Although Catholics have lagged behind Protestants in environmental activism, that situation may be changing with the growth of local church efforts in this cause, reports America magazine (Feb. 13). The article cites historian Mark Stoll as saying that the reason Catholics have not been prominent environmentalists is that their religious worldview encouraged a sense of sacredness among […]

The greatest challenge to traditional religion is waiting in the wings, as science and new technologies are converging that offer “humans extended lives within information systems, robots, or genetically engineered biological organisms,” according to the Futurist magazine (March/April). A convergence of cognitive science with information technology “already threatens traditional beliefs that are the heart of religion, notably […]

The issue of the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate and its freedom in Turkey has assumed a new prominence in deliberations on the nation’s admission to the European Union. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament adopted on January 26 the draft of a strategy report regarding its relations with present and possible future candidates […]

Following the victory of Hamas at Palestinian elections, commentators, such as the Christian Science Monitor‘s Howard LaFranchi (Jan. 27), wonder if the campaign for democracy in the Middle East will actually serve to promote Islamists. Such electoral results are however not only related to religious fervor, but also to the partial failure of secular regimes to […]

The controversial issue of 12 anti-Muslim cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten has taken unexpected social and religious dimensions. Ambassadors have been recalled, Danish (and Norwegian) embassies have been torched in Arab capitals, and thousands of angry Muslims have demonstrated from the UK to Yemen, from Indonesia to Afghanistan. If there are people still doubting the […]

Evangelical social activism of a more liberal bent appears to be gaining ground, even if its impact seems uncertain, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Jan. 22). The new evangelical activism remains committed to pro-life and traditional family causes, but these “activists believe that serving God also means acting on a `biblically balanced agenda’ that would, among other things, […]

While the influence of the Catholic Church is declining in the U.S., the impact of Catholic ideas seems to be on the rise. That is the contention of Joseph Bottum, writing in the Weekly Standard (Jan. 23). Bottum cites the priest sex abuse scandal and the general low public profile now taken by most American bishops (partly […]