In the 1990s, Mormons have especially incorporated images and styles from the popular media into such mass-produced objects (called kitsch) as clothing, plaques, and toys. In the independent Mormon magazine Sunstone (June), Jana Reiss writes that the tension between popular culture and Mormon values are evident in such projects as rings and T-shirts using a “CTR” slogan […]

The numbers of American-Muslim women wearing scarves have increased dramatically in the past few years, reports New Jersey’s Bergen Record newspaper (July 11). One official of the Kentucky-based International Union of Muslim Women says that “In the last year in particular, the number of inquiries we’ve had from women dealing with the issue of whether to wear […]

In a report on Pentecostalism in RNA Extra (July/August), the newsletter of the Religious Newswriters Association, one priest forecasts a resurgence of the charismatic movement in American Catholicism. Msgr. Vincent Walsh of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Wynnewood, Pa., predicts that the next wave of the charismatic renewal among Catholics will be the Pentecostal “holy […]

A major issue among religionist scholars in recent years has been why and how the Christian faith of Americans is being “globalized” by the greatly increased knowledge of other world religions. This process, however, is a two-way street. Along with Americans absorbing world religions into their smorgasbord understanding, millions of seekers on all continents are […]

“No longer simply the avocation of big-hearted church volunteers, prison ministry has become a sophisticated and competitive business. The new generation of ministers has moved beyond Bible study to recognize the seductive power of electric bands, celebrities, videotapes and glossy posters to lure captive men and women to God,” reports the Wall Street Journal (Sept. 7). The […]

Intelligent design is usually considered a theory about how the world was created with divine purpose, but increasingly this concept is taking on the form of a religious and social movement. In a special issue devoted to intelligent design , the conservative ecumenical magazine Touchstone  (July-August) claims that the theory represents a “new paradigm” in science that […]

The secular humanist movement has issued a number of manifestos outlining its goals for the future, but its most recent document shows more concern about religion’s predominance in the world, the growth of  “irrational” philosophies, and balancing responsibility as well as freedom. The “Humanist Manifesto 2000” is similar to the previous manifestos in proclaiming secularism and […]