The study asked about 15 different acts of altruism, including talking with someone who is depressed, helping with housework, giving up a seat to a stranger, giving money to a charity, volunteering, helping someone find a job, or helping in another way, such as lending money. The connection between religious observance and charitable behavior was consistent across religious groups in the study, "Altruism in Contemporary America: A Report from the National Altruism Study".

Such ideas have been steadily gaining ground. The English-born poet, David Whyte, who teaches on the AstraZeneca programme, has been working with companies in the field of organisational development for more than a decade.

The survey coincided with the premiere of the group's Web site, called the 'Common Sense Media Guide' -- www.commonsensemedia.org/mediaguide. The site evaluates the kinds of films, TV shows and music a child is likely to encounter in the age of ubiquitous media. It makes recommendations and describes content but does not call for banning offensive material. The idea, the group says, is to let parents know what their kids are getting into.

According to the preliminary analysis, carried out by UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE, Geneva, Switzerland)**, religious education appears as a compulsory subject in the timetables of 73 of the countries surveyed o­n at least o­ne occasion during the first nine years of schooling.

In 54 of these countries, the time to be devoted to religious instruction during the first six years of education amounts to an average of 388.4 hours or approximately 8.1 percent of total intended teaching time.

William Scott Green, professor of religion at the University of Rochester, said a study of the religious beliefs and practices of 11 religious groups in seven countries showed that most people saw religion as a positive thing."If you look at Israel and India, where there is violence that we associate with religion, the majority of people in both of those places say that the violence is political rather than religious," Scott Green said."That's a very important