The sharp controversy over the Boy Scouts’ prohibition of homosexuals from its membership is not only dividing congregations and denominations but is also showing how scouting has gradually taken more religious overtones over the years, reports Newsweek (Aug. 7). The Boy Scouts policy prohibiting homosexuals from membership in the organization has again the ongoing divide among U.S. […]

Fraud involving investments in religious causes is on the increase, with more than $1.8 billion lost on such schemes in the last three years, reports the Los Angeles Times (Aug. 8). State security officials report that con artists in 27 states have taken advantage of at least 90,000 investors, with such deceived parties claiming that they are […]

TV sitcoms are being put to use by churches as  material for Bible studies and grist for spirituality in general, reports the New York Times Magazine (Aug. 12). In the effort to be relevant to unchurched seekers as well as the faithful, churches are increasingly borrowing from the popular culture and media. The Simpsons is the subject of […]

The “Goth” international youth culture, with its “dark aesthetics” and fascination with death and vampires, is becoming both a mission field and an emerging counterculture drawing disaffected Christians. Charisma magazine (August) features a cover story that seeks to dispel stereotypes about the Goth subculture (that they worship Satan or that most are violent and practice vampirism) […]

Religion Watch recently interviewed Fordham University sociologist Michael W. Cuneo about his new book, “American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land Of Plenty” (Doubleday, $24.95). In researching the book, Cuneo observed exorcisms in Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as interviewing exorcists and those undergoing the ritual. RW: In your book you write that the news […]

As Europe’s Christian Democratic parties are removed from the corridors of power today, there are signs that these once religious-based parties are reviving moral, if not faith, concerns in Europe. The Public Justice Report (Vol. 23, No. 3), the newsletter of the Association for Public Justice, an evangelical political action caucus, notes that Christian Democratic parties’ new […]

China is looking to France as a model for dealing with “cults,” such as Falun Gong, the persecuted Chinese meditation movement. The Washington Post (July 10) reports that Chinese officials hold up the recent French law passed that made “mental manipulation” a crime as a way to control such groups as Falun Gong. The French law, passed […]

The close involvement of black clergy in Unification Church-sponsored activities is prompting a backlash of opposition in black churches, reports the Washington Post (July 25). As increasing numbers of black clergy have participated in activities sponsored by the Unification Church, there have been a rash of firings and threats of dismissal of ministers involved in these events, […]