Although a group of Tibetan Buddhist nuns received full ordination in 2022, breaking with centuries of monastic tradition, the practice continues to be resisted by Tibetan clergy, writes Vicki Mackenzie in the Buddhist magazine Tricycle (Summer). Hosted and initiated by the royal family in Bhutan, 144 women became the first-ever Tibetan nuns to receive full […]
■ There have been several recent books about the emergence of “wokeness,” and some of them have traced this diffuse phenomenon of political correctness and identity politics relating to race and gender to religious or quasi-religious origins and sentiments. There is some debate as to the definitions and extent of “wokeness” and whether it is losing […]
In what is the largest church schism since the U.S. Civil War, the split in the United Methodist Church (UMC) may have exacerbated divisions between progressives and conservatives to a greater degree than other mainline churches. This may be because the culture wars have intensified [see last month’s RW interview with James Davison Hunter], but […]
Church practices concerning baptism, evangelism, and family ministry and their societal implications may be driving congregational switching among evangelicals, according to Michael Clary, a conservative Reformed writer and pastor. The Substack newsletter Rod Dreher’s Diary (June 26) cites Clary in comparing the different trajectories of evangelicals as they have switched between Presbyterian and Baptist churches […]
Nudism may be declining on an organizational level, but new spiritual techniques and meanings are becoming attached to the practice, Rowan Pelling reports in the online magazine UnHerd (June 24). The nudist ethos grew out of the German Lebensreform movement, which challenged the destruction wrought by the Industrial Revolution. Yet the German Association for Free […]
■ American women have recently been showing high rates of disaffiliation from religion, although they are still more likely to stay in their childhood religion compared to men. In his newsletter Graphs About Religion (June 27), Ryan Burge reports that the gender gap on religion remains. “In recent decades, evangelical retention was about four points […]
There is a renewed interest in religious rituals and practices among young French Catholics, contrasting with a broader decline in religious practice and attendance in France and other Western countries, La Vie (June 6) reports. In several cities, priests have seen a significant increase in attendance at Ash Wednesday masses, with a few churches even […]
The Tibetan government-in-exile is seeking European support on the issue of the succession of the Dalai Lama, reports Intelligence Online (June 6). With the 14th Dalai Lama (b. 1935) getting older, the question of his succession is turning into a crucial concern for the worldwide Tibetan community, which is anxious about keeping the Chinese government […]
The next front for conservative religious activism is likely to be the fight over euthanasia, and the model for such activism may be seen in Spain’s growing network of religious and political organizations fighting against the right to assisted dying, two researchers argue. In the journal Religion, State, and Society (online in May), sociologists Joseba […]
As a way to adapt to Israeli nationalism and gain favors from the Jewish state, a group of Christian churches are stressing their Aramaic rather than Arab identity, Marta Wozniak-Bobinska reports in the journal Nations and Nationalism (online in June). The Aramean movement in northern Israel, which is also active in other countries, seeks to […]
