The growth of “cowboy” ministries across the U.S. that emphasize informality and Western themes are drawing a segment of the traditionally unchurched, reports the Boston Globe (Jan. 25). “Today, nondenominational cowboy churches are springing up across the country, built on the notion that the romanticism associated with that lifestyle can draw churchgoers of towns and cities in […]

Those seeking to Internet users with religious messages are using a soft-sell approach that downplays powerful religious symbols and rhetoric, reports the New York Times (Jan. 31). As Americans increasingly surf the net for religious purposes [see the new Pew study in the Current Research section], evangelists seeking converts through this medium are realizing that overtly Christian […]

While the trend of depicting spiritual and religious themes on American television has been unfolding for several years, this season’s shows reveal a more sophisticated if ambiguous approach to faith, reports TV Guide (Jan. 24). Such older popular shows as Touched by An Angel, Highway to Heaven, and 7th Heaven tended toward the sentimental or “featured God’s […]

Same-sex union ceremonies are increasingly common in congregations and tend to be viewed by participants and officiants as close to traditional marriages, reports the New York Times (Jan. 30). The newspaper reports that although 37 states have passed laws banning same-sex marriages and many churches prohibit same-sex ceremonies, observant gay couples are sidestepping legal and denominational barriers […]

In an effort to counteract the influence of the religious right, new groups are emerging from the direction of the religious left and center. The National Catholic Reporter (Jan. 23) notes that the fledgling Center for American Progress plans to energize the secular and religious left through using techniques such as media publicity first honed by the […]

Several critical works on George W. Bush and his adminstration try to peer into the president’s soul and find out how his religion is affecting foreign policy. In his new book American Dynasty (Viking, $29.95), political analyst and strategist Kevin Phillips asserts that Bush’s evangelical faith is key to understanding his approach to world affairs. Phillips even […]

Jewish studies programs at American universities are increasingly appealing to gentiles, including active Christians, reports the New York Times (Nov. 3). The more than 100 colleges and universities offering Jewish studies include such Catholic institutions as Fordham and Scranton, the Quaker-based Earlham College in Indiana, and public ones like the University of Kentucky and Portland State in […]

Muslims in Russia are facing a new wave of prejudice following a siege by Chechen guerrillas on a Moscow theater in October. The Washington Post (Dec. 23) reports that “Islamopohobia” has revived after a period when Russia’s estimated 20 million Muslims have been more numerous and freer than ever. “These events have only strengthened the hand of […]

Iraq’s Christians are following in the pattern of other Middle Eastern Christians as they seek emigration to the West, partly due to a new wave of Islamic growth, reports the World Press Review (January). Iraqi Christians, numbering abut 500,000 (and comprising 2-3 percent of the population), have long been protected by the secular government, but as Sadaam […]

Weblogs, or “blogging,” are public online diaries that are providing free space for discussion among Muslim women who are restricted in their own societies, reports Utne magazine (January/February). The magazine reports that a small but growing number of “blogs” (already in the thousands) are maintained by and for women in the Muslim world — for […]