In the last year both the religious and secular media have been widely reporting on the “new atheism,” which is expressed in three recent best-sellers: Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation, and Daniel Dennett’s Breaking the Spell. In his syndicated column in the Long Island Catholic (Feb. 28), neoconservative writer George Weigel argues that […]

Islamic TV channels have multiplied in the Middle East in recent years and have been quite successful in terms of drawing a wide audience, but still are experiencing financial difficulties, the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al Awsat reports in its English edition (January 31). Advertising firms do not regard such channels as appropriate for their products. This leaves […]

According to reports published in several Muslim countries in recent weeks, Shi’is are currently active in spreading their faith through converting Sunnis. It is difficult to separate fact from fiction, but those rumors provide more evidence of a deep mistrust between these groups, which may also be exploited by various groups for their own ends. […]

Compared to other immigrant religions, Hinduism does not appear to experience major problems in functioning in US society. But such is not the opinion of Belgian scholar Jakob De Roover (Center for Comparative Science of Cultures, University of Ghent). In an analysis posted on India Forum (January 22), he claims that “the American model of pluralism is […]

Changes in musical styles and economics is adversely affecting the supply of church musicians in black churches, reports the New York Times(January 13). The change in black musical style to rap, not requiring instrumental talent or training, as well as budget cuts in music education has reduced the number of young African Americans conversant with the […]

There is a growth of baby boomers taking early retirement and entering the mission field, reports Christianity Today (February). Some of these fifty-something missionaries are signing up for a few weeks of service, while others join for several years. The missionary agency Wycliffe Associates has seen a 40 percent increase for several years in a row of […]

Religion coverage appears to be expanding in American media at the same time that the traditional religion sections and religion editors of newspapers are being phased out. Writing in RNA Extra (January/February), the newsletter of the Religion Newswriters Association, editor Debra Mason notes that the trend of religion sections shrinking or folding has been taking place for […]

Radical religious groups and trends were the focus of a newly inaugurated North American Conference on Radicalism that took place in late January at Michigan State University (East Lansing), which RW attended. Tricia Jenkins (MSU) and Virginia Thomas studied the “journey from radicalism to mainstream evangelicalism” of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the years following […]

The probable candidacy of Mitt Romney for U.S. president has stirred wide–and sometimes wild–speculation about whether a Mormon could or should be elected to that office. The debate over Romney’s candidacy and its implications for American democracy has been featured prominently in the New Republic magazine. In the January 1-15 issue of that magazine, Damon Linker cites […]

Despite passing a law allowing conversions to other Jewish branches aside from orthodoxy by those emigrating to Israel, the issue remains contested, according to recent reports. Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, is currently leading efforts for amending the legislation on conversion in such a way that a convert would not automatically be entitled to the […]