Archive for the ‘economics’ Category
Aug 4 2016  |
The price of a clerical calling is declining along with the wage gap that separates them from other college-educated Americans, according to a new study analyzing Current Population Survey data from 1976 to 2013. Just how much? The study found clergy are gaining ground financially faster than more than nine in 10 Americans with college degrees.
[Read Full Column...]Mar 2 2016 |
Americans like to think of themselves as a generous people. But the truth appears much different. Forty-five percent of Americans, including nearly four in 10 who said a generous self-identity was important to them, actually gave no money to charity in the past year, the Science of Generosity survey found. What we end up with is a nation where a relatively few people give freely and abundantly, while most of us give little or nothing, researchers report in a new book.
[Read Full Column...]Feb 23 2016 |
Faith may be a strong antidote to the pop culture worship of ultra-thin body types, new research indicates. But not just any kind of faith. Individuals who believe in a judgmental God often feel worse about themselves as they engage in activities such as binging or excessive exercise to win approval from a distant, demanding divinity. However, young people who have faith in a God who loves them as they are have much healthier body images, according to several studies.
[Read Full Column...]Feb 1 2016 |
Is there a point of no return for the resurgence of mainline Protestantism? As the movement enters its second half-century of precipitous decline, new research suggests that not only is there no end in sight, but there are few signs of hope for revival in rapidly aging, shrinking groups such as the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
[Read Full Column...]Jan 21 2016 |
Just as one-stop shopping behemoths such as Walmart and Amazon are fulfilling the retail needs of America’s consumers, larger churches are increasingly meeting the spiritual needs of America’s faithful. New research indicates a decline in attendance at the great majority of the nation’s churches, while churches attracting 400 people or more on Sundays are dramatically increasing their market share.
[Read Full Column...]Nov 6 2015 |
Even as the economy improves from the depths of the recession, several U.S. religious groups are not keeping up financially, according to two new studies. Giving as a percentage of income continues to fall for many Protestant groups, while the Catholic Church faces several financial challenges from changing demographics to church embezzlement and the fallout from the clergy sex abuse scandal.
[Read Full Column...]Aug 23 2015 |
Why does the U.S. exhibit so many signs of becoming an increasingly polarized nation, where we are willing to apply negative stereotypes to entire groups of people, whether they are atheists or evangelicals, Muslims or blacks? New research suggests some uncomfortable answers: It is easier to judge people we do not know, and inhibitions about expressing prejudice tend to fall away if enough of your peers have the same beliefs.
[Read Full Column...]Jul 13 2015 |
Parents who cultivate the spiritual lives of their children are more likely to help them develop into well-adjusted young adults, a new wave of research indicates. And adolescents with strong faith are more likely to have better mental health later in life and are less likely to succumb to a range of addictions, from drugs to online pornography, the studies suggest.
[Read Full Column...]Jun 18 2015 |
A new wave of research on religion in the marketplace is revealing both what is more likely to make a sale with religious consumers, and how believers are putting their faith into practice when they shop online or at the mall. The payoff: Religious commitment matters to the bottom line.
[Read Full Column...]Jun 1 2015 |
What kind of a world would it be if the stories and ideas that captured our attention reflected our common humanity? It might be a world where we can envision ourselves as sisters and brothers in a large human family, says Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live together. Today, at 86, as he joins the pantheon of Templeton Prize winners that includes individuals such as the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, Vanier sees a world teetering between love and fear, where the culture erects walls of distrust that lead people to fear those who are different.
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