September 8, 2022 By Ryan Burge (RNS) — According to Bloomberg News, South Korea’s fertility rate dropped from .84 babies per woman to .81 in 2021, the lowest figure on record. If current trends continue, the number of people in South Korea will be the same in 2100 as it was in 1960. In response, the government
August 5, 2022 By Kathryn Post (RNS) — No small number of millennials was first introduced to personal technology tending to their tamagotchis during recess. Only later did the dot-com revolution, smartphones and social media invade every part of their lives, from relationships to health to music — and faith. Today, meditation podcasts, TikTok sermons and livestreams
A look at megachurches over the past five years finds that most have grown larger and more diverse and become less likely to call themselves evangelical.
Religious attendance and congregational involvement may reduce loneliness among millennials, a new study suggests.
Does longstanding evidence that people become more religious as they age indicate that secularization trends may reverse in rapidly aging societies of high-income countries? The findings of a new study indicate faith may be more compelling as individuals face their own mortality.
Are baby boomers, part of the first generation to lead the contemporary exodus from organized religion, returning to their religious roots? The ninth wave of a multigenerational study that began in 1971 finds a little more than one in five boomers became significantly more religious in the transition from their 50s to their 60s.
Both the social networks provided by religious communities and the intrinsic belief of being cared for by a loving divinity appear to protect against loneliness, research indicates. Having a “best friend” in God can make a major difference, researchers in one study noted.
A growing body of research is revealing the mental health benefits of having a close personal relationship with a caring divinity. In one of the latest national studies, the more participants reported feeling God’s love, presence and guidance, the more likely they were to agree they are a person of worth.
Two new studies find that many clergy are both ill-prepared and reluctant to fully engage in end-of-life conversations with terminally ill congregation members and their families. The result, the studies suggest, is that more believers may be spending their final days enduring painful treatments with little chance of success.
The majority of congregations are at a crossroad today: They must adapt to a culture where churchgoing is increasingly more of a choice than an obligation, or face a future of sustained decline. Yet many congregations have been reluctant to embrace any major changes in outreach to attract new members or retain younger generations. Instead, they appear to be cutting back, research indicates.
