Image by Himsan/Pixabay/Creative Commons November 14, 2022 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many Americans lost the habit of churchgoing after almost every church in the country closed down their in-person services and shifted online. But did some of them give up on God? Sociologists like Michael Hout want to know. Hout, a

Image by Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay/Creative Commons October 19, 2022 By Kathryn Post (RNS) — It’s no secret America’s youth are in crisis. Born into a tech-saturated world shaken by domestic terrorism, ecological devastation and economic instability, Gen-Zers are more likely to report mental health concerns like anxiety and depression than older generations. In many ways, the

Photo by Mustafa Omar/Unsplash/Creative Commons 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

Anti-abortion protesters celebrate following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the federally protected right to abortion, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years, a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the

People demonstrate outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 3, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare

Photo by Caniceus/Pixabay/Creative Commons September 17, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Religion provided great comfort to evangelical Christians in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to a study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, their politics made them less likely to see the virus as a threat. Researchers Landon

Hands raised in worship. Stock photo June 28, 2021 By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) — The health of Black churchgoers can differ depending on the denomination and the gender of the people in the pews, Duke University researchers have found, and scholars are urging more nuanced examination of the data to help address medical issues

Photo illustration by Christopher Ross/Pixabay/Creative Commons April 19, 2021 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — Going to church is generally touted as good for the soul. But there is also evidence church attendance can be good for your health — unless, that is, you are a woman at a church that bars women from preaching or

Photo by Helena Lopes/Unsplash/Creative Commons March 4, 2021 By Bob Smietana Produced in collaboration with the Religion News Service.  (RNS) — In recent decades, a number of studies have found that being religious can be good for your health. People who regularly attend services are less likely to smoke, may be less likely to use drugs or be obese and may live longer than

Republican or Democrat, whether or not you social distance likely has more to do with whether you feel the U.S. is under threat from others not like you.