ReligionWatch Archives

For ReligionWatch archives prior to February 2016, CLICK HERE or please contact Richard Cimino at relwatch1@msn.com

Prayer Book’s ancient pedigree draws seekers back to church

The Book of Common Prayer, the devotional and liturgical book of Anglicanism, “is enjoying a revival in the Church of England,” writes Daniel French in The Spectator magazine (May 2). French, a vicar in the Church of England, writes that “Over the past two years, more and more churchgoers have asked me about a return […]

Ukraine war has varying impact on Russian Orthodox Church in France

Due to their diversity, the war in Ukraine and the Patriarch’s statements on the war have impacted Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) communities in France in different ways depending partly on the demographics of a given congregation, writes Catherine Tyson in the Bulletin de l’Observatoire International du Religieux (May). Tyson, a Fulbright Grant Awardee, has conducted […]

War in Ukraine as factor in division among Muslims?

While the Muslim world initially reacted with indifference to the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict has gradually given rise to opposing positions among Muslims and their religious leaders, with Shiites often supportive of Russia, Sunnis calling for an end to the conflict, and jihadists rejoicing in a war of opposing “miscreants,” writes Pierre-Jean Luizard (French National […]

Prophecy beliefs find wide hearing in contemporary Greek Orthodoxy

In recent years, prophecies recycled through modern means of communication have proliferated in Greece and Cyprus, where conservative moral values and nationalist aspirations have been promoted as an answer to influxes of refugees and financial and health crises. Writing in Social Compass (March), Efstathios Kessareas (University of Erfurt) reports that the producers of such discourses—both […]

On/File: A Continuing Record of Groups, Movements, People, and Events Impacting Contemporary Religion

1) From its founding in 2006, the Moishe House movement has expanded considerably in building a sense of community among Jewish young adults. Moishe Houses started in order to meet the needs of young Jews who wanted to more actively engage in the Jewish community and were too old for Jewish life on campus and […]

Death dreams as the new near-death-experience frontier

The “death dreams” of dying patients that are usually about being reunited with deceased loved ones are coming under new scrutiny from medical researchers and are viewed by chaplains as adding a new spiritual meaning to dying, writes Paul Lauritzen in the Catholic magazine Commonweal (April 23). While those claiming near-death experiences make up a […]

Under second generation’s influence, African immigrant churches turn to social action while keeping traditional identity

While African immigrant churches continue to expand in the West, second- and third-generation members are seeking to maintain African traditions while reaching out to the wider society with evangelism and social action, write Allison Norton and Caleb Opoku Nyanni in the International Bulletin of Mission Research (47:2). African immigrants who planted churches in the West […]

Asbury revival’s reverberations felt far from the evangelical tent

While the Christian revival based at the evangelical Asbury College that was active in February has since simmered down [see March RW], it did spread to other schools and churches around the country and abroad, even outside evangelicalism. Writing in Public Discourse (April 10), Baylor University historian Thomas Kidd notes that the lasting effects of […]

CURRENT RESEARCH

While Catholicism continues to see Latinos exiting the church, it still remains the largest faith for U.S. Hispanic adults, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Pew finds that the share of Latinos identifying as Catholic dropped from 67 percent in 2010 to 43 percent in 2022. Among the 65 percent who said they […]

Are Christians in Spain being targeted by jihadist terrorists or is it all in the mind?

After a period of relative calm in Europe, jihadist terrorism has reemerged to target churches, especially in Spain, reports Itxu Diaz in First Things magazine (April 18). Diaz writes that two years ago the Islamic State ordered its followers to attack churches in Spain, and recent incidents suggest that “the call is being heeded.” In […]