A bitter split within the conservative Brazilian (and international) Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) organization shows a move toward stricter forms of contemporary Catholicism, but also how different organizations cater to different niches in Brazil’s religious market, writes Massimo Introvigne (Center for Studies on New Religions, CESNUR) in a special issue of the Alternative Spirituality […]
The flood of refugees from the Middle East into Europe is raising concern about the mental health and adjustment of these newcomers, leading to the growth of Islamic healing and even exorcism practices and groups, reports America magazine (January 2). There has been a reported rise in mental health issues among the approximately 10 million […]
A more public form of Catholicism has arrived in France that may seem unexpected in this secular country but has actually been developing for decades, writes Samuel Gregg in First Things magazine (February). The emergence of popular presidential candidate Francois Fillon, a devout Catholic with conservative views on abortion and euthanasia, has galvanized young and […]
Since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, much of the region today reflects Russian religious dynamics, including increased restrictions on minority religions, according to the East-West Church & Ministry Report (Winter). Roman Lunkin writes that since Crimea became subject to Russia, the “new order” has consisted of “copying Russian federal support for Orthodox churches of the […]
A strong Pentecostal movement has been growing among the Roma people for more than a decade, but the suspicion still follows the group that they are pursuing this faith for economic gain. A recent study suggests otherwise. The Roma people are believed to have pursued what is called “extrinsic religion” throughout their still mysterious history—adapting […]
The phenomenon of converting to Christianity is taking place among the waves of Syrian refugees arriving in Lebanon, reports The Telegraph newspaper of Britain (January 30). “Hundreds of Muslim refugees living in Lebanon have been baptized in the past year alone,” Josie Ensor writes. The flood of refugees in the country is reported to be […]
The way that church music assumes a central place in how Christians identify with their churches is nowhere more evident than in charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity—a fact borne out in the fascinating new book The Spirit of Praise (Penn State University Press, $32.95), edited by Monique M. Ingalls and Amos Yong. “Praise and worship” music […]
The Chinese curse of “living in interesting times” took on special resonance in 2016 as political upheavals and conflicts as well as actual violence became a reality for many. These tumultuous events reverberated in the world of religion, as will be obvious by our focus on religion and politics for our annual review of 2016 and preview of trends unfolding in 2017. Citations of RW issues where we cover the trends below in greater depth follow each item; we also cite outside sources for trends reported for the first time here.
1) The election of Donald Trump will have numerous implications for religion, some of which are only in their infancy. Despite the abrasive and divisive campaign Trump ran and the way that it divided Republicans, subsequent polls have shown that the religious configurations marking the electorate for the last two decades have not changed much. It is not clear if evangelicals’ and other religious conservatives’ investment in the Trump presidency—with notable dissenters—will revive the religious right and its agenda (see “The religious right’s populist turn,” below), but their worries about secularism and the loss of institutional religious commitment among many Americans will not likely subside even with political support from Washington. Their association with a controversial and potentially unpopular administration may well exacerbate the situation (December RW). 
Throughout the past election season, pundits and scholars predicted the demise of the Christian Right—as they have done since the movement started in the 1980s. Before the election observers predicted that Hillary Clinton’s landslide victory and Donald Trump’s defeat would drag down the religious right and social conservatives who supported him. After Trump’s election the […]
Many Americans’ tendency to patch together different elements of religions may not be as idiosyncratic as it may appear, according to recent research. In an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion (December), Emily Sigalow writes that “broad social factors structure and pattern how individuals combine religious options in America.” Sigalow’s theoretical […]
