The Amish’s high fertility, communal practices, and lifestyles are coming together to fuel upward mobility and economic flourishing, according to recent articles and research. Aaron Renn’s newsletter (November 1) cites a Wall Street Journal article reporting on how Holmes County, Ohio, a bastion of the Amish, has become a standout for economic mobility among millennials. […]
While theological perspectives remain open to the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) developing the capacity for religious experiences, one theologian argues that the deeply embodied and evolutionary roots of human religion suggest that even highly advanced AI systems would likely be incapable of developing anything comparable to human religious behavior. Marius Dorobantu, an Assistant Professor […]
While faith-based films have grown sharply over the past few decades and drawn a global audience, mainstream movie studios still largely steer clear of these projects despite a clear economic upside, Daniel Parris writes in his Substack newsletter Stat Significant (September 25). The early 2000s witnessed the emergence of numerous independent studios dedicated to creating […]
While voting patterns among religious believers have held steady in recent elections, there was less support for President-elect Donald Trump among Protestants compared to 2020. RW was going to press as the election results came out, and we will undoubtedly report more on the election and the upcoming Trump presidency in the next issue. In […]
The relationship between Islam and space exploration is evolving as more Muslim-majority nations venture into space activities, writes Béatrice Hainaut (IRSEM, Institute for Strategic Research, Paris) in the online Bulletin de l’Observatoire international du religieux (October, in French). The first instance of a Muslim in space was in 1985, and to date, 18 Muslim astronauts […]
A “hinge moment” may have been reached in the longtime battle against the Islamic State (IS or ISIS), as the jihadist movement has been “mustering forces in Syria’s Badiya desert, recruiting and training a new band of holy warriors to resurrect its dream of ruling a caliphate,” reports Brian Stewart in Quillette (October 10). This […]
Since its emergence in the early 1990s among Cambodia’s Muslim minority (about 5 percent of the population), Salafism has undergone significant changes, with young Salafis seeking cooperation and understanding with other Islamic groups. Writing in Mediterranean Politics (online October 7), Zoltan Pall (Austrian Academy of Sciences) explains that these younger adherents have sought to build […]
■ Now that Donald Trump has been elected again, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement and its impact on conservative politics will receive renewed attention, making a special issue on this topic in the journal of new religious movements, Nova Religio (November), especially timely. Most of the contributors, in contrast to most new religious movement […]
As with Americans in general, it may be too early to make forecasts about the shape of the Catholic vote in this very close presidential election, according to recent polls. Just as Catholic voting patterns are no longer as predictable as they once were, distinct public Catholic voices are no longer being heard above the […]
The popularity of at-home DNA tests has led to a surge in conversions to Judaism, reports Kaya Burgess in The Times of London (September 20). Dr. Jonathan Romain, a senior rabbi and convenor of the UK Reform Beit Din (rabbinic court), reports that this phenomenon has become increasingly common in recent years. Individuals who discover […]
