01: There is a growing openness toward religious perspectives on campuses today, whether church-related or secular, according to a recently completed 10-year study by the Lilly Endowment.
The study, which surveyed faculty and staff about their perceptions of religion on campus, found that 60 percent report a new openness toward religion, with 58 percent saying there is more discussion on religious topics during the past decade. The monthly Baptists Today (January) reports that the research also found increased interest in opportunities for religious activity and spirituality on campus, whether institutionally or personally.
(Baptists Today, 6316 Peake Rd., Macon, GA 31210-3960).
02: The 2000 presidential vote showed an unprecedented amount of Protestant support for a Republican candidate, although the effect of the Catholic vote is still being debated, according to one report.
The Washington Times (Jan. 26) reports an increase in polarization between religious and non-religious voters, as well as between blacks and whites. A post-election survey of 4,004 voters by political scientist John Green finds that 75 percent of the Bush vote was white evangelical and mainline Protestant voters, while blacks and non-religious Americans gave Al Gore 40 percent of his popular vote total. Mainline Protestants (who in recent elections have voted Democrat) and evangelicals “each contributed less than one-seventh of {Gore’s] ballots, with the less observant [Protestants] somewhat more numerous,” Green said.
He adds that the Clinton scandals may have tarnished his vice president’s image, accounting for why even non-conservative Protestants preferred Bush over Gore. It is widely acknowledged that evangelicals did not turn out strongly for Bush, however. An earlier survey by pollster Ed Goeas finds that conservative Protestant turnout dropped from 19 percent of the vote in 1996 to 15 percent this time. There is more debate about the impact of the Catholic vote. Green finds that the Catholic vote was split between Bush and Gore, with Hispanic Catholics gravitating to Gore and Hispanic Protestants to Bush. It is also noted that active believers in all churches tended to vote for Bush.
03: Christian music is increasingly finding acceptance in the mainstream as sales grow in secular stores and decline in Christian retailers.
For the first time in five years, sales of contemporary Christian and gospel music decreased by six percent in 2000. Yet there was a 9.2 percent increase in this music being sold at mainstream retailers. In announcing the figures, the Christian Music Trade Association attributed the decline to the lack of new studio releases in 2000 from some of the industry’s top-selling authors.
One spokesperson for the association added that a “shift” toward the mainstream is taking place, as statistics also show a 38 percent drop in Christian music sales at Christian stores from 1999 to 2000.