Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

‘Muslimism’ — the new face of Islamic orthodoxy?

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Not convinced by vague expressions such as “moderate Islam,” which tells one little about content and rather describes what that type of Islam it isn’t, Neslihan Cevik, of University of Virginia, identifies new Islamic orthodoxy as “Muslimism.” Although paying special attention to the Turkish case, Cevik said her observations can be applied, at least to […]

Eastern Christian, Muslim immigration forges new church partnerships in Sweden

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The recent immigration of Muslims and Eastern Christians to Sweden is leading to new public and private interfaith and ecumenical initiatives, says Johan Garde, Ersta Skondol University College. Speaking at the meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, Garde notes that there has been a one-third increase of Muslims and Eastern and Oriental […]

Ireland’s ‘extra-institutional’ religious turn

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While there has been a sharp decline in Mass attendance and religious vocations in Ireland, there is also the emergence of “extra-institutional” religion, which tends to be ecumenical with a concern for spirituality, community, personal growth and social justice, according to sociologist Gladys Ganiel of Trinity University of Dublin. In a paper presented at the […]

Current Research: September 2014

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01:  A recent survey finds that 36 percent of  Americans report experiencing or witnessing some form of religious discrimination at work, with nearly half of non-Christian workers (49 percent) reporting so. Tanenbaum’s 2013 Survey of American Workers and Religion finds that almost the same percentage of white evangelicals (48 percent) report experiencing or witnessing religious non-accommodation […]

Christian Scientists’ ecumenical involvement brings changes to faith

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Christian Scientists are forging new links with other Christians in such areas as prayer and fellowship since their church has engaged in ecumenical dialogues, according to the current issue of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (Spring). The Christian Science Church began a series of informal dialogues with the National Council of Churches about five years […]

Celibacy gaining credence among gay evangelicals

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After a period of leadership controversies and disbanding of ex-gay evangelical ministries, groups stressing the importance of celibacy for gay evangelicals are gaining popularity, reports Sarah Pulliam Bailey in Religion News Service (Aug. 4). When the prominent ex-gay ministry Exodus shut down in 2013, it was a sign that the reparation therapy model that it […]

Gay rights making Korean-American Christians more public and more insular

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While the recent battles over same-sex marriage have brought once apolitical older Korean-American clergy and laity into the public square, the rapid victories and new protections granted to gay rights have created a mood of insularity among more integrated second-generation Korean-American evangelicals, according to political scientists Joseph Yi, Joe Phillips and Shin-Do Sung. In an […]

Featured Story: When Muslim converts don’t stay converted

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While the number of people converting to Islam in the West is growing, new converts face a variety of significant challenges, both from inside and outside the community, leading a segment to drop out after some time. “Apostates” among converts remains an under-researched and difficult topic, according to several participants at sessions on “Moving In […]

Findings & Footnotes: August 2014

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01: Sociologists Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel provide a thorough examination of the postmodern “emerging Christianity” movement in their new book The Deconstructed Church (Oxford University Press, $35). Emerging Christianity has been a diffuse movement, stressing its anti-institutional nature with participants divided among themselves about whether they go by the designation “emerging” or “emergent” (with the […]