Prayer chains that were once confined to a congregation or a close circle of friends are now being circulated throughout the world over the Internet, causing new concerns about privacy in the process. The Dallas Morning News (April 30) reports that prayer requests that are posted on religious web sites are easily circulated to other web sites […]

Who has been the most influential evangelical in the U.S during the last 25 years? The answer to that question tends to bring up the usual candidates: Billy Graham, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade, James Dobson of Focus on the Family, or perhaps Pat Robertson. The Evangelical Studies Bulletin, (Winter) the newsletter of the Institute for […]

The feminist Re-Imagining movement is experiencing tensions over whether to confine its work within Christian boundaries as well as how to reach out beyond its middle-class, white constituency, reports Faith & Freedom (Winter), the newsletter of the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy. The Re-Imagining movement gained headlines and notoriety in mainline denominations eight years ago for […]

Is the loss of faith inevitable for religious colleges and universities? In the past few years there have been several studies and books detailing how many of the leading U.S. colleges — from the Ivy League to Catholic schools — have lost their religious identities, making such a transition seem almost like a natural process. […]

The recent destruction of pre-Islamic Buddha images by Afghanistan’s Taliban regime suggests that this Muslim movement is reasserting its militancy after a period of tolerance and even cooperation with other nations on issues ranging from historic preservation to women’s rights, reports the Washington Post (March 20). The widely reported destruction of invaluable Buddhist statues by the Taliban […]

The majority of  religious organizations that were required to re-register with the government in order to be recognized in Russia have done so, although a significant minority — from the Salvation Army to Buddhists — were turned away from such official approval and may face liquidation. In 1997 Russia passed a measure requiring all religious groups […]

Churches in mission areas around the world are facing a “brain-drain” as their best and brightest church leaders often are lured to the U.S. for more prestigious positions, according to a missions specialist. Pastors, seminary professors and others in independent organizations are being lured to U.S. ministries because they can offer better pay and more […]

Religious participation in global policy planning gatherings is on the rise, although neither religious leaders nor policy makers have thought much about the long term role of religion in world affairs, writes Lawrence Sullivan in the e-newsletter Sightings (March 7). The recent participation of religious leaders in the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland was […]