http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080624/LIFESTYLE04/806240371/1041

Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News

Most Americans think their faith is not the only way to salvation and that there are different interpretations of their religious beliefs. But they also want their traditions to remain unchanged, according to a national study of religion released Monday.

According to U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 70 percent of Americans believe “many religions” can lead to eternal life. And 68 percent believe “there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”

“Perhaps it is contradictory,” said the Rev. Patrick Halfpenny, pastor of St. Paul parish in Grosse Pointe Farms, who is active in interfaith issues affecting the Archdiocese of Detroit. “Truth is truth, or it is only opinion. But truth is not a monolith in people’s minds.”

Of those surveyed, 63 percent view the sacred texts of their faith as “the word of God,” and 44 percent believe “their religions should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.”

Majorities of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of evangelical churches and nearly half of members of historically black churches say their religion should preserve their traditional beliefs and practices.

But most Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus favor “adjusting to new circumstances or adopting modern beliefs and practices.”

“In the Hindu faith there is a statement in Sanskrit that I can translate: The truth is one. The learned call it by many names,” said Padma Kuppa, who works in information technology for Chrysler. “This is why for me, being American, the findings of the study make 100 percent sense to me as a Hindu, because my faith does not preclude another faith from having validity.”

Many Metro Detroiters say that inherent in a country that allows for freedom of religion is tolerance, but perhaps a conservative understanding of one’s own faith.

“Coming to America changes all of these religions to some extent, and the desire to preserve the traditions of their faith here in America has kept them alive and vibrant,” said Gail Katz, who is Jewish and active in interfaith circles.

For Muslims, the words come directly from the Quran, according to Dawud Walid, an assistant imam at the Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit, who also is the director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Michigan.

“According to Islamic teachings, all people should have the right to worship freely, as they choose,” Walid said. “In particular, the Islamic faith has historically been more accommodating of Jews and Christians in this regard.”