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Location: Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

Am a trained and practicing journalist.I believe censorship is the greatest enemy of journalism.Am the Founder/Executive Director of Media29 Network Limited,a multi-media firm based in Nairobi,Kenya.

Friday, December 22, 2006

God's cool: Here's how India see her (sic)

India, they say, is a land of god-fearing people. That’s only partially true. An exclusive opinion poll conducted for The Times of India by TNS, a leading market research agency, shows that while three-fourths of Indians are strong believers, God is perceived by many more as a source of energy rather than someone to be feared.
Asked to respond to the statement, 'I think I fear God', only 41% said they completely agreed and another 33% said they mostly agreed. On the other hand, in response to the statement that 'God is a source of energy in my life', 56% completely agreed and a further 32% mostly agreed.
The survey, done across 10 cities with 1,007 respondents, shows Indians are not convinced that God is a micro-manager, that is, someone who controls our actions on a day to day basis. Rather, S/He is seen as the Creator — 91% feel God controls macro affairs like the rotation of the earth or the cycle of life and death. A significant 46% said S/He was an observer, not a controller.
Interestingly, the single largest chunk, 43%, said religion was a private affair compared to only 29% who saw it as a social affair and 28% who said it was both private and social. This might explain why a high 54% said they were against the broadcast of prayers, hymns or bhajans over loudspeakers.
In a finding that confirms anecdotal evidence, God is also seen as cool today. The number of people who said they are more religious now than they used to be was considerably larger than those who felt they had become less religious. The largest chunk, about 42%, said they were just as religious as in the past.
God is seen as responsive. A good 54% said God answers all prayers and another 41% said some prayers are answered. S/He is also seen by most believers as someone who loves both believers as well as non-believers.
Interestingly, while most people do not see God as having a specifically male or female form, views on how old God would be are more crystallised, although very evenly divided between those who think God is young and those whose conception is of a middle-aged or old Almighty.
For those who think belief in divine — and not just holy — texts is essentially confined to semitic faiths, here’s a revealing figure: 49% think the religious texts have been written either by God or by messengers of God, that is those who communicated directly with the Almighty.