items of interest

with contributions from Gina Kolata, David Brooks, Charles Bickers

A NATION'S PROBLEMS THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUNG PEOPLE

"When asked by Roper Starch Worldwide [a polling organization] in 1998 to rank the major problems facing America today, students aged twelve to nineteen most frequently named as their top five concerns selfishness, people who don't respect law and the authorities, wrongdoing by politicians, lack of parental discipline, and courts that care too much about criminals' rights."

David Brooks
"The Organization Kid"
The Atlantic Monthly
April 2001

WHERE WORLD'S RELIGIONS STAND ON CLONING

"For Christians and Muslims the issue is clear-cut. The Catholic church is unequivocally against human cloning, as are most Protestant faiths. Islamic scholars in various countries ... have also rejected it. In each case, religious leaders in Christianity and in Islam view human cloning as a violation of God's will ..."

For Buddhists and Hindus, the issue is not as clear cut. While they don't wholeheartedly condone human cloning, their concern is with issues of suffering and fair treatment of animals on which experiments are conducted; the actual source or nature of genetic material is of less importance.

Reported by Charles Bickers
"Genomics: After Darwin, Ethics Again"
Far Eastern Economic Review
March 22, 2001

Spirituality sustains caregivers

Peter V. Rabins and his colleagues conducted a study of 32 family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and 30 caregivers of persons with cancer. They found that those who had little or no religious faith tended to experience more emotional distress in carrying out their duties for their loved ones than those who reported religious faith.

Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology reported that "... spirituality predicted positive emotional states in caregiving. Interestingly, the study suggests that it was 'belief, rather than social contact, that was important.' "

In another study, 17 wives who were responsible for the care of husbands with dementia were compared with 23 wives of healthy adults. Caregivers tended to be more active in their religious expressions, using "... symbols such as God, and spiritual behaviors such as prayer and forgiveness as coping mechanisms. ... Caregivers also engaged in private prayer and sought spiritual guidance in making decisions in their everyday life more often. These studies point to the central importance of spirituality in caregiving. ..."

Deep Forgetfulness: The Role of Spirituality,
Religion, and Faith Communities"
May 2001

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