01: The Fall issue of the journal Nova Religio is devoted to the question ofwhether Islamic jihadism can be considered a “new religious movement” (or NRM). Increasingly, both specialists in terrorism and anti-cult and new religious movement scholars have been exchanging and borrowing ideas and concepts to deal with the terrorist threat. The issue opens with an overview […]
Gay rights and Africa’s own culture wars
African Anglican and other mainline churches’ opposition to the gay rights activism of American denominations, such as the Episcopal Church, is well-known, but such attitudes are not merely a carryover from the U.S. culture wars, writes Philip Jenkins in the New Republic magazine (October 8) Jenkins writes that Africa’s highly competitive environment, where mainstream churches such as […]
Central Asia’s search for alternative forms of Islam
Islam in Central Asia still bears the marks of the Soviet legacy, with the destructions and shrinkage of religious knowledge as well as the exclusion of religious life from public. This, however, also meant that the region has had no experience of the trend of ideological Islam, which developed during the same period in some […]
Armenia — A powerful church and low religious practice
Despite a low level of religious practice, the weak legitimacy of other institutions in Armenia has allowed the Armenian Apostolic Church to assume a significant role in the post-Soviet republic, according to one specialist. Ani Sarkissian (Michigan State University) presented her research at a panel on religion and identity in Armenia at the 8th Conference […]
Traditional mass to grow at uneven pace across dioceses
Most U.S. Catholic dioceses do not expect a large number of requests for celebration of the pre-Vatican II Mass in the foreseeable future. There are however a few exceptions, according to an article by Jeff Ziegler in theCatholic World Report (October). Following the July motu proprioSummorum Pontificum, any priest who wishes to do so can celebrate […]
Low income churches borrow from Scientology
Some Christian congregations, particularly in lower income, urban areas, are turning to the Church of Scientology for support and assistance, according to a CNN report (October 31). Pastors interviewed say that when it comes to religion, they still preach the basics of Christianity. But when it comes to practicing the faith, they borrow resources from Scientology. According […]
Findings & Footnotes: October 2007
01: As a result of a growing interest in religions and their role in society, new websites and newsletters in different languages are making an appearance. Several of them are edited by people with a background in religious studies. A few months ago, Yunus, a new website on religion, was launched (http://www.yunusnews.com). It describes itself as “dedicated […]
Muslim reformists support secular state
There is no incompatibility between secularism and sharia (Islamic law), said Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (Professor of Law at Emory University) in his keynote speech at the 30th German Congress of Oriental Studies, which gathered in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (Sept 24-28), and whichRW attended. Issues related to Islam had a strong presence at the conference and […]
Current Research: October 2007
01: Though there has been sharp debate over whether church attendance is declining in the U.S., a recent analysis of data suggests a pattern of stability. In the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion(September), Stanley Presser and Mark Chaves write that such debate has intensified as self-reporting attendance figures have been found to tend toward over- […]
Buddhist family deficits
American Buddhists have yet to deal with the lack of structures and rites of passage that can socialize young people into the religion, writes Clark Strand in the Buddhist magazine Tricycle (Fall). He writes that the problem is that in most cases, “children aren’t ready for the kinds of rituals that adult converts have mastered– like meditating, […]
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