Compiled by S. T. Adelante

The New York Times of December 12, 2009, cited a report of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life entitled “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths,” recording that many Americans now blend Christianity with Eastern or esoteric ideas. Protestants (by 20 %) and Catholics (by 28 %) acknowledged a belief in reincarnation. Similar percentages espouse astrology, the spiritual practice of yoga, and the concept of spiritual energy in mountains, trees, and crystals. Over the past dozen years, the number of Americans who acknowledge experience of ghosts has increased from 9 to 18 %, and contact with the dead from 18 to 29 %. According to the Times, Americans bend dogmas to suit themselves rather than bend themselves to fit a dogma.