Throughout Latin America, new church-state battles are heating up as pro-choice groups seek to implement more liberal abortion laws, reports Conscience (Fall), a liberal Catholic quarterly. Legalized abortion is almost non-existent in Latin America (with the exception of Cuba) and most of the pro-choice activists speak of “decriminalizing” rather than legalizing the practice, though there is little […]

New intentional communities are springing up in the U.S. among evangelicals that differ from their counterparts of a generation or two ago by their use of traditional spiritual and monastic practices in order to structure community life, reports Christianity Today (September). A movement called the “new monasticism” is made up of young single evangelicals increasingly dissatisfied with […]

An emerging group of Hispanic evangelical leaders are likely to have an unprecedented impact both in and outside of their ethnic community, reports Prism (evangelical churches because of the remaining barriers between Hispanic and non-Hispanic America. One such emerging leaders, Luis Cortes, whose organization, Esperanza USA has hosted the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, says that Hispanic evangelicals […]

Although not in the headlines, conflicts and controversies over evolution and creation are unfolding in Orthodox Judaism, reports Moment magazine (October). While Judaism has generally not been divided by the evolution controversy to the same extent as Christianity, the growth of the right wing in Orthodox Judaism has changed that situation. The controversy became visible when Rabbi […]

“How far will Benedict go?” asks Robert Moynihan, the editor of Inside the Vatican (August-September). According to the Catholic magazine, Benedict XVI is currently preparing his first encyclical, which will deal with the subject of liturgy. The encyclical is expected before the end of the year. The recent meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and the head of […]

Yoga is finding a new respectability and acceptance in churches, though its Hindu practitioners might have trouble recognizing it. Time magazine (Sept. 5) reports that “from Phoenix, Ariz., to Pittsburgh, Pa… hundreds of Christian yoga classes are in session. A national association of Christian yoga teachers was started in July, and a slew of books and videos […]

Megachurches are increasingly spinning off satellite congregations that serve many of the functions of smaller fellowships while maintaining the identity of the “mother” church. Christianity Today (September) reports that close to 1,000 U.S. churches have embraced a “multisite approach,” where the sermons are often beamed into smaller congregations from a preacher on the church’s main campus. Pioneering […]

While debates and deliberations on gay rights in mainline Protestant churches have become standard fare at their conventions, this summer’s denominational gatherings showed some unexpected turns. The decision of the liberal United Church of Christ to approve gay marriage was not a surprise, but the move was widely viewed as being not so much a […]

Is academia entering a “post-secular” stage? That this question was asked at all at a session of the Association for the Sociology of Religion meeting in Philadelphia in mid-August, suggests that something is afoot. Much of the new religious influence in academia is due to a burst of evangelical confidence and activism, said Michael Lindsey […]

Religious beliefs can help in the HIV crisis in India, but most Hindu groups and leaders have not yet taken up this work, according to a Yale University medical researcher. In an interview with Science & Theology News (July/August), Nalini Tarakeshwar says that research of those with HIV-AIDS in India finds that most infected individuals are religious, […]