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 […]
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 […]
At this year’s conference of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR), which RW attended in Montreal in early August, it was obvious that there has been a shift of interest and emphasis toward secularism among scholars in the past few years. There were fewer sessions and papers on the growth of religious congregations […]
The entrance of JD Vance as the Republican vice-presidential contender reflects a new breed of Catholic convert that is reshaping Republican politics, Matthew Schmitz, a founder and editor of the online magazine Compact, writes in an opinion piece in the New York Times (August 14). Vance, who converted to Catholicism after attending Yale Law School, […]
Talk of a religious revival among American elites and creatives may be an exaggeration, but there are signs that those in the art worlds and other elite segments of society are showing a new interest in spirituality and religion. The New York Times (July 14) reports that a group of tech savvy young artists are […]
Faced with the prospect of closing their houses of worship, an increasing number of congregations are repurposing their properties to provide affordable housing, especially as the housing crisis intensifies, writes Nadia Mian in The Conversation (July 19). It is estimated that 100,000 congregations may close in the next few decades due to declining membership, aging […]
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 […]
