The long-standing debate about how religious institutions can attract interracial leadership and members is being played out in Seventh Day Adventism (SDA). The fall issue of Spectrum, an independent Adventist magazine, reports that the denomination’s regional conferences, which were started 60 years ago to minister to black Adventists, have been criticized and even threatened with […]

Just as national churches catering to distinct immigrant groups defined early Catholicism and suburban parishes marked much of the 20th century, the shared parish is destined to define Catholic life in our time, writes Brett Hoover in the American Catholic Studies Newsletter (Fall). Shared parishes are defined as churches that minister to two or more […]

African independent churches (AICs) are among the fastest growing sector of Christianity in South Africa, but it is only recently that their significant role in development is being grasped, writes Barbara Bompani in the current issue of the Journal of Religion in Africa (No. 40). AICs, representing one-third of the population of South Africa, blend African […]

In recent years, Pakistan has been especially associated with terrorist activities allegedly motivated by Islam. However, a recent analysis published in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (September) shows that most Pakistanis do not approve of such actions, although those with extreme Salafi views tend to show more understanding of Islamically motivated acts of violence. Co-authors […]

Membership in state churches in Europe, often involving paying a church tax, is sometimes portrayed as a static condition that one escapes only in death. But the practice of opting out of membership and church taxes is not only becoming easier, but more people are exercising a degree of choice on the matter. The Helsinki-based […]

Conflicts over the suspension of a popular bishop may be bringing the Serbian Orthodox Church close to the brink of schism, according to several reports. The former Orthodox bishop of Kosovo, Artemije, who was deposed from his position last May, has been reduced to the status of a monk by a decision of the majority […]

Europe may be secularized, but a paradox is that religious music by members of the clergy or religious orders seems to be enjoying wide popularity, reports the Catholic news agency APIC (Nov. 19). A group of three French priests stayed at the top of French hit parade for nine weeks and sold 500,000 CDs. In […]

With 75 percent of their members above the age of 51, the Knights of Columbus in Quebec are experiencing a slow decline—a trend that is also seen in other parts of Canada, reports the Swiss-based international Catholic news agency APIC (Nov. 28). A Catholic fraternal organization with a worldwide membership of 1.7 million, the Knights […]

The religious divide so evident in previous elections did not make much of an appearance in the recent U.S. mid-term political contests. The Christian Century (Nov. 30) reports that the Democrats’ strategy of inserting religion into the 2008 elections and capturing a segment of Catholics and some white Protestants was largely absent last month. Liberal […]