The phenomenon of “pop star” priests in Brazil is bringing back Catholics to the fold and posing unexpected roadblocks to the Protestant upsurge in the Latin American nation. Peter B. Clarke writes in the Journal of Contemporary Religion (May) that the “explosion of Pentecostalism has provoked a Catholic response in Brazil which is led by young, charismatic, […]

Criticism of Darwinian evolution and modern science is finding a hearing among non-Christian groups far beyond American fundamentalist and evangelical creationists. Postmodern philosophers and scholars involved in the new field of the sociology of science question notions of objectivity that hold that scientific fact is independent of subjective interpretation and the influence of culture, ethnicity,and […]

Five years after the death of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the messianic movement that had formed while he was the head of the Lubavitcher Hasidim is expanding. The Washington Post (June 20) reports that when Schneerson died in 1995, many predicted that the movement would crumble without him, and that the messianic beliefs would fade with time. Neither […]

With the realization that after two decades of outreach their ministry is markedly slowing down, several of the flagship megachurches in America are making major changes in their programs. The Los Angeles Times (June 7) reports that.pastors of these churches with over 2,000 members are finding growing numbers of dissatisfied members, unhappy neighbors, and an inability to […]

The issues of values and spirituality are making a comeback in the public and political life in Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper (April 27). In recent months public meetings have been held where “church people have been asked to offer their insight on public policy and policymakers have been invited to reflect on the moral […]

Popular or “folk” varieties of Catholicism are resilient and flourishing, though they don’t seem to be much of an impetus for social action. Those are two of the conclusions of a world-wide study of popular Catholicism reported in the Jesuit America magazine (May 29). The study is based on seven case studies of areas where Catholic practices […]