Archive for the ‘economics’ Category
May 9 2013  |
The recession, the rising financial independence of women and cultural shifts and technological advances that make single-parent families more acceptable and feasible are contributing to fewer people walking down the aisle. Religious groups are not immune to these trends, but new research indicates faith is a powerful force slowing the decline in U.S. marriage rates.
[Read Full Column...]Apr 18 2013 |
The idea of a Protestant or Puritan work ethic, that individuals work harder, save more and seek economic success as signs of a diligent faith, has worked its way into national lore. But in looking at the religious engines of economic growth, new research indicates it may be just as helpful to talk about an Islamic ethic or a Jewish ethic or a Buddhist ethic.
[Read Full Column...]Dec 10 2012 |
There is only one U.S. religious group, propelled in part by an enthusiastic group of young followers, that is expected to grow to 100 million adherents by the middle of the century. Yet to hear some critics focus on generational shfts showing declining Mass attendance and doctrinal commitment among white Catholics, one might think the Catholic Church is slowly sinking in the U.S. religious landscape. So which is it for the nation’s largest religious group, growth or decline? The answer is some of both, researchers say.
[Read Full Column...]Nov 21 2012 |
When it comes to religious tensions, what happens in one part of the world does not necessarily stay in that part of the world. Influences from abroad in recent years were reported to have contributed to religious hostilities or government restrictions in more than six in 10 countries across the globe, according to a new study.
[Read Full Column...]Oct 2 2012 |
Retirement planning is not all about money. It may be just as important for aging Baby Boomers to have invested in their spiritual lives as in their 401K plans, new research shows. The benefits of increased spiritual activity range from battling loneliness and depression through personal faith and church, synagogue and mosque attendance to reducing death anxiety through religious music, the studies indicate.
[Read Full Column...]Aug 27 2012 |
Churchgoers like to think of themselves as generous and cheerful givers, but for many the flesh appears to be weak when it comes to living up to their own standards for charitable giving. A quarter of respondents in a new national study said they tithed 10 percent of their income to charity. But when their donations were checked against income figures, only 3 percent of the group gave more than 5 percent to charity. The findings from the Science of Generosity Survey not only suggest the need to take a closer look at self-reported figures on tithing, but indicate the internal conflicts many religious individuals face when it comes to giving.
[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...]Jul 3 2012 |
Pay. Benefits. Opportunities for advancement. These are some of the major considerations people take into account in choosing where to work. Now, employers can add another factor: Faith. An increasing body of research suggests that faith plays a major role in the workplace, from being an indicator of how long employees will stay at one company to how well they do in their jobs.
[Read Full Column...]May 1 2012 |
The U.S. religious landscape is shifting, and no one may be more thankful than GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney. The 2010 U.S. Religion Census, now available on the Association of Religion Data Archives, found that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gained the most regular members in the last 10 years. But the denomination is not the only one spreading its wings nationally in a time of increasing religious diversity
Taken together, nondenominational and independent churches may now be considered the third largest religious group in the country.
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.
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