At the early August meeting of the  Association for the Sociology of Religion meeting in Toronto that RW attended, there was a special session on the differences between  religion in Canada and the U.S. Specialists documented how the mainline churches have decreased faster and the evangelicals have grown slower in Canada than in the U.S. Sociologist Reginald Bibby  suggested that […]

African missionaries are increasingly planting churches in the U.S., and are attracting a multicultural following in the process, reports the Christian Century magazine (Aug. 13-20). The movement of African churches to the African nationals (and Caribbean residents) in Europe, especially in Britain [see January RW], but the trend in the U.S. seems to be less about race and […]

Despite numerous scandals involving finances, several leading televangelists continue to make fundraising a key part of their ministries,  according to the Christian humor magazine The Door (July-August). Writer Doug Peterson conducted a unique experiment to test the degree to which  televangelists ask for money. Letters were sent to 29 televangelists making a simple request for information on how to […]

In the past few months Catholic publications have been featuring reports on a possible new doctrine involving Mary as co-redeemer that may soon be publicly proclaimed as an official doctrine of the church. Newsweek magazine (Aug. 25) reports that there is an  influential movement throughout the world that is petitioning Pope John Paul II to take such […]

As the boom of spirituality continues its course through church life and personal devotion, such a resurgence is also finding a growing presence in advertising and sales — two areas of the business world long considered hostile or indifferent to such expression. According to writer Andy Cohen in Sales and Marketing Management magazine (August, 1997) an increasing […]

Over the past summer, several mainline Protestant denominations committed their constituencies to important ecumenical and gender-related policies, matters currently in the forefront of  conflict in American religious institutions in general. The General  Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (2.7 million members) attempted to take a major step in reconciling the long-standing conflicts within its ranks over whether […]

Over the course of the past year, liberal Russians and international observers alike have watched with growing concern as the government of the Russian Federation has taken an increasingly hard line with New Religious Movements (NRMs) of both domestic and foreign origin. A new law restricting such religious organizations that was recently passed by the […]

A syncretistic folk religion is finding revival and new public recognition in Vietnam, according to an Associated Press report (June 28). The once banned Caodai religious sect is a hybrid of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Vietnamese spiritism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The movement, started in the 1920s,  has more than 3 million followers despite the Vietnamese government’s religious regulation. […]