs upon the rest of us by the use of government and our schools.

America is a melting pot not only of culture but also religion, according to a survey released Wednesday. Many Americans attend services outside of their own religion, and blend Christianity with Eastern and New Age beliefs, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life said. The nationwide poll of 4,013 adults found that a third regularly or occasionally attended religious services at more than one location -- and 24% of the public overall worshiped outside their faith.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Constitution's guarantee of the "free exercise" of religion protects a person who belongs to no established church, but who invokes personal religious beliefs as the basis for his actions. In a 9-0 decision, the court said that Illinois officials cannot deny unemployment benefits to a Peoria man who said that his personal religious views prevented him from working on Sunday. Individual religious beliefs need not flow from a "tenet or dogma . . .

The Orange County Human Relations Commission on Thursday condemned an anonymous political flyer that attacked the religious beliefs of a Democratic candidate for Congress just before the June 2 primary. The commission, in a unanimous decision, described the flyer as "disgusting and appalling" and called for an investigation.

A sharply divided federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday that a landlord may refuse to rent to an unmarried couple if doing so would violate his or her religious scruples. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case from Alaska, but the 2-1 ruling would also apply to California and appears to override the state housing discrimination law as well as similar laws in several other Western state.

As we grow older, our energy, sex drive, memory, income, health and physical senses usually enter a state of gradual decline. But religious belief--and the comfort and happiness it provides--increases with age for most Americans.

Question: I am a first-time landlord who just bought a six-unit apartment building as a personal investment. My Christian faith is extremely important to me and affects every aspect of my life. I would prefer to rent out the apartments in my building to other Christians, not because I am prejudiced against non-Christians but because I like the idea of creating a community of believers living together in fellowship. I have been told that the fair housing laws do not allow me to specify in my advertising that I will accept only Christian tenants.

Re "Judges put new therapy law in limbo," Dec. 5 U.S. District Judge William Shubb and psychologist Joseph Nicolosi have confused the right to express an opinion with the duty to do one's job. It is one thing to have a personal opinion; it is another thing to impose that opinion on people who pay you for a service. The opinion that "conversion therapy" for homosexuals works is just that - an opinion; it is not factual. There is no serious evidence to support the practice, only wishful thinking and personal or religious beliefs.

Kirk Cameron has never been shy about stating his political and religious beliefs, so he's also not been shy when it comes to controversy. And the former "Growing Pains" star stepped right into a big controversy on Tuesday morning, when he told "Today" show hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb that he believed Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin to be "a good man. " Akin has resisted increasingly louder calls from members of his own...

Is religious freedom suddenly under attack in America? That's what the nation's Roman Catholic bishops and some non-Catholic allies would have you believe. But reports of the demise of this fundamental liberty are greatly exaggerated. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishopshas designated June 21 to July 4 as a "fortnight for freedom. " During those two weeks, the church will trumpet its already well-known opposition to an Obama administration regulation that private health insurance plans include contraception services.

President Obama stood before an audience of distinguished Christian clergy and lay leaders and took on the mantle of pastor in chief. "I have to be careful," he joked at the White House's annual Easter prayer breakfast. "I am not going to stand up here and give a sermon. It's always a bad idea to give a sermon in front of professionals. " With that, he gave a sermon, telling the story of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and his eventual crucifixion, a sacrifice that "puts in perspective our small problems relative to the big problems he was dealing with.

It's a tribute to Jobs Re "Value of Apple tops $500 billion," Business, March 1 In the future, the next time a hippie-type guy has an idea about a company, we will probably listen real close to what he has to say. The late Steve Jobs' company will likely go much higher than half a trillion dollars in value. Who would have thought 10 years ago that their investments in Apple would increase in value by a whopping 4,500%? It's really a sad scenario that Jobs, the man most responsible for the success of Apple, is not present to witness this milestone.

Marilyn Quayle said today she resents the attention given to her parents' interest in a fundamentalist preacher who routinely attacks unions, feminists and homosexuals. The wife of GOP vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle said she and her husband attend Presbyterian churches but acknowledged that her father, Warren Tucker, and her late mother listened for years to tapes by Col. Robert Thieme.

The Obama administration announced it would give Catholic hospitals and other religiously affiliated institutions an extra year to comply with a new rule requiring employers to provide free birth control in their health plans.      But the administration held fast to the underlying rule, despite vigorous objections from Catholic bishops and other officials who argued they shouldn't be forced to provide services that go against their religious...

From San Diego -- The premise that a higher being doesn't really care about football games continued to be challenged Sunday. Tim Tebow won another one. He led the Denver Broncos to a tie in regulation and a win in overtime. We aren't sure whether he is magical or mystical. We don't know when, or if, he will start multiplying loaves and fishes. Right now, we just know he wins. This time, at the end of five quarters of National Football League action — well, that's too strong a word, but more on that later — it was the San Diego Chargers who had to genuflect before him. These days, when Tebow takes a knee, it isn't a football term.