Archive for the ‘clergy’ Category
Apr 3 2013  |
From youth travel teams to big-time national festivals such as the Final Four, sports have been making increasing inroads in the busy lives of many Americans. And it is having an impact on religious groups, which report increasing difficulty convincing families that are willing to spend half a day traveling to a 9-year-old’s softball or soccer game to make time for worship services. Some congregations have opted out of the competition, while others are adapting by offering alternative service times and their own sports programs.
[Read Full Column...]Aug 6 2012 |
As long as the money from federal loans rolls in, many seminarians find it hard to think ahead to how they are going to pay back the $40,000, $60,000 or $80,000 or more that is their chunk of a student debt tab that has reached $1 trillion. Yet what began as a critical problem for a small percentage of prospective clergy is reaching alarming levels as seminary students get swept up in a national crisis, new research indicates. It is not enough that growing numbers of clergy with burdensome loans report having to put off for years the ability to get married and start a family or buy a house. Now, graduates wanting to explore a religious vocation may be “too poor to take the vow of poverty,” one research center commented.
[Read Full Column...]May 19 2012 |
As President Obama comes forward to support same-sex marriage, many religious communities are still finding their way as they balance theology, experience and personal consciences on issues of sexuality. Extremists continue to judge and condemn one another, and the vitriol may ramp up as the issue becomes part of the 2012 election. But new research offers a cautionary note for those who would try to fit members of different religious groups into monolithic boxes on gay and lesbian issues.
[Read Full Column...]Apr 5 2012 |
Give people in the pews some credit. Every so often, a story pops up making light of religious illiteracy because a significant percentage of the population cannot identify facts such as the names of the four books of the Gospel. More often, researchers and media pundits attempt to classify different believers by how they vote or their stands on controversial social issues. Yet, American Christians can and do articulate for themselves what matters most. As Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, it seems clear that the belief that Jesus rose from the dead is overwhelmingly at the center of their faith.
[Read Full Column...]Mar 15 2012 |
In an age of economic anxiety, new research is shedding light on the often secretive process of clergy being forced out of pulpits in congregations where a small group of members are the source of persistent conflict. The findings reveal just how widespread – one online survey found 28 percent of ministers had experienced “forced teminations” – and damaging these job losses can be in terms of lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depression, stress and physical health problems.
[Read Full Column...]Feb 29 2012 |
U.S. Cardinal Edward Egan recently generated controversy by expressing regret for issuing an apology for the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse. Yet no matter how much individuals such as the cardinal would like to put the abuse scandal behind them, they can no longer appeal to an obedient laity to ignore or downplay the crimes, according to new research. Many Catholics are still mad as heck, and they are not going to take it anymore. The enduring consequences include continuing defections, lower collections, ruptures in pastoral relationships and a loss of moral influence by church leaders, research indicates.
[Read Full Column...]Nov 9 2011 |
Other than sexuality, food is one of the most difficult topics for religious communities to talk about. Just how difficult is shown in new research indicating weight control is a notable exception to a generally positive record linking religious activitiy to positive health outcomes. In one study of some 5,500 women and men ages 45 to 84, participants were more likely to be obese the more religiously active they were. Each step of the way, from those never attending worship to those attending weekly, greater religious activity was associated with significantly higher rates of obesity.
[Read Full Column...]Oct 4 2011 |
The optimists’ perspective of the coming retirement crunch facing U.S. churches is that many older clergy will have the income to leave full-time positions, but the health and sense of vocation to serve smaller rural and urban churches unable to afford full-time clergy. The pessimists’ perspective is that many spiritual leaders, financially ill-prepared for retirement, will stay on in pastorates as long as they can, exacerbating the clergy age gap and impeding efforts for denominational revitalization. There is evidence to support both viewpoints. What is not in dispute, however, is that the time to address the issue is now.
[Read Full Column...]Mar 31 2011 |
Add another important voice to the debate over the health of religion in the United States, a nation that is a symbol of the staying power of faith in the West. In a paper for the Association of Religion Data Archives, Duke sociologist Mark Chaves finds “it is reasonable to conclude that American religion has in fact declined in recent decades — slowly, but unmistakably.” Others say the religious beliefs and practices of Americans have been remarkably stable..
[Read Full Column...]Nov 3 2010 |
Christian clergy are keeping pace with technological advances, a trend that should only grow stronger as a younger, more wired generation takes their place in pulpits, according to a new study. Ninety-five percent of Christian clergy use the Internet at least weekly, and more than three in four send e-mails to worshippers once a week or more, according to the latest wave of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. What may be suffering is time spent in prayer.
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