Spiritual coaching is becoming more distinct from the life-coaching industry it originated from, filling a niche for female alternative religious professionals, writes Molly Worthen in the New York Times (June 3). Spiritual coaches are part of the life-coaching industry, which became an established profession in the 1990s by combining self-help psychology, positive thinking and insights […]
An assessment of the current challenges for ecumenical relations ahead of the next assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) points out that the field of ecumenism has become more diverse and complex, with denominational boundaries losing significance and new divisions appearing within religious bodies, in part due to social and ethical disputes. Writing […]
Americans’ belief in God has dipped to a new low, according to Gallup poll results. While a large, 81 percent majority of Americans still say they believe in God, that number represents a six-point dip from the 87 percent rate of belief consistently reported from 2013 to 2017. Over 90 percent of Americans had said […]
The Catholic Church is facing increased repression in Nicaragua, leading to new resistance efforts by the hierarchy as well as a growing exile community in the U.S. that is taking up the fight for religious freedom. Writing in The Pillar (June 28), Edgar Beltrán Notes that things have changed dramatically since the time when Nicaraguan […]
The pandemic’s encouragement of social media use has also impacted the field of religious communication and given online Christian influencers a stronger role among people under 40, writes Anna Neumaier (Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany) in the most recent issue of the Zeitschrift für Religion und Weltanschauung (February). The article focuses on German-speaking “Christfluencers,” Who, while […]
An ”Orthodox Belt,” running across central and southern Russia and the Volga region, has and will likely continue to form a firm base of loyalty to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin as well as conservative and traditionalist values, according to researchers Andrey Shcherbak and Maria Ukhvatova. Writing in the journal Nationalities Papers (online in June), […]
While the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has cut most ties with the Moscow Patriarchate since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, any possibility of a merger or even closer relations with the already independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) might be ar off due to cultural and liturgical differences between the two church bodies, writes Nadieszda Kizenko […]
■ Carolyn Chen’s new book Work, Pray, Code (Princeton University Press, $27.95) looks at a fairly old trend—the way companies have attempted to bring spirituality into the workplace—in a fresh and provocative way, as she argues that the workplace and work itself is replacing religion for many American hi-tech professionals. The book, based on in-depth […]
1) National conservatism is seen as an intellectual outgrowth of the nationalist and populist presidency of Donald Trump, but the religious positions of the fledgling movement have not been spelled out. That changed, however, with the recent issuing of a manifesto for the movement. The document features such MAGA faithful as Charlie Kirk of Turning […]
While psychedelic substances have been making the rounds of alternative and mystical spiritual groups for several years, they are only just being embraced in liberal Christian and Jewish circles, where a mood of skepticism and caution still surrounds them. In a two-part series on the topic in Lucid News (April 20 and May 4), Don […]
