Following the July 22 attacks in Norway and first analyses of the writings of accused killer Anders Breivik, a discussion has started regarding his religious beliefs and whether such labels as “fundamentalist” and “Christian terrorist” apply to his actions. While the media and some scholars described him as a “Christian terrorist,” other scholars dispute suggestions […]

Deposits in Pakistan’s Islamic banks rose from $3 billion to $4 billion last year, reports Pamela Constable (Washington Post, April 30). According to business experts, the trend is a consequence both of turmoil in the Western financial systems in recent years and of a surge in religious feelings. Not only banks, but also all kinds […]

Evangelical churches’ involvement in running a large number of rehabilitation centers for substance abusers in Russia is bringing a new wave of participants into congregational life, but is also causing conflict with the more middle-class constituencies they are also reaching. Christianity Today (April) reports that this is particularly the case in Siberia, where visitors to […]

Due to support given to the church by the state, Greek Orthodox institutions are feeling increasingly under pressure in the crisis-hit country. According to Greek sources quoted by the Paris-based Service Orthodoxe de Presse (May 23), the Greek government intends to cut by half the budget used for paying the salaries of Greek clergy. Moreover, […]

Chaplaincies in European jails have to meet the challenges of a growing religious diversity, while those of different Christian denominations are increasingly drawn into cooperating with one another and integrating the various religious traditions that they encounter into their practical work. Beside such common features, there is, however, a considerable variety in the space given […]

The rise of faith-based social service organizations in the developing world is undisputed, but determining just how many of these groups there are and the types of people receiving these services is far more difficult to ascertain, according to World Bank specialists speaking at a special session at the ASREC conference attended by RW. Jill […]

The growing genre of Christian rap has taken an unexpected turn towards conservative Reformed or Calvinist theology, reports Christianity Today (May). The magazine reports that not since contemporary praise music came from Calvary Chapel and the Jesus movement in the 1970s “has a genre of Christian music become so associated with a specific stream of […]