Starting within the Jewish and Christian  communities in Los Angeles, a fresh initiative to bring disabled persons into full participation in congregations is spreading across the country. Headed by The Arc (formerly Association of Retarded Citizens), thousands of copies of materials for Sabbath Sunday worship are being distributed. According to the Los Angeles Times (March 6), the Arc and […]

For several years, the Vatican and U.S. bishops have called for a reassertion Roman Catholic identity and teachings at Catholic colleges and universities, but they may not have to worry much about it. Catholic schools are re-emphasizing their identities as they discover  that these qualities are marketable, reports the National Catholic Register (March 21-27). “In general education circles, […]

Givers to religious causes are receiving gifts and other perks by religious fund-raisers — a practice that is drawing criticism from theologians and ethicists. The Wall Street Journal (March 10) reports that religious fund-raisers and prominent ministries have taken a page from secular charities that award finacial donors with gifts of anything from plaques with their names […]

Religion doesn’t figure highly in history or the news judging by a list ranking “the Top l00 Stories of the  Century.” The list project was sponsored by Newseum of Arlington, Va, and was compiled by 67 journalists and scholars  As pointed out by Charles C. Haynes, director of the First Amendment Center, only seven of these stories […]

North American teenage girls are increasingly drawn to witchcraft, though observers are uncertain whether this is a teen fad or actually a matter of genuine spiritual interest. The Toronto Sun newspaper (March 22) reports that television shows and movies depicting witchcraft or “wicca” such as Charmed, Sabrina and The Craft are appealing to youth, particularly girls. “In […]

The Tolkenian role-playing typified by the game Dungeons and Dragons during the 1980s has given way to popular virtual reality-based video games that utilize occult and other mystical themes, reports the conservative Christian newsweekly World (Feb. 27). Concerns about the apparently occult nature of Dungeons and Dragons and other similar games are likely to pale in comparison […]

Religious works or art, particularly in the contemporary expressions, often are excluded from museum collections, according to Sightings (March 17), the online newsletter of the Public Religion Project. Church historian and editor Martin E. Marty reports that a Public Religion Project conference on religion and art,  attended mainly by artists and museum curators and scholars, examined the question […]

In the drive to be contemporary and relevant to the younger generations, church growth specialists are beginning to sound somewhat traditional. Next (February), the newsletter of  the megachurch think tank, Leadership Network, reports on a recent forum to reevaluate ministry in a “postmodern culture.” The 500 participants in the forum — mainly young church leaders — targeted […]

In the midst of the debate about whether the government should help faith-based social services and schools, religious groups themselves are expressing reservations about such arrangements and looking around for alternatives. The reserve that some religious groups have regarding new church-state partnerships is in evidence in Wisconsin, a test state for vouchers for religious and […]

There is new interest in promoting small-church ministry, even if megachurch-church models still seem to be winning the day. Pointing out that roughly half of all churches in America are under 200 members, and two-thirds have fewer than 300, Loren Seibold writes  in Christianity Today (Feb. 8) that today most church resource and growth programs are geared for […]