Unlike previous years, when emerging trends unfolded on an unofficial level, in 2025, momentous events—war, an assassination, a papal election and a presidential reelection—will likely shape religious developments in the next year and beyond. Here are the editors’ selections of trends to watch out for in 2026. After each item, we cite the pertinent issues […]
If the U.S. military with its reorientation under the leadership of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has shown a strong interest in religion, it appears that the feeling is mutual, with the religious devotion of members of the military outpacing that of the population as a whole. Hegseth’s drive to revive traditional religious faith and […]
Although ultra-Orthodox Jews have traditionally been anti-Zionist, the younger generation has embraced Israel as well as a more ethno-nationalist brand of the faith, writes Martin Francisco Saps in Arc Magazine (December 17), which covers religion and politics. The official Haredi—or ultra-Orthodox—stance toward Israel has been that it was established without God’s approval and the coming […]
A recent survey finds that the top 10 seminaries in terms of enrollment do not include a single mainline seminary and tilt decidedly toward the evangelical and, in particular, Baptist side of the spectrum. The Aquila newsletter (December 1) cites an analysis by Nathan McKanna of data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), […]
Italian Muslims are taking a unique and more activist path compared to Islam in other European countries, alarming populist and conservative groups and political leaders, but also carrying tendencies that may avoid the confrontations and tensions experienced in other parts of Europe. Writing in the European Conservative magazine (December 10), Javier Villamor reports that “In […]
Young Catholics in the UK are increasingly taking up distinctive practices and gravitating to parishes that cater to these conservative youth subcultures, according to the study After Secularization. The study, published by the Catholic Truth Society and conducted by Stephen Bullivant, Hannah Vaughan-Spruce, and Bernadette Durcan, is based on a 2019 survey of British Roman […]
Secularization, immigration, conversions, and a young generation’s hunger for spiritual meaning are transforming the religious landscape of Norway and making a new place for Roman Catholicism in that country, reports Pierre Jova in the French Catholic weekly La Vie (December 10). While Catholicism remains a minority faith in this traditionally Lutheran nation of 5.5 million, […]
The December issue of Commonweal magazine features a symposium on the future of Christian democracy based around the opening essay of conservative Catholic writer Sohrab Ahmari. Democracy is increasingly being called into question by prominent Christian intellectuals, political activists, and even some politicians, while “some progressives doubt that traditional Christian beliefs are compatible with liberal […]
