Religion in Latin America appears to be taking on some aspects of European secularity and U.S. culture wars, according to two reports. In the Christian Century (March 12), historian Phillip Jenkins writes that increasingly several countries in Latin America show a drift in religious affiliation and values that bear some similarity to the U.S. and […]

The Straight Edge movement, a subset of punk rock that stresses abstinence from drugs, alcohol and casual sex, may appear decidedly secular with an antagonistic view towards organized religion, but religious symbols and, on a lesser level, ideas “have remained rife within the subculture,” writes Francis Stewart in the journal Implicit Religion (Volume 15, Number […]

Evangelicals are holding Christian versions of bar mitzvahs as part of a larger trend of increasing identification with Jews and Israel. The New York Times Magazine (March 24) reports that the concept of the Christian bar mitzvah is carried out regardless of ethnicity and is seen as a Christ-centered coming of age ceremony. The boys […]

While much has been written about growing conflict and distance between Orthodox and more liberal expressions of Judaism, there is actually more contact between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews today because of the former’s practice of outreach to those outside the fold, writes Jack Wertheimer in Commentary magazine (April). Orthodox outreach, or “kiruv,” began in the […]

Historic mainline Protestant and Catholic churches are being recycled by evangelical congregations, even as many of their features are being retained by church planters who see their heritage and “authenticity” as a draw to younger members, reports Christianity Today (March). Recent acquisitions of buildings by prominent evangelical congregations have tended to be historic mainline churches, […]

Cable television has been featuring religious themed shows for a while, but the long-standing con-cern among producers that religion is too controversial is giving way to a recognition that viewers enjoy learning about the history and role of faith in peoples’ lives. The Hollywood Reporter (March 22) notes several series on cable television that are […]

Academic interest in and journalistic curiosity about the development of evangelical churches in Europe continues, as evidenced in recent publications. The Swiss weekly L’Hebdo (January 10) devoted its cover to the growth of evangelicals, summarizing the results of a newly published research book by Jörg Stolz and a team of scholars at the University of […]