Archive for the ‘Islam’ 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...]May 25 2011 |
Date-setting for the end of the world has never worked out too well for biblical prophets. Some social scientists, however, say increasingly sophisticated demographic tools can provide vauable insight into the future of religion. Under one scenario for the U.S., Hispanic Catholics and non-Christian religions will be big winners, while predominantly white religious groups will lag behind. Other researchers, however, are skeptical of such attempts to predict the future.
[Read Full Column...]Feb 23 2011 |
Americans have long feared religious groups they do not know. Islam and Buddhism are among the least liked religious expressions in America today. New research, however, indicates it does not have to be this way. Getting to know evangelicals, atheists, Muslims and Buddhists as individuals leads to greater acceptance of people of diverse beliefs, Robert Putnam of Harvard University and David Campbell of the University of Notre Dame suggest in their new book “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.”
[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...]Sep 23 2010 |
Religious freedoms are more often promised than delivered. Majority religions are tempted to limit competition and strengthen themselves by seeking favored status. Governments contemplate the strife committed in the name of religion, and see restrictions as a way to protect the public good. Yet it is the act of restricting religion, not the presence of diverse groups of faiths, that most likely leads to religious persecution and violence, Brian Grim of the Pew Research Center and Roger Finke of Pennsylvania State University point out in a new book examining “The Price of Freedom Denied.”
[Read Full Column...]Jun 24 2010 |
If we build it, they will come has been the hope for centuries of congregations seeking to grow in the religious marketplace. But some researchers are observing an increasing willingness by local governments to challenge religious construction projects despite a federal law designed to protect religious freedom. And it is no small matter. Denying property rights to faith groups “may even represent a more invidious attack on basic religious liberties than whether ‘under God’ should appear in the Pledge of Allegiance,” says political scientist Anthony Gill of the University of Washington.
[Read Full Column...]May 17 2010 |
Recent news reports about Catholic malfeasance at the highest levels are again shedding important light on the problem of sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. Yet it would be a mistake to give in to the convenient temptation that this is “a Catholic problem.” A growing body of research affirms what I have discovered in more than a decade of investigative reporting: Young people have been and are being sexually abused in evangelical and mainline Protestant churches, in mosques and synagogues and temples. And the initial response is largely the same. Religious leaders protect the institution, often angrily condemning or ignoring the victim lying wounded on the side of the road.
[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...]Mar 15 2010 |
Common sense says one size does not fit all in approaches to human relationships. This may be particularly true in the more subjective experiences of the transcendent. Yet whether it is the emotionally charged subject of human sexuality or the culturally charged subject of women in Islam, there is a reluctance to give ground on our own social and political views to allow for different approaches and ways of understanding. Three recent studies provide insights into diverse data on subjects from AIDS education in Africa to teens’ response to Christian music to the reasons U.S. women convert to Islam. Some of the results may surprise you.
[Read Full Column...]
ARDA's 
