01: Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism (Oxford, $27.50) by Michael W. Cuneo, provides an intereresting look at the subcultures of the Catholic right. Cuneo, a Fordham University sociologist, examines such movements as conservative Catholicism; prolife activism; traditionalism (which emphasizes a return to pre-Vatican II Catholicism); and radical Marian-apocalyptic movements, such as the one gathered around […]
Hong Kong Christians cautious on China rule
As Hong Kong comes under Chinese control, Christian leaders are preparing for a changed environment for religious freedom, despite the assurances by China that they will continue to enjoy independence of state control, according to several reports. Chinese officials have recently told Catholic church leaders that they will not set up offices of the Religious Affairs […]
Current Research: July/August 1997
01: Recent sociological and attitudinal research shows that in at least three areas of religious life, American fundamentalists are continuing their commitment to traditional teachings despite major society changes creating pressures for adaption ad compromise. In their attitude towards pornography, sexually explicit materials, in their beliefs about premarital sexual intercourse, and in their suspicion of secular […]
Growing momentum in healing Pentecostal rift
The younger generations in Pentecostalism are making progress in mending an 80-year split between “oneness” Pentecostals and the majority of trinitarian believers, although they are receiving little encouragement from denominational officials, reports Charisma magazine (June). Oneness or “Jesus only” Pentecostals, representing approximately 17 million believers in the world, broke off from other Pentecostals in their refusal to […]
Devotional promoting generic spirituality, healing still going strong
While many devotional publications have appeared and disappeared over the last several decades, the 75-year-old Daily Word continues to reach new readers. Sponsored by the Unity Church for Christianity, it is now being sent to 1.2 million readers, with another 6.5 million connected through pass-along. According to the report in the Washington Post (June 21), the appeal of […]
American Muslims create own business network
American Muslims are turning to Islamic law to help them run their businesses, according to an Associated Press report (June 22). The cornerstone of Islamic business transactions is the religion’s ban on interest payments, or usury. The Koran is specific in requiring Muslims to share the risk of an investment while sharing the profits from it and prohibits […]
Sufism reconciling with Islam after long divorce
Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, is reviving its ties to the Muslim faith after a long period of divorce from the tradition and syncretism among many of its Western, especially American, practitioners. Gnosis magazine (Summer), a quarterly on esoteric spirituality, reports that the closing of such a gap between sufi “gurus” and practitioners and traditional Islam […]
Catholic growth found in conservative or liberal dioceses?
Some observers and scholars have speculated that conservative Catholic seminaries and dioceses — like their conservative Protestant counterparts — are more likely to draw in members and vocations than more liberal groups. In reporting on a conservative and liberal dioceses, writer Charles R. Morris found that there is something to this speculation, but not everything. Writing […]
Darwinism comes under increasing attack from religious and secular critics
While Pope John Paul II recently endorsed much of Darwinism’s biological underpinnings, the theory is drawing some sharp attacks from American neoconservative writers, academic anthropologists and social theorists. The libertarian Reason magazine (July) reports that such American neoconservatives as Irving Kristol are asserting that human society must rest on the permanent moral foundations found in religious faith. Darwinism’s […]
Supreme court decisions open new era in church-state relations
The late June decisions by the Supreme Court on church-state relations effectively open a new era in the potentially explosive world of religious freedom and judicial sovereignty. In the decision to allow publicly funded school teachers to offer instruction in parochial schools, and in the declaration that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is unconstitutional, the nation’s […]