■ Surveys conducted last year by the PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) and by the American Enterprise Institute had discovered that about a quarter of white evangelicals believed in the conspiracy theories associated with QAnon, such as the allegation “that the government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of […]
1) The Republican Party and the Christian right are finding new support among Native Americans under the influence of Pastor Robert, a liaison to the First Nations peoples in New Mexico for the Republicans. Estimates of the Native American response have varied, but most observers see the once solid Democratic hold on this population slipping. […]
Judging by the number of new books and social media posts, there has been a surge of belief and discourse concerning the “end-times,” writes Molly Olmstead in the online magazine Slate (October 6). She cites Publishers Weekly reports on the increasing reader demand for end-times topics, usually centered around interpreting current events like the pandemic, […]
As younger generations take charge, the Vineyard church, once known for its emphasis on “signs and wonders” and the entrepreneurial style of its pastors, is shifting to a worship and leadership style characterized by democratic participation and collaboration, writes Daniel Silliman in Christianity Today (October). Since the 1970s, Vineyard churches have been seen as the […]
While the Catholic Church in Canada has experienced a sharp growth in hate crimes directed against it, Canadian politicians and the country’s media have been largely silent about this trend, writes Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun (October 13). Citing a Statistics Canada finding that there has been a significant increase in hate crimes against […]
While priests and bishops in the United States overwhelmingly report that they are “flourishing” in ministry despite the pressures caused by two decades of clerical abuse scandals and church responses, a new survey also finds that priests’ relationships and attitudes to their bishops are problematic. The Pillar (October 19), a Catholic newsletter, reports on the […]
The massive influx of refugees and other migrants into Europe over the past several years has had a significant impact on evangelical and mainline churches, as they have rethought and retooled their ministries to meet the needs of such newcomers. Ken Chitwood reports in Christianity Today (October 3) that many churches have played important roles […]
The publication of some Yezidi sacred texts for various purposes over the past 50 years, as well as the experiences of a growing Yezidi diaspora, are giving rise to a process of canonization of Yezidi holy scriptures, reports Thorsten Wettich (University of Bremen) in the Zeitschrift für Religion und Weltanschauung (5/2022). Persecutions against Yezidis by […]
Hindu nationalist themes and plots are finding their way into an increasing number of Indian film productions, reports the New Yorker (October 10). Known as “Bollywood,” the global Indian film industry has long featured more traditional themes in its standard and ornate song and dance productions compared to Hollywood, but lately films critical of Hinduism […]
■ The current issue of the journal Anthropology of Consciousness (33:2) is devoted to the revolution in thinking about “sacred plant”-based psychedelics happening in the West and how it has impacted indigenous communities. The so-called “psychedelic renaissance” involves the increasing use of what are considered sacred plants, such as Ayahuasca, for treating mental disorders. At […]
