Pakistan is the new leader in exporting Militant Islam around the world, largely through its network of Koran-based schools, reports the New York Times Magazine (June 25). Some of the 100,000 or so schools, known as madrasas, are local efforts, while others are sponsored by religious parties and mujahdeen groups “waging jihad (struggle) against India in the […]

In a time of increasing government pressure on minority religions and churches, evangelicals in France are finding growth through cooperation in outreach with Catholics. The British charismatic magazine Renewal (June) reports that evangelical churches are facing restrictions and harassment under a new government effort to monitor groups that are considered cults. Churches that have operated for decades […]

The Ozark mountain region straddling Missouri and Arkansas has become a Mecca for far right religious groups seeking privacy, reports the Detroit News (May 28). While the Pacific Northwest has long been thought to draw white supremacist and far-right religious groups, the Ozarks’ isolation, Bible belt identity, and relative freedom from law enforcement appeals to these groups. […]

Prayer Beads are finding widespread appeal, even apart from the spiritual traditions in which they originated, reports the New Age Journal (July/August). New interpretations of beads used for mediation and prayer, such as Rosaries and Buddhist and Muslim prayer beads, “are becoming popular. Web sites and workshops are springing up. Both artists and spiritual practitioners are even […]

The popularity and commercialization of yoga has led to conflict among leaders of this spiritual practice, with those of the “old school” claiming that the new wave of practitioners are lacking in authenticity, reports the Wall Street Journal (June 23). Yoga’s appeal has spread from its countercultural following after it was introduced in the U.S. in the […]

The expanding dialogue between science and religion is still in its infancy and will likely include more non-Western religious concepts and involvement in the near future, writes Kevin Sharpe in Science & Spirit magazine (May/June). Sharpe, a proponent of challenging traditional religious views  with scientific insights, sees signs of non-Western interest in the dialogue between these two fields, […]

In one of its most far-reaching decisions on church-state relations in over a decade, the Supreme Court’s decision to disallow the student-led prayers before football games is being interpreted as a major victory for holding to strict separationism. For several years, the “accomodationist” position of allowing more cooperation between organized religion and the state seemed […]

Despite criticism for being tolerant of  anti-Catholicism, George W. Bush has gathered a small group of Catholic advisors around his campaign and readily employs Catholic terminology in his discussions of social policy, reports the New Republic magazine (June 5). Bush’s speech to fundamentalist Bob Jones University last spring led to wide criticism that he took a hands-off position […]