A segment of megachurches are experimenting with ethnically homogenous small groups as a way to actually grow more diversity on the wider congregational level, reports Christianity Today magazine (September). These churches combine maximal inclusiveness in major Sunday worship services with smaller groups meeting during the week to allow members of various ethnic groups to worship […]

The growing Protestant house church movement in Cuba promotes a social ethic that is friendlier to the Cuban socialism than might be expected, writes Rose T. Caraway in the Journal of Religion & Society (Vol. 17). The number of Protestant house churches in Cuba has grown rapidly; a 2013 report from the U.S. State Department […]

Churches in Europe are being pulled in conflicting directions as they respond to the hundreds of thousands of people seeking asylum from war and persecution on the continent, according to The Economist (Sept. 6). The magazine reports that, “On one hand, European churches and religious charities have played a prominent role in supporting migrants and […]

The instability of the Balkan countries, the growth of Salafi Islam and their proximity to Western Europe has made this region an important target in the strategy of the Islamic State, according to the Terrorism Monitor (Oct. 2), a newsletter published by the Jamestown Foundation. During the past two years, over 1,000 foreign fighters from […]

Anti-Muslim Buddhists are entering the political mainstream of Myanmar (Burma), according to a report in Reuters (Sept. 1). The Buddhist group the Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion, headed by 77-year-old Buddhist abbot Ashin Tilawkar Biwonsa (Ma Ba Tha), passed four bills by Parliament and signed them into law. Critics say the new […]

Across denominations, Orthodox Christians in Syria tend to be supportive of the Assad regime, since it is seen as protective of non-Muslim minorities, writes Christoph Leonhardt in the journal Ostkirchliche Studien (63/2). More than loyalty to the regime itself, the rejection of opposition groups makes these churches supportive of the status quo, he adds. The […]

A tiny remnant of an old community, Samaritans are now reduced to some 780 souls, as they find their greatest challenge in finding ways to marry while keeping their religion, writes Ahmad Melhem in Al Monitor (Sept. 20). Of those 780 Samaritans, 380 live in Gerizim (in the northern West Bank), near the mount that […]