A new survey by the Paul Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College shows continuing divisions within as well as between faith traditions on political preferences. The survey, based on a sample of 3,002 respondents and funded by the Lynne and Harry Bradley Foundation, found that evangelical Protestants continue to […]
Catholic retreats face competition and pluralism
While there has been a growth of Catholic and Protestant retreat centers, the impact of religious individualism and experiential spirituality is challenging their traditional functions. The National Catholic Reporter (April 27) notes that in the case of the Catholics alone, there are over 600 retreat centers in the U.S. and Canada. But they are facing new competition […]
On/File: May/June 2008
01: The Evangelical Manifesto represents an attempt by a wide spectrum of evangelical leaders to avoid the politicization of the movement. The statement seeks to articulate a clear definition of what it means to be an evangelical and to differentiate it from both fundamentalism and liberal Protestantism. The 19-page manifesto asserts that theological principles should […]
Findings & Footnotes: May/June 2008
01: The March issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion features a special forum on racially and ethnically diverse congregations. An introduction by Michael Emerson notes the relative absence of research on these mixed congregations up until the 1990s, but with the growth of ethnic diversity, this subject has received more attention. […]
Syria invests in Islamic banking
Two Islamic banks, Cham Bank and Syria International Islamic Bank, launched their services to the public in Syria in 2007, and more banks are set to start operating this year, John Dagge reports in The Middle East magazine (March). Islamic banking started to blossom in the 1970s and has been enjoying wider recognition in recent […]
In wake of cyclone in Burma, some Buddhists question non-violent path
The recent disaster caused by a cyclone in Burma has once again highlighted the repressive nature of the regime: facing such circumstances, some Buddhist monks have felt justified to join violent resistance, Anna Sussman and Jonathan Jones report in the online magazine Inthefray (April 6). The two reporters visited 67year old monk Saw Wizana, who […]
Rethinking the “cult” issue in France?
Cult controversies are enduring in France, and it is likely that the state will continue to be involved, but there are signs of a possible change on this issue, reported French sociologist Véronique Altglas, currently a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, at the recent INFORM/CESNUR conference in London (April 16– 19). Some changes […]
Current Research: May/June 2008
01: Holding to a “wrathful” image of God and a literal reading of the Bible tends to correlate with political intolerance, write Baylor University sociologists Christopher Bader, Paul Froese and Buster Smith in the journal Sociology of Religion (Spring). Past studies have long suggested that political intolerance is linked to religious affiliation or church attendance, […]
Publisher serves as clearinghouse and unifier of New Age movement
The New Age movement has faced many obituaries over the past few decades, but if anything, this movement of disparate spiritual therapies, techniques and teachings is becoming more consolidated thanks to a unique publishing strategy. One publisher is rarely that influential in the fortunes of a religious movement, but Hay House has managed to create […]
Pentecostalism in Europe and Latin America shows growth and stability
Pentecostalism is seen as one the most dynamic expressions of religion in the contemporary world, but this general impression should be qualified by a variety of contrasting developments from one country to another, as attested by several papers presented at the INFORM/CESNUR conference on new religious movements in London (April 16–19), which RW attended. In […]
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