While the secular “literary ecosystem” is in decline, a Christian book culture seems to be thriving, Nadya Williams writes in the newsletter Providence (February 17). She refers to an Atlantic magazine article by literary critic Adam Kirsch, “The Literary Ecosystem Is Dying,” in which Kirsch, noting the decline of reading across all age groups and […]
Secularism appears to be losing ground in Sweden, though like other countries, it is too soon to say that religion is overshadowing non-belief, writes Joel Halldorf in the online newsletter of the Christian journal Comment (January 8). Sweden has been viewed as the model secular society, registering church attendance figures under 5 percent. In cultural […]
In Central Asia, some Sufi groups are attempting to balance “the preservation of tradition with the demands of digital culture,” write Bekzhan Azhimov, Nurlan Kairbekov, Zholaman Bulan and Tussipkhan Imammadi (scholars based at Kazakh universities) in an article published in the Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe (January). The authors selected four YouTube channels […]
In addition to the impact of members switching affiliations, Pentecostalism has been reshaping traditional Protestant churches in Nigeria through their adoption of Pentecostal practices, write Nigerian scholars Adideran Amos Ayoola, Paul Adedotun Adesupo, and John Bgenga Ayandiya in the International Journal of Humanities, Literature and Art Research (January). Their research is based on a literature […]
Pope Leo XIV has provided clues to how he governs the Vatican and Curia and manages international affairs, with his style differing in significant ways from Pope Francis, according to two reports. Commonweal magazine (January 8) reports that some of Leo’s recent appointments are reversing some of Francis’s reforms and applying American management practices to […]
After 60 years of continuous decline, French Catholicism is experiencing a notable if modest rebound in adult baptisms, though only time will reveal whether it represents lasting change or another fleeting “flux” in French Catholicism’s cyclical history, writes historian Guillaume Cuchet in the journal Etudes (January). While the rise from 4,468 baptisms in 2020 to […]
Members of Generation Z in Ireland are more open and interested in religion than their millennial counterparts, according to a report in the Irish Independent newspaper (January 17). Laura Lynott writes that especially among young people undergoing crises, such as their parents’ illnesses and death, adopting or returning to the Catholic faith is seen as […]
The prospects for Muslim democracies, which just over a decade ago seemed bright, have grown dimmer as key Islamic countries said to be on the cusp of democratic reform have fallen short of that goal, according to a study in the Journal of Democracy (January). In the early 2000s, “many scholars observed a pragmatist turn […]
