Resistance to the Trump administration, especially over its policy and actions on immigration, has injected new vitality into the religious left, although the staying power of such activism remains to be seen, according to reports. In the online newsletter Sightings (February 26), Richard Amesbury reports that “[r]eligious leaders, some in clerical collars or vestments, have […]
America is “in the middle of a second Mormon moment,” this time led by a cadre of women influencers and reality TV stars, some of whom are ex-members of the Latter-day Saints, reports New York magazine (February 9). The first wave of attention to Mormonism was fostered more than a decade ago by the presidential […]
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 […]
Christian higher education (CHE) is still growing, unlike its broader state and secular counterparts, according to new enrollment data from the 2024 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Writing on a blog for the Gospel Coalition (February 18), Perry Glanzer cites this data as showing that Catholic and Protestant Christian higher education grew by 1.6 percent […]
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 […]
Scholars, practitioners, and laypeople continue to argue about whether a religious revival is afoot, both in the U.S. and abroad. The new Chapman University-issued report, Is There A New Religious Revival?, by Bheki Mahlobo and Joel Kotkin, probably won’t convince the naysayers, but the 32-page document is unique in bringing together a wide range of […]
