Jewish philanthropy is gradually shifting to serving non-Jews as well as Jews, reports Moment magazine (December). In the new landscape, American Jews and American Jewish organizations are funding “programs to eliminate suffering of all kinds in their own communities, donate to groups that protect the environment, and feed, clothe and find jobs for the poor all over […]

Since Sept. 11, there has been a significant drop in American Muslims running for political office, but there are signs that this may be changing. The Christian Science Monitor (Nov. 7) reports that Muslims only began running for office in significant numbers in the 1990s, hitting a peak in 2000, when about 700 candidates ran and 153 […]

The seemingly bizarre religious views and practices surrounding the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart by the street preacher Brian David Mitchell (known as Immanuel) are not so uncommon in the ultraconservative subcultures existing on the margins of Mormonism, according to an article in the independent Mormon magazine Sunstone magazine (October). John-Charles Duffy writes that although the Church of […]

The growing anti-war views of Eastern Orthodox leaders may be causing new tensions in these churches. Although not featured in much of the media, there was almost unanimous agreement among Orthodox leaders that the war with Iraq was immoral with anti-war pronouncements issuing from the high level of the partiarchates of Moscow and Constantinople to […]

The Capuchin order is exercising increasing influence in Catholicism, and it is hoping to offer its innovations and ideals of community life and participatory leadership to the wider church, according to the National Catholic Reporter (Nov. 14). The Capuchins broke away from the Franciscan order in the 16th century as they sought to recover the movement’s original […]

News magazines in the U.S. are cutting back their religion coverage even as European media is showing a new interest in the subject. In his e-newsletter Sightings (Nov. 9), Martin Marty cites a report by the Religion Newswriters Association that the three major news weeklies,Time, U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek have either recently cut back or phased out specialized […]

“Realignment” has become the new buzzword among observers and participants in the current struggle of the Episcopal Church over the recent election of gay bishop Gene Robinson. The term seems to mean that conservatives and liberals will, in one way or another, part ways and realign with like-minded Anglicans from other churches and parts of […]

Political scientists are discovering that clergy may be more influential in American politics than previously assumed, especially when it comes to the impact that women, “postmodern” ministries and evangelicals are making in the churches. Those are a few of the findings from a special section of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (December) that brings […]