Yoga is finding a new respectability and acceptance in churches, though its Hindu practitioners might have trouble recognizing it. Time magazine (Sept. 5) reports that “from Phoenix, Ariz., to Pittsburgh, Pa… hundreds of Christian yoga classes are in session. A national association of Christian yoga teachers was started in July, and a slew of books and videos […]
Megachurches take up satellite model
Megachurches are increasingly spinning off satellite congregations that serve many of the functions of smaller fellowships while maintaining the identity of the “mother” church. Christianity Today (September) reports that close to 1,000 U.S. churches have embraced a “multisite approach,” where the sermons are often beamed into smaller congregations from a preacher on the church’s main campus. Pioneering […]
Mainline liberals, moderates, conservatives and gay rights
While debates and deliberations on gay rights in mainline Protestant churches have become standard fare at their conventions, this summer’s denominational gatherings showed some unexpected turns. The decision of the liberal United Church of Christ to approve gay marriage was not a surprise, but the move was widely viewed as being not so much a […]
‘Post-secularism’ in academia?
Is academia entering a “post-secular” stage? That this question was asked at all at a session of the Association for the Sociology of Religion meeting in Philadelphia in mid-August, suggests that something is afoot. Much of the new religious influence in academia is due to a burst of evangelical confidence and activism, said Michael Lindsey […]
Findings & Footnotes: August 2005
01: The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion Is Giving Way To Spirituality (Blackwell Publishing, $59.95) by Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead, takes the middle ground in the debate between scholars arguing for the continuing secularization of Western society and those forecasting a revival of traditional religion. The book is based on field work in the British city of Kendal, […]
Hindu India challenged by AIDS crisis
Religious beliefs can help in the HIV crisis in India, but most Hindu groups and leaders have not yet taken up this work, according to a Yale University medical researcher. In an interview with Science & Theology News (July/August), Nalini Tarakeshwar says that research of those with HIV-AIDS in India finds that most infected individuals are religious, […]
Scandal reveals clergy irregularities in Romania
A nationwide controversy over an unauthorized exorcism in Romania has unleashed concerns about the growing competition and lack of training of clergy in this predominantly Eastern Orthodox nation. The New York Times (July 3) reports on the publicized case of an Romanian Orthodox monk with a growing following who conducted an unauthorized exorcism of a young women […]
Anti-semitism seeping into British mainstream?
Anti-Semitism in England is among the worst in Europe due to changing attitudes in the Muslim community and mainstream acceptance of these views, reports the Israeli journal Azure (Summer). According to a report from the Community Security Trust, which tracks anti-Semitic incidents, 2004 was the worst year of such hate crimes since the group began keeping statistics […]
European Catholics ‘Taking it to the streets’ to protest secularism
A strategy of resistance to secularism is unfolding in Europe among Catholics that bears some resemblance to the Christian right in the U.S., according to the National Catholic Reporter (July 1). In June, the Catholic Church in Italy, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini and with the support of Pope Benedict XVI, mobilized at all levels […]
Current Research: August 2005
01: Although many pundits and analysts have questioned the view that the “moral values” vote gave George W. Bush the 2004 election, there may be some truth to this position, particularly when regional and religious differences are taken into account,, according to a new analysis. In Religion in the News (Spring), John C. Green and Mark Silk write that […]
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