A growing number of Catholic priests are taking up the role once identified with frontier Methodist preachers as they “circuit-ride” to locations without clerical leadership, according to USA Today (April 14). The number of active priests has declined from 35,070 in 1965 to just an estimated 21,030 in the year 2005, according to a study sponsored by […]

How influential are donors and private foundations in influencing American religious denominations? That question may become more pressing as American denominations are increasingly being funded by individual donors, such as in last wills and testaments, and foundations [see February `97 RW]. This change in funding is coming at a time when offerings from congregation members are […]

While the “faith factor” has been cited in cover stories and popular books as contributing to physical and mental well-being there has been less attention paid to the effect of religious beliefs and practices on social problems, particularly concerning at-risk youth. Recently, however, a spate of reports from think tanks and academic conferences are starting […]

A middle class is emerging in India that is more religious that has generally been predicted, but not very orthodox. Hinduism Today magazine (February) devotes a cover story to the beliefs and practices of the middle class Indians and finds that those of all faiths — Hindu, Christian and Muslim — do not largely discard their […]

There is a revival of interest in Roman Catholicism in Holland, and the secular media may be partly responsible for it, according to the Catholic World Report (February). The Catholic Church in the Netherlands was once considered the most liberal in the world, as its theologians and bishops often clashed with the Vatican. More recently, a steady […]

While it’s still too early to know the impact of the new Russian restrictions against non-Orthodox and foreign religions, it appears that these laws are creating a new kind of unity among such unofficial churches. Idea, (Feb. 10), the German evangelical news service, reports that as a result of the new laws, several independent Protestant churches […]

A recent survey of students from the first college graduating class of the new millennium has found this class of 2001 is learning-oriented, service-motivated, and fairly religious. The survey, which was conducted by Lou Harris and Associates, found that these students, now in their freshman year, are conventional in its domestic interests,  looks forward to marriage […]

The Church of Christ Scientist is attempting to reverse its declining membership, which appears to be causing new divisions in the denomination, according to  U.S. News & World Report (Feb. 16). In the face of a sharp decline of Christian Science congregations and official healers or “practitioners” (dropping from 8,000 in the early 1960s to about 2,000 […]

Both evangelical and mainline American Protestant seminaries are caught up in major internal struggles, which could possibly change their long-standing position of leadership within the religious community. Recent books by evangelical leaders and  critics are questioning the efficacy of formal training, reports Christianity Today (Jan. 12). These critics ask why seminary education is even necessary when such […]

A surge in malpractice suits against clergy in their counseling practices has led to a sharp decrease in such forms of consultation with their members, reports the Wall Street Journal (Feb. 5). Since the early 1990s when a series of lawsuits on cases ranging from sexual abuse to malpractice (such as counselees who committed suicide) found their […]