pSource: a href=”http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-12-10-1Amixingbeliefs10_CV_N.htm”www.usatoday.com/a/pUNITED STATES, December 10, 2009: Elements of Eastern faiths and New Age thinking have been widely adopted by 65% of U.S. adults, including many who call themselves Protestants and Catholics, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion Public Life released Wednesday.br /br /According to the survey, syncretism — mashing up contradictory beliefs — appears on the rise. And the survey’s other major finding, devotion to one clear faith is fading. Of the 72% of Americans who attend religious services at least once a year (excluding holidays, weddings and funerals), 35% say they attend in multiple places, often hop-scotching across denominations.br /br /Even so, says Pew researcher Greg Smith, “these findings all point toward a spiritual and religious openness — not necessarily a lack of seriousness.”br /br /Among the findings: 26% of those who attend religious services say they do so at more than one place occasionally, and an additional 9% roam regularly from their home church for services. 28% of people who attend church at least weekly say they visit multiple churches outside their own tradition. And 59% of less frequent church attendees say they attend worship at multiple places.br /br /Pew says two in three adults believe in or cite an experience with at least one supernatural phenomenon, including: 26% find “spiritual energy” in physical things. 25% believe in astrology. 24% say people will be reborn in this world again and again. and 23% say yoga is a “spiritual practice.”br /br /The survey of 2,003 adults measures Protestants, Catholics and the unaffiliated; there were not enough people of other faiths surveyed for analysis. For the full, lengthy article, see source above.

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