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Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

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Researchers, health professionals eye HIV/AIDS-religion interaction in sub-Saharan Africa

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Attention to the nexus between religion and HIV/AIDS policy in sub-Saharan Africa has started to emerge as a new field of inquiry since the late 1990s, at the same time healthcare professionals have started to see religious organizations as potential partners in the fight against the epidemic after years of suspicion, writes Philippe Denis (University […]

Current Research: March 2014

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01: Involving young adults in leadership, innovative worship and an accepting attitude toward different lifestyles and theologies mark congregations that have effectively incorporated those in their 20s and 30s into their ranks, according to a new study. The Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership/Faith Communities Today (FACT) study, bringing together researchers and religious leaders from 40 U.S. […]

Jews across denominational spectrum taking up the Montessori method for day schools

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Claiming that the traditional Jewish day school model they grew up with is “outmoded and too clannish for 21st century Judaism, a new generation of parents and educators are flocking to Montessori preschools and elementary schools that combine secular studies with Torah and Hebrew lessons,” reports the New York Times (Feb. 21). The Montessori method […]

Generic `pop’ curricula and decreasing commitment add to Sunday School woes

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The growth of generic and technology-based educational curricula and the loss of regular participation and volunteers are serving to further challenge the already declining institution of Sunday schools in the U.S., writes Sharon Ely Pearson in the Christian Century magazine (Feb. 19). She finds that the “faithful families” that used to attend Sunday school classes […]

`Brand Islam’ commands industry and scholars’ attention

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Islamic marketing and the creation of a “Muslim brand” is becoming a new marketing sub-discipline, as well as generating growing global interest in the worlds of industry and academia, writes Jonathan A.J. Wilson in The Guardian (Feb. 17), a British newspaper. Concerns particular to Muslims, such as wearing head-coverings, might have been dealt with under […]

Featured Story: Technoscience driving generational divide in American Buddhism

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There is a generational shift taking place in much of American Buddhism, with members of Generation X and Y differing from their baby boomer Buddhists, particularly on the importance of technology and their eclectic approach to the religion. In the online Journal of Global Buddhism (Vol. 15, 2014), Ann Gleig writes that the formation and […]

Messianic Jews finding more acceptance in Jewish community

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The recent Pew Research Center study on American Jews is still being mined for insights into changes among American Jewry, but one of the more overlooked findings is decreased opposition to Messianic Jews claiming a Jewish identity. The survey found that 34 percent of American Jews think that believing Jesus is the Messiah is compatible […]

Seminaries and church-related universities getting back together

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Declining enrollments in Protestant and Catholic seminaries are forcing some schools into new relationships. In some cases, it includes mergers with colleges and universities, reviving an educational model that was more common in earlier centuries, reports Forum Letter (January), an independent Lutheran newsletter. In the new model, seminaries are coming under the university’s umbrella as […]

Featured Story: Revision more common than stasis in many new religious movements

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Many critics of new religious movements (NRMs) have usually viewed these upstart faiths (or “cults”) as having an authoritarian nature under charismatic leaders, who brook few challenges to a fixed body of teachings and practices. But the case studies in the new book Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements (Ashgate, $35.96), edited by Eileen […]