01: A new study of Episcopal parishes finds they are increasing in vitality while experiencing weaker ties to the church leadership and other parts of the national church, reports the newsletter Visions (May/June). The study, called the Zacchaeus Project, is based on 2,000 group interviews in selected parishes of nine Episcopal dioceses, as well as a short […]

01: A one percent drop in membership in the Southern Baptist Convention may not seem much, but it’s the first membership decline in the church body in 72 years. SBC figures show the number of baptisms, the Baptists’ major marker, dropped by about 4,800 last year. But attendance at Sunday services actually rose by 174,052. Analysts […]

01: Americans are strongly divided on age, as well as income and other  demographics regarding their belief in Christ’s second coming, according to an analysis of recent surveys. There is likely to be a flurry of polls on end-time subjects as the new millennium draws near, but the Public Perspective (February/March), the journal of the Roper Center, finds that […]

01: Enrollment in evangelical Christian colleges and universities is outpacing the average increase at secular institutions, according to a report in Religion Today, (March 11). Enrollment in evangelical schools increased by 24 percent from 1990 to 1996, says the Coalition for Christian Colleges and Universities. At public and private colleges and universities, the enrollments grew by 4 and 5 […]

01: Although Americans believe in the importance of religion, their ties to congregations are more shaky, according to a new study. In mid-February, the MacArthur Foundation released the findings of a major new survey of religious life in the United States. In a survey of  3,302 Americans, over seven out of 10 said religion was important in […]

01: In less than a decade, American women have become significantly more accepting of religious involvement and activism in politics, according to a survey by the Center for Gender Equality, a feminist group. The survey found that respondents were divided 50-50 on the issue of  whether politicians should be guided by religious values or whether “religion […]

01: American evangelicals’ ability to balance orthodoxy and cultural relevance is one of the reasons these Christians show more commitment than their fundamentalist counterparts, according to a recent study. The review Books & Culture (November/December) cites research by sociologist Christian Smith suggesting that fundamentalists showed lower levels of religious vitality than evangelicals. Smith’s research, based on surveys and […]

01: Conservative evangelicals tend to give more to the poor than  religious liberals and others concerned about poverty, according to a recent study. In the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (September), Mark Regnerus, Christian Smith and David Sikkink note that it has been the general wisdom that mainline Protestants and practicing Catholics are more generous toward the poor […]

01: Presbyteries (regional associations of Presbyterian churches) that voted against a liberal measure on sexuality in their denomination are more likely to have grown and retained members, according to recent research. While conservative congregations in mainline denominations have been found to grow faster than liberal churches, the Presbyterian Layman (September/October) newspaper of the conservative Presbyterian Lay Committee finds […]

01: Two out of five American religious congregations would consider accepting public funds for their social service programs, according to a study presented at the recent conference of the American Sociological Association. The San Francisco Chronicle (Aug. 24) reports that the findings send a mixed message to those seeking more of a  role for churches in providing social services […]