The Church of Christ Scientist is intensifying the effort to market its teachings, particularly founder Mary Baker Eddy’s works, to spiritual seekers on the New Age , mind-body circuit but it may be marginalizing the role of  its congregations in the process, reports The Banner (Spring), an independent Christian Scientist newsletter. In recent years, Christian Scientists, under their […]

Conservative Christian activists that have been active in fighting gay rights initiatives are increasingly turning their attention to youth issues involving homosexuality. The liberal Village Voice (May 8) reports that the leading Christian right group Focus on the Family has launched a “Love Won Out: Addressing, Understanding, and Preventing Homosexuality” a program that tours the country seeking […]

A Buddhist goddess is gaining the devotion and attention of Asians and Westerners alike for her compassionate and motherly attributes. The Dallas Morning News (May 19) reports that the influence of Kwan Yin, the Asian goddess of compassion, is “slowly spreading through mainstream American culture after inspiring millions of Asians for centuries.” There is a “new wave […]

Growing numbers of mainline churches and Reform synagogues are holding divorce ceremonies, reports the Wall Street Journal (May 4). Although these services have been sporadically performed in liberal churches and synagogues, they are now being used more frequently and even finding a place in prayer books and liturgies as the high divorce rate shows few signs of […]

Quick and simple spiritual devotions are gaining popularity to fit the fast-food lifestyle and tight work schedules of Americans, reports the Dallas Morning News (May 3). “As the pace of lifestyles quickens, the demand for tips on how to fit prayer into a busy life grows. A cottage industry of new books, Web sites and spiritual aids […]

A nationwide movement is taking shape to restore the worship trappings and architecture that were removed in Catholic churches after the modernizing influence of Vatican II. The Baltimore Sun (May 21)  reports that the Vatican II-inspired renewal effort to update worship and simplify church architecture, with reformers putting in carpeting over terrazzo flooring and removing tabernacles from sanctuaries, […]

An early May conference of the American Family Foundation (AFF) showed a growing effort to forge a middle ground between “anti-cultists” and so-called “cult apologists,” as well as revealing new divisions on questions of religious freedom for minority religious groups. Anti-cultists have usually been tagged by their concern with “brainwashing” or thought reform and other […]

Due to fears of Islamic extremism encroaching on its borders, the central Asian nations of Kazakhistan and Kyrgystan are tightening the reigns on religious freedom, reports Frontier (No. 2, 2001), a newsletter of the religious freedom organization Keston Institute. Kazakhistan and Kyrgystan have been the most tolerant of religious pluralism in the region, but recent legislation passed […]

North Korea is gradually becoming more accessible to foreign influence and Christian groups in South Korea are using the opportunity to smuggle in Bibles and aid a network of underground Christians in the north. The Washington Post (April 10) reports that the food shortage in North Korea is leading Christian groups in the south to send in […]

Media coverage of Hinduism in India still tends to reflect a Western perspective that views the religion as pagan, primitive and irrelevant to the modern world, according to Hinduism Today magazine (May/June). The magazine monitored coverage of the recent Maha Kumbha Mela, an annual worldwide pilgrimage to such Hindu holy sites as the Ganga and Yamuna rivers […]