Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

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American Muslims creating `third spaces’ between mosque and society

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The growth of Islamic community centers, Muslim sports teams and youth groups and religious discussion groups, are finding a following among younger Muslims who might find mosques confining and the wider society inhospitable to Islam, reports The Christian Science Monitor Weekly (Feb. 17). Many less-than-40 Muslims regard mosques “as little more than sites for weddings […]

Featured Story: African-Americans’ new interest in roots causes new divisions among Yoruba faithful

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In a quest for roots as well as authenticity, African-American followers of Santeria (aka Lukumi) and related religious groups with roots in the Yoruba tradition are traveling in increasing numbers to Africa. But their attempt to adjust practices to what they have seen in Nigeria has created friction among such practitioners in the U.S., reports […]

Islamic extremism reviving through franchising, regrouping

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Despite significant gains in dismantling the leadership of extremist Islamic terrorist groups, religiously based terrorism is on the upswing and more diversified than ever, according to two reports. Foreign Policy magazine (March/April) traces the genealogy of the name al-Qaida from its inception in 1988 (used by Osama bin Laden as a term for his training […]

Researchers, health professionals eye HIV/AIDS-religion interaction in sub-Saharan Africa

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Attention to the nexus between religion and HIV/AIDS policy in sub-Saharan Africa has started to emerge as a new field of inquiry since the late 1990s, at the same time healthcare professionals have started to see religious organizations as potential partners in the fight against the epidemic after years of suspicion, writes Philippe Denis (University […]

Business and Orthodox life intersecting in Russia

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Although there is no such relationship between Orthodox Church and economics as the one observed by Max Weber regarding Protestantism and the work ethic a century ago, one can observe many connections between Orthodox religion and entrepreneurial activities in today’s Russia, writes Tobias Köllner (Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany) in Religion & Gesellschaft in Ost und […]

Jews across denominational spectrum taking up the Montessori method for day schools

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Claiming that the traditional Jewish day school model they grew up with is “outmoded and too clannish for 21st century Judaism, a new generation of parents and educators are flocking to Montessori preschools and elementary schools that combine secular studies with Torah and Hebrew lessons,” reports the New York Times (Feb. 21). The Montessori method […]

Generic `pop’ curricula and decreasing commitment add to Sunday School woes

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The growth of generic and technology-based educational curricula and the loss of regular participation and volunteers are serving to further challenge the already declining institution of Sunday schools in the U.S., writes Sharon Ely Pearson in the Christian Century magazine (Feb. 19). She finds that the “faithful families” that used to attend Sunday school classes […]

`Brand Islam’ commands industry and scholars’ attention

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Islamic marketing and the creation of a “Muslim brand” is becoming a new marketing sub-discipline, as well as generating growing global interest in the worlds of industry and academia, writes Jonathan A.J. Wilson in The Guardian (Feb. 17), a British newspaper. Concerns particular to Muslims, such as wearing head-coverings, might have been dealt with under […]

Featured Story: Technoscience driving generational divide in American Buddhism

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There is a generational shift taking place in much of American Buddhism, with members of Generation X and Y differing from their baby boomer Buddhists, particularly on the importance of technology and their eclectic approach to the religion. In the online Journal of Global Buddhism (Vol. 15, 2014), Ann Gleig writes that the formation and […]