Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

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Current Research: January/February 2009

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01: Recent research of mosques in both southern California and northern England finds that the most successful tend to create social integration between members and their respective societies. The Christian Century (Jan. 13) cites the journal Muslim World as finding that the mosques in these two areas with the highest concentration of post-1965 immigrants who […]

UFO belief split between New Age and scientific wings

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Contrary to predictions, belief in UFOs has not significantly declined in the 60 years since such claims have been made, but it has changed, with a major split occurring between “New Age” and “scientific” UFOlogists, writes Robert Scheaffer in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine (January/February). Scheaffer, a skeptic regarding UFOs, writes that UFO belief has come […]

Devotion to bodhisattvas and ritual grows among American converts

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There is a growth of devotion to bodhisattvas, or Buddhist gods and goddesses, among American converts to Buddhism, particularly the Chinese figure Kuan-yin. In the Journal of Contemporary Religion (October), Jeff Wilson writes that supernaturalism has not held a significant place among the large segment of converts in the US. But partly because of a […]

Black churches follow congregants in exodus from cities

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While blacks have been following whites in fleeing cities for the suburbs for several decades, it is only recently that African-American churches been following their members in their exodus from urban areas, according to research by Michael Emerson of Rice University. Christianity Today (January) cites Emerson’s research as showing that the change is most evident […]

Catholic identity remains front and center in 2008 and beyond

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The controversies and excitement surrounding the US election season have obscured trends and issues that are unfolding in world Catholicism—from the rehabilitation of the Jesuits to the growing concerns over the issue of identity in Catholic charitable organizations, writes John Allen in the National Catholic Reporter (Dec. 26). Allen cites such neglected news stories as […]

On/File: November/December 2008

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Word of Life (or Livets Ord) has been one of the largest charismatic groups in Sweden, if not Europe, but recently the Uppsala-based movement has moved in more ecumenical and “Catholic” directions. In the past, Word of Life has generated its share of controversy over its “word-faith” teachings (where one is taught to claim God’s […]

Findings & Footnotes: November/December 2008

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01: The World Religion Database (WRD) is a new online publication based on the research of the International Religious Demography project at Boston University’s Institute for the Study of Culture, Religion and World Affairs. The WRD collects, collates and offers analysis of primary and secondary source material on religious demography for all major religions in […]

“Non-Jewish Jews” growing in Israel

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The strong influx of Russian immigrants since the 1990s has greatly complicated religious demographics in Israel, since many of them cannot be technically considered as Jews from a religious perspective, writes Jesuit researcher David Neuhaus in a detailed analysis published in the Jerusalem-based journal Proche-Orient Chrétien (No. 1, 2008). According to 2006 religious statistics (which […]

Current Research: November/December 2008

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01: Unlike many Protestant and Catholic churches, there are few sharp divisions over such issues as the ordination of women in Eastern Orthodox churches in the US, according to one of the first major studies of Orthodox laity. The survey, conducted by the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute of Berkeley, California and presented at the late […]

New interfaith movement takes congregational approach

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Interfaith centers—small congregations seeking to draw people from all religions—are reportedly increasing in the US, according to the Harvard University-based Pluralism Project. The establishment of interfaith centers surged after the 9/11 attacks and now there are about 550 such groups in the US, with the largest numbers in New York, California, Massachusetts and Illinois. A […]