It’s become almost a church growth law that strong, “strict” congregations will grow the fastest in the future. But in an article in the Christian Century (Aug. 26-Sept. 2), sociologist Peter Berger calls that paradigm into question as he sees congregations increasingly improvising to minister to Americans who have lost much of the old certainties regarding religious […]

A movement based on millennial and New Age teachings is finding some unusual bedfellows. Jose Arguelles, a pioneer New Age leader, has been in the forefront of a millennial movement predicting an imminent period of tribulation and planetary rebirth based on a return to the ancient Mayan calendar. Arguelles is considered a key popularizer of […]

Children are becoming increasingly active in charismatic practices as well as in evangelism and prayer movements, reports Charisma magazine (September). A notable feature of recent revivals in an Assembly of God church in Brownsville, Florida was the participation of young children in the phenomenon, dancing, speaking in tongues and being “slain in the spirit.” The role of […]

Televangelists who fell from public favor a decade ago are having a second life as they buy time on cable television and “repackage” themselves for a largely African-American audience, reports the Washington Post (Sept. 3) Such televangelists as Robert Tilton and Peter Popoff, who lost much of their followings in the 1980s due to financial scandals and […]

A number of European governments appear to be taking a more neutral and balanced stance toward new religious movements, although religious freedom in Russia is in serious jeopardy. Those were some of the conclusions of scholars at a conference, organized by the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) on September 10-12 in Torino Italy. […]

Marian devotion is increasingly dividing the Catholic charismatic movement, especially in Europe, according to Charisma magazine (August). Charismatic Catholics both in the U.S. and Europe have in recent years adopted a strong interest in the Virgin Mary, as evidenced by their involvement and leadership in the Marian apparition movement in Medjugorje in the former Yugoslavia. Tomas Dixon […]

Messianic Jews are increasingly building their own institutions apart from Gentile Christians and also suffering disaffection from younger generations, according to several reports. Jews who have adopted faith in Christ and yet retain their Jewish traditions are growing in numbers, particularly in the U.S., according to Christianity Today magazine (Sept. 7). Today there are over 350 Messianic […]

Mormon fundamentalists are receiving renewed scrutiny from law enforcement officials, mainly for their practice of polygamy. The Washington Post (Aug. 9) reports that a publicized case of a teenager’s “escape” from a polymagmous Mormon fundamentalist group where she claims that she was abused by her father, has put the spotlight on polygamy — illegal in Utah, […]

Female-led communion services are becoming more public and widespread in the face of a hardening Vatican line against the  possibility of women priests in the Catholic Church, reports the Washington Post (July 28). The practice of holding women-based communions has usually taken place in small groups and private homes and it has been debated by participants whether such […]

The annual preview of religious titles by Publishers Weekly (July 13) for the fall book season suggests that many recent fads in religious reading and practice are receding. Author Lynn Garrett suggests that once-popular books on angelology, everyday spirituality, and 12-step therapies, are in  low demand for the first time in recent years. What seems to be the […]