TV programs with religious, often Bible-based,  themes are scoring high ratings, reports Charisma News Service (Nov. 13). NBC began broadcasting “In the Beginning,” advertised as “From Creation to the Commandments” in November to garner big ratings for the November sweeps. The other major networks are using the same strategy. Next year, CBS will be airing “Adam & Eve” […]

Urban Christian ministries are stressing intercessory prayer meetings while using the creative arts to reach out to city-dwellers, reports the evangelical digest Current Thoughts & Trends (November). Even before new ministries are being launched, churches involved in urban outreach are holding regular prayer meetings on behalf of problems in their neighborhoods. Brian Bakke of the Uptown Baptist […]

Orthodox Judaism is facing new movements of dissent on the issue of homosexuality, according to the Jewish Week (Nov. 3). There is a new openness on the part of Orthodox Jewish gays and lesbians as they find e-mail discussion groups and new support groups catering to their needs forming in the U.S. and Israel, as well as […]

Judaism appears to be attracting a growing number of gentile converts who are drawn to the faith for its teachings and practices rather than because of intermarriages. There has been a longtime debate in Jewish circles about whether synagogues should seek converts (apart from seeking the conversion of partners of interfaith marriages), but it seems that […]

In the face of perceived and real declines in the importance of denominations among American churchgoers, church bodies and congregations are attempting to reassert their identities, whether through public relations campaigns or reviving older traditions. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Nov. 4) reports that  two of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations, the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran […]

Even if Muslims are gaining more recognition in American society, they are underrepresented when it comes to books about their faith. Publisher’s Weekly (Nov. 13) reports that the bookstore shelves do not fully reflect U.S. religious diversity when it comes to Islam, but “signs of change are evident.” Most Muslim books continue to be published by […]

It is not unusual for politicians and the media to speak of discrimination and intolerance toward Muslims, but there is little evidence of such prejudice, writes Daniel Pipes in Commentary magazine (November). Using figures and information provided by Muslim organizations, Pipes writes that in education and the professions Muslims are near the top among ethnic and religious […]

Do the voting patterns from the U.S. presidential elections show a religious divide or new common ground in America? Just as the final election results remained uncertain long after November 7th, the impact of the “religious factor” in voting is still under debate. This much is clear: White Protestants, who comprise 54 percent of the […]

Over the past three months, three major mainline Protestant denominations, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church, held their scheduled national conventions, and, as in previous years, issues of sexuality and gender drew the most controversy and publicity. But there were also signs, particularly in the United Methodist Church, that these […]