Archive for the ‘history’ Category
Jan 17 2012  |
Forget the popular cultural images from shows such as HBO’s “Big Love” that revive stereotypes linking Mormonism with polygamy or the ubiquitous images in the news associating Islam with terrorism. Look past the cultural crossfire that lumps religious liberals and conservatives into separate boxes defined by extremist political and social agendas. The reality, as presented in a new book by two respected scholars, is that if you walk into a mosque, synagogue, temple or church next weekend, you will most likely find groups of believers in prayer and meditation seeking spiritual growth.
[Read Full Column...]Aug 31 2011 |
When it comes to guaranteeing freedom of religion, the lesson from extensive global research is that it matters much less what nations say in their constitutions than what they are prepared to do to enforce those laws. As new leaders in Egypt and Libya seek to protect hard-won freedoms, and governments from France to the United States struggle with religious diversity, two studies presented at the recent annual meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion in Las Vegas illustrate the challenges ahead. One sign of hope: Even if you do not start out loving them, getting to know your neighbor goes a long way to limiting prejudice, research shows.
[Read Full Column...]Apr 20 2011 |
The days of the Beatles and pop stars like Donovan making highly publicized trips to India to study with popular spiritual leaders are over. But Hinduism never needed the buzz, or large numbers of Western converts, to make it in America. What is propelling Hinduism in the United States into a role as one of the nation’s largest minority religions is a steady stream of Indian immigrants who have built hundreds of temples across the nation, according to a comprehensive new Hindu census.
[Read Full Column...]Dec 28 2010 |
Amid widespread international disregard for religious freedom, one group of countries stands out: Muslim-majority nations. “Religious persecution is not only more prevalent among Muslim-majority countries, but it also generally occurs at more severe levels,” Brian Grim of the Pew Research Center and Roger Finke of Pennsylvania State University report in a new book, “The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century.”
[Read Full Column...]Apr 23 2010 |
The more competition, the better for American religion. Major immigration from Asia, the growth into the thousands of religious movements within and outside the church and an active and influential secular community have not stopped the growth of the nation’s largest faith — Christianity. Instead, the expanding religion marketplace is proving to be a win-win situation for all faiths, according to J. Gordon Melton, founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, Calif.
[Read Full Column...]Nov 19 2009 |
True or false?
1. Islam and Christianity share a similar history of connections between religion and violence.
2. Muslims in countries where they are the majority want more political participation, freedoms and rule of law.
3. Forbidding female students from wearing head coverings in public schools lowers the possibility of religious violence.
If you answered true, true and false, congratulations. You agree with some of the top scholars in religion offering their perspectives in a timely effort by the Association of Religion Data Archives to widen access to the best of international religion scholarship.
ARDA's 
