The differences in financial practices between synagogues and churches remain far apart, although there are signs of convergence, according to series of reports in Forward (Sept. 15 and 22), a Jewish website. Traditionally, Christian churches have raised funds by using explicitly religious language, calling worshippers to give as an obligation to God. In contrast, synagogues […]
Lutheran parochial schools suffer from demographic shifts and identity crisis
The Lutheran parochial school system, one of the most extensive in the U.S. aside from the Catholics and the Seventh Day Adventists, is in crisis, not only due to the long-term demographic shift from urban areas to the suburbs, but also because of these schools’ loss of their Lutheran identity, writes Paul Robert Sauer in […]
Hipster faith—breaking out of the evangelical ghetto or filling a new niche?
The emergence of “hipster Christianity” is creating a new space for young evangelicals in urban areas seeking to break out of the Christian subculture, but such believers may have trouble reaching out beyond their demographic. Christianity Today magazine (September) features a cover story on “hipster faith,” reporting that this “subculture of young evangelicals” is in […]
Muslim movements find success and challenges in reaching out to American underclass
Islamic groups and movements are meeting with some success in attracting prisoners and inner city dwellers, though only after a period of decline and trial and error, according to two studies published in the current issue of the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (June). The two groups that are most effective in this area in […]
On/File: July/August 2010
01: The current leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church has for years emphasized the need to improve the quality of its theological education. As part of such efforts, a significant step has been taken with the launch in 2009 of the Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate and Doctoral School under the direction of the influential Metropolitan Hilarion […]
Findings & Footnotes: July/August 2010
01: Glenn Beck’s Mormon faith has been one more source of controversy swirling around the popular and provocative conservative radio and television commentator—a fact not lost on American Mormons, judging by the June issue of Sunstone. The independent Mormon magazine features several articles on Beck, arguing that he is better versed in the faith than […]
Controversial Israeli conversion bill causes turmoil abroad
Conservative and Reform Jews in the U.S. have expressed concerns about a conversion bill recently discussed in the Israeli Knesset that could erode the legitimacy of conversions performed by them. Fearing that the bill could create a rift in the Jewish world and affect political support for Israel among North American Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin […]
Dagestan seeks ways to contain Islamic radicalism
In several parts of the Muslim world authorities have been tempted to promote Sufism, the mystical Islamic movement, as a way of counteracting Islamist ideologies. This strategy is also in play in Dagestan, in the Russian part of the Caucasus, although not everyone—including Sufis themselves—is enthusiastic about giving a religious monopoly over to one strand […]
Islamist extremism fuels Christian persecution in Pakistan
On July 13, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission warned that two Christian men from Pakistan’s Punjab province, Rashid and Sajid Emmanuel, were in danger after their arrest on frivolous charges of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. Five days later, suspected Islamist extremists shot them dead outside a courthouse, reports the U.S.-based Compass Direct News […]
Hindu and Sikh remnants hang on in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is an Islamic country, predominantly Sunni (with a 15 percent minority of Shi’a), of 30 million people, but against all odds, some 2,000 Hindus and Sikhs have survived in the country, reports German scholar Manfred Hutter (Bonn University) in an article in Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft (dated 2009/2, but actually published this summer). These two […]
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