A document reprimanding the Episcopal Church for its advocacy of gay clergy and leadership has been held up as an attempt to keep the worldwide Anglican communion intact, but observers doubt the report can exert such a unifying force. The document, called the Windsor Report 2004, was called for by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan […]

The Amish are attracting new attention for their potential voting power and, in turn, have become more politically involved. The Economist (Oct. 16) reports that Republicans have been courting the Amish in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The election boards in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Holmes County, Ohio, have seen a surge in Amish names […]

The faith-based social services program championed by the Bush administration has failed to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives and may discourage charitable giving to such causes, reports the liberal Washington Monthly magazine (October). This sober assessment made by writer Amy Sullivan charges that while the Bush administration initially argued that the faith-based groups would be judged […]

Experts with a knowledge of religion, particularly Islam, are playing an increasingly prominent role in battling terrorism, according to an article inThe Atlantic magazine (November). Such experts engaging in a field the article calls “forensic theology,” have become key in authenticating terrorist documents, identifying and targeting perpetrators for surveillance and, most importantly, pinpointing groups that present […]

Growing numbers of Jews are training to become “spiritual directors,” reports Uriel Heilman in an article published on October 5 by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Halfway between therapy and counseling, this practice borrows from the Christian model of spiritual guidance as well as from psychotherapy, in order to help clients to discern God’s presence in their […]

In an attempt to reach urban elite professionals and reverse sagging membership, the Southern Baptist Convention has also adopted a postmodern strategy  that downplays much of the denomination’s conservative social agenda. In New York magazine (October 18), Franklin Foer writes that in the last few years the SBC has experienced membership loss and has responded by attempting […]

Mainline churches are adopting “postmodern” models of ministry to suit an increasingly pluralistic constituency, a process that may challenge traditional denominational structures. The Reformed Church in America (Dutch Reformed) has been in the forefront of attempts to adapt congregations from coast to coast to “provide itself a niche among bigger mainline churches,” reports the Christian Century (October […]

Quantum physics, chaos theory, and the big bang have all been utilized by theologians to elucidate religious and philosophical concepts. In recent years, the evolutionary theory of emergence has become the most recent scientific concept to make the rounds of the spirituality and science conference and publishing circuit and become the next “new paradigm,” reports […]

Religion Watch was going to press as the U.S. elections unfolded, so readers should expect more in-depth coverage and analysis on this topic in the December issue of the newsletter. Yet early on, the elections’ results revealed developments that we would be amiss not to note in this issue. The solidification of the Christian right and […]

In recent years, there have been in recent years indicators of a growing religiosity in Indonesia across all religious groups, as well as forecasts that the country will become more Islamic. But such trends are unlikely to lead to the establishment of an Islamic political system, said Prof. Merle Ricklefs at the inaugural public lecture […]