Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives
    • By Issue
    • By Article
    • By PDF (2008-14)
    • By PDF (1985-97)
    • All Articles
  • Sections
    • Current Research
    • Findings & Footnotes
    • On/File
  • Google Search
You are here: Home / Archive / ‘New monasticism’ draws dissenting evangelicals

‘New monasticism’ draws dissenting evangelicals

October 1, 2005 by Richard Cimino

Print-friendly

New intentional communities are springing up in the U.S. among evangelicals that differ from their counterparts of a generation or two ago by their use of traditional spiritual and monastic practices in order to structure community life, reports Christianity Today (September).

A movement called the “new monasticism” is made up of young single evangelicals increasingly dissatisfied with their suburban megachuches and feeling a call to live and work with the poor and homeless. The communities they have established are similar to those created by left evangelicals of a generation ago, such as Sojourners and Reba Place Mennonite Fellowship, but include such practices as contemplation.

A 2004 conference near Duke University officially marked the beginning of the movement, where members drew up a voluntary rule for their diverse communities and met and consulted with the older communities. Among these rules or distinctives that would mark the communities were accountability to the wider church, living with the poor, hospitality, care for creation, racial reconciliation and celibacy or monogamous marriage.

There are reported to be “dozens” of these new monastic communities around the U.S., with the most prominent being the Simple Way in Kensington, Pennsylvania and Camden House in New Jersey. The Simple Way bought and rehabilitated a building that was used for selling drugs and now works with the homeless through community development and even political protest.

(Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen Dr., Carol Stream, IL 60188)

Print-friendly

Filed Under: Archive

Also in this issue

  • On/File: October 2005
  • Findings & Footnotes: October 2005
  • New church state battles over abortion in Latin America
  • Current Research: October 2005
  • Emerging hispanic evangelical leaders impacting mainstream
  • Evolution controversy drawing in Orthodox Jews

Search the Site

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Click on the image for downloading

© 2016-2023 Richard Cimino / Religioscope
·News Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress