The largely affirmative response to the classic question of whether religion is good for democracy seems to have become more qualified over the last decade, articles in the latest issue of the Journal of Democracy (October) show. In recent years, scholars studying democracies have sounded the alarm about a “democratic recession” in the face of […]
Oriental Orthodox churches in the U.S. are outgrowing their sister Eastern Orthodox bodies, possibly even stealing some of their members, according to a new analysis of this venerable yet largely forgotten ancient church tradition hailing largely from the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa. At the late-October conference of the Society for the Scientific […]
A significant segment of young-adult (YA) fiction is written by Mormon writers, although the growth of LGBTQ themes within the genre is causing strain among these authors and their readers, reports the New York Times (September 3). Although it is difficult to quantify, the article by Abby Aguirre reports that “Latter-day Saints are some of […]
Annual denominational gatherings may continue, but many of the trappings of annual conventions seem to have outlived their purposes, according to the Forum Letter (September), an independent Lutheran newsletter. Peter Speckhard writes about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) recent convention in Milwaukee but suggests that his portrayal of the end of an era may apply […]
The controversy surrounding the Satmar Hasidic Jewish sect of New York over its use of public funds for its schools already suggests that Americans are in the middle of a paradigm shift in how religious communities navigate church-state relations, writes Rita Koganzon in The Hedgehog Review (Summer). The way that the Satmar Hasidim, the largest […]
America’s capital city is proving to be highly receptive to nondenominational evangelical churches, Daniel Silliman writes in Christianity Today magazine (July/August). Nondenominational churches have been expanding across the U.S. for years now, but the number of these congregations established in recent years has been unique. Silliman writes that although Washington has been considered a “swamp” […]
New York City is emerging as the “missionary capital of the world,” says researcher and journalist Tony Carnes. In introducing his guest, missionary and researcher Chris Clayman, in an interview published on his website A Journey through NYC Religions and his television show, Journey TV (July 9), Carnes notes that “there are more missionaries moving […]
The long-term alliance between American Jews and Hindus on issues of religious freedom and discrimination has spilled over into related conflicts over Hindu nationalism and Zionism. As American Hindus have faced increasing criticism for their support of Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and his Hindu nationalist government in recent years, they have taken a new […]
The seemingly sudden public emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in its recent incarnation of ChatGPT, has led to a good deal of speculation in both the secular and religious media. Various observers see the technology as speeding up secularization, creating new religions and spirituality, or even making space for a more human-based religiosity to […]
The greater acceptance and political support of the LGBTQ community is a source of growth as well as change in liberal religious groups, according to two reports. In the Jewish magazine Tablet (June 26), Erica Silverman reports that Reform Judaism has seen a significant increase in members and conversions to Judaism, especially in urban areas. […]
