The Capuchin order is exercising increasing influence in Catholicism, and it is hoping to offer its innovations and ideals of community life and participatory leadership to the wider church, according to the National Catholic Reporter (Nov. 14). The Capuchins broke away from the Franciscan order in the 16th century as they sought to recover the movement’s original […]

News magazines in the U.S. are cutting back their religion coverage even as European media is showing a new interest in the subject. In his e-newsletter Sightings (Nov. 9), Martin Marty cites a report by the Religion Newswriters Association that the three major news weeklies,Time, U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek have either recently cut back or phased out specialized […]

“Realignment” has become the new buzzword among observers and participants in the current struggle of the Episcopal Church over the recent election of gay bishop Gene Robinson. The term seems to mean that conservatives and liberals will, in one way or another, part ways and realign with like-minded Anglicans from other churches and parts of […]

Political scientists are discovering that clergy may be more influential in American politics than previously assumed, especially when it comes to the impact that women, “postmodern” ministries and evangelicals are making in the churches. Those are a few of the findings from a special section of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (December) that brings […]

The escalation of the Intifada and the loss of faith in Zionism in Israel have spurred a movement of secular Israelis engaged in a study of Jewish texts and a search for religious identity. At the SSSR conference, Adina Newberg of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College presented a paper on the growth of liberal Jewish houses […]

The wearing of a scarf by Muslim girls at French schools has been an ongoing topic of controversy since the 1980s. But the situation  has gained new intensity in October, after two Muslim girls were barred from going back to (government) school because they refused to remove their scarves. There have been many articles and TV […]

American Catholic publishing houses are in the process of consolidation to make up for declines, but it appears that conservative publishers are faring better, reports the online newsletter, Religion Bookline (Oct. 21). Consolidation in the Catholic market seems to be the order of the day, with Ave Maria acquiring the Thomas More, Christian Classics and Forest of […]

There are new ties between the American Muslim community and the FBI even in the midst of continuing fears and tensions among Muslims after Sept. 11. An outreach campaign launched by the FBI is intended  to show the Muslim community a “less threatening visage” than investigations and `voluntary interviews’with more than 8,000 Middle Eastern men following […]

The growth of immigrant religions in the U.S. has often been associated with increasing civic involvement as congregations create “social capital” (skills and resources) for their members to participate in their wider communities. But recent studies suggest that other dynamics and demands made upon congregations may not always generate expected civic commitments. At the late […]

A more populist and militant form of Islam is increasingly finding a place in Syria, although the government is actively discouraging political forms of the faith. The Christian Science Monitor  (Oct. 3) reports that “Young Syrians are filling mosques, many women have taken to wearing the head scarf known as the hijab, and underground women’s religious discussion […]