India is a Hindu majority country, but the recently opened Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the capital, showcases statues of the Buddha. There are no other religious symbols at the airport apart from the Buddha, although Buddhists form less than one percent of the country’s 1.2 billion people. In addition, […]
Indian megachurches—cell-based, ornate and pastor-led
India’s megachurches are growing and tend to be housed in huge, luxurious buildings, are based on networks of cell groups, and show strong leadership from the senior pastor, reports an article in Lausanne World Pulse (January/ February), an evangelical newsletter on world missions. The article provides case studies of three Indian megachurches (without reporting on […]
Moldova’s Orthodox competition, political involvement drives down church influence?
Since 1992 there have been two competing Orthodox jurisdictions in the Republic of Moldova. Nearly two decades later, the situation seems only to have contributed to a weakening of the influence of both groups, reports Andreai Avram (Moldova-Institut Leipzig, Germany) in the monthly magazine G2W (January). Following the emergence of a national movement in Moldova […]
New tensions between Vatican and China
“Is the honeymoon over?” asks the magazine Inside the Vatican (December), following a consecration of a Chinese bishop deemed to be illicit by the Holy See on Nov. 20. Subsequent nominations at the helm of “official” Chinese Catholic bodies in China have seemed to confirm the assessment that relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Beijing […]
Anti-Coptic terrorism, conflict spreading beyond Egypt?
The intensifying violence and terrorism committed against Egypt’s Coptic Christians show signs of spreading into Egyptian diaspora communities in the West, reports The Tablet magazine (Jan. 8). The current revolts in Egypt and the participation of Egyptian immigrants in Western countries in such protests suggests the strong transnational ties that exist beyond that country. Since […]
Current Research: January/February 2011
01: The number of religious “nones,” or the unaffiliated, in the last two decades has grown significantly, but this group may be about evenly split between secular and more religious elements, according to a recent study. Surveys showing the percentage of religious nones have indicated that they range be-tween 11 percent and 20 percent of the […]
Baby boomers the fastest growing demographic at American seminaries
Baby boomers “embarking on a second or third career by answering a higher calling” are the fastest growing segment in theological seminaries, reports Time magazine (Jan. 31). While those under 30 are still the largest cohort of students—accounting for one-third of the enrollment—the 50 or older group has grown from 12 percent of students in 1995 […]
Evangelical shift in theological publishing
Religious publishing trends show a shift toward cutting edge theological books coming from evangelical publishers, as well as a growing interest in books on life after death and apocalyptic themes, reports Rodney Clapp in the Christian Century magazine (Jan. 11). In reporting on the meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of […]
Racial diversity versus denominational unity in Seventh Day Adventism?
The long-standing debate about how religious institutions can attract interracial leadership and members is being played out in Seventh Day Adventism (SDA). The fall issue of Spectrum, an independent Adventist magazine, reports that the denomination’s regional conferences, which were started 60 years ago to minister to black Adventists, have been criticized and even threatened with […]
Shared parishes—a new kind of pluralism in American Catholicism
Just as national churches catering to distinct immigrant groups defined early Catholicism and suburban parishes marked much of the 20th century, the shared parish is destined to define Catholic life in our time, writes Brett Hoover in the American Catholic Studies Newsletter (Fall). Shared parishes are defined as churches that minister to two or more […]
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