Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

Current Research: November 2015

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01: While religious freedom has become a publicized and politicized issue among Christians, most denominations have not given it high priority, according to a recent study. In their recent book The Church and Religious Persecution (Calvin College Press), political scientists Kevin den Dulk and Robert Joustra find that nearly half of prominent American and Canadian […]

How many Muslim refugees will turn to Christianity in Germany?

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While there is no mass conversion of Muslim refugees to Christianity in Germany, a few congregations are experiencing significant growth following their missionary work with them, Deborah Berlioz reports from Berlin in the French Protestant daily Réforme (Oct. 29). A Lutheran parish belonging to a small German denomination linked to Lutheran Missouri Synod in Berlin […]

Caliphate low on Islamic State fighters’ priorities

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While the fighters for the Islamic State may be devout Muslims, their motivations are far from being dictated by the radical movement and its dream of a worldwide caliphate, writes Lydia Wilson in The Nation magazine (Oct. 21). Wilson and her colleagues interviewed imprisoned ISIS fighters in Iraq and found that they were “woefully ignorant […]

Islamic woman preachers used to spread the faith by Turkey’s religious officials

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Female preachers (vaizeler, singular vaize) are being employed by the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), not merely as providers of social assistance and support but “most of all as spiritual guides to whom women can share problems and questions,” says the past president of the Diyanet in an article in Turkish Studies (Sept.). The […]

Advocates for Buddhism as state religion in Thailand draws support and criticism

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Several groups are currently pushing for Buddhism to become state religion in Thailand, writes Nanchanok Wongsamuth in Bangkok Post (Oct. 25). A previous attempt had failed during military rule in 2007; the constitution adopted at that time only required the State to patronize and protect Buddhism. Members of a committee to promote Buddhism as state […]

Findings & Footnotes: November 2015

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01: A movement of scientists and environmental thinkers and activists embracing evolution as a kind of secular religion comes under scrutiny and critique in the current issue of the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (9.2). Such thinkers and scientists as Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson have charged that the traditional religious […]

On/File: November 2015

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01: A recent effort known as the Jewish Community Legacy Project (JCLP) helps disappearing Jewish communities plan on what assets they will leave behind. In a place such as Pocahontas, Va., both the general and Jewish population declined as coal mining diminished. After the Jewish community there disappeared, the community of nearby Bluefield took over […]

Mormon dissenters finding home in liberal sister denomination

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Mormon dissenters from church teachings on women and gay rights have been switching to their liberal sister denomination, the Community of Christ, reports the Guardian (Oct. 1). Formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, the 250,000-member denomination changed its name in 2001 to reflect its increasingly traditional Protestant identity. The church accepts […]

Most American evangelicals unlikely to bend on sexual issues

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Contrary to media reports, evangelicals are unlikely to change their attitudes on sexuality any time soon, writes Russell Moore in the magazine First Things (October). With the recent Supreme Court decision on gay marriage and the growing public acceptance of gay rights and other liberal positions on sexuality, several commentators have reported liberalization in some […]