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Americans slowly turning towards Hinduism, says report

August 18, 2009 17:15 IST

'We Are All Hindus Now'--headlines the article in the upcoming edition of prestigious newsmagazine Newsweek, saying 'US Views on God and Life Are Turning Hindu'.

Written by its religion editor Lisa Miller, it says, 'Â…recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.'

Commenting about the Newsweek viewpoint, Rajan Zed said that community was glad that rich philosophical thought of Hinduism was being recognized and accepted widely outside the Hindu circles.

The article quotes a religion professor at Boston University who has long framed the American propensity for 'the divine-deli-cafeteria religion' as 'very much in the spirit of Hinduism.'

It further says: 'So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them--like Hindus--after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America.'

Source: ANI