01: There has been much written on the loss of identity of religious colleges and strategies to revive their purpose and missions. In her new book From Piety to Professionalism–and Back? (Lexington Books, $27.95), sociologist Patricia Wittberg looks at the matter of the religious identity of colleges and other organizations from a different angle. She finds that the […]

01: The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) has greatly expanded its features, and website, giving students, scholars and other religious professionals access to the most comprehensive collection of data on religion. Among the ARDA’s newest features are statistical and descriptive profiles of nations and regions around the world, providing facts and figures on the […]

01: Sociologist Kathleen Jenkins examines the rise and fall of the International Churches of Christ in her book Awesome Families (Rutgers University Press, $22.95). While the movement’s strictness and control over members’ lives were its most publicized features, Jenkins focuses on how the ICC drew so many of its members–mainly from the middle and upper classes– because […]

01: Why after 9/11, when many Americans including the government took up a conciliatory posture toward Islam, did evangelicals seem to become the main antagonists of the religion? That is the question that the article by RW’s editor, entitled, “No God In Common: American Evangelical Discourse on Islam After 9/11,” seeks to address in the […]

01: A Church of Our Own: Disestablishment and Diversity in American Religion (Rutgers University Press, $24.95) collects the published writings of sociologist R. Stephen Warner into a readable primer on the sociology of American religion. The hallmarks of Warner’s work are displayed throughout the book: the importance of the political disestablishment in the flourishing of American religious […]

01: The new book, T.D. Jakes: America’s New Preacher (New York University Press, $30) by Shayne Lee, is part biography and part social critique of one of the rising stars in the black church, or what has been called the “new black church.” Jakes’ wide-ranging ministry personifies the new black church movement– charismatic, prosperity-oriented and focused on […]

01: The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion Is Giving Way To Spirituality (Blackwell Publishing, $59.95) by Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead, takes the middle ground in the debate between scholars arguing for the continuing secularization of Western society and those forecasting a revival of traditional religion. The book is based on field work in the British city of Kendal, […]

01: Circles of Support And Accountability is a fledgling Canadian Mennonite ministry that has already gained an international reputation for its work with sex offenders. Circles is part support network and part neighborhood watch, volunteers work both with released offenders, finding them housing and health care while meeting with police, media and angry community members. The […]