Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category
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...]Don’t call them oddballs. More than two-thirds of Americans have paranormal beliefs, and the interest in otherworldly possibilities beyond the realm of traditional religions is only expected to increase, sociologists Christopher Bader and F. Carson Mencken of Baylor University and Joseph Baker of East Tennessee State University report in their new book “Paranormal America.” “What we can say with certainty is that we live in a paranormal America.”
[Read Full Column...]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...]Having it all – measured in terms of money, sex and public adoration – is no guarantee of happiness. Just ask Tiger Woods. Or listen to the stories of more than 100 current and former NFL players sociologist Eric M. Carter of Georgetown College was able to interview in a groundbreaking study of a world closed to outsiders. The public may idolize them, but elite athletes report high levels of both unhappiness and deviant behavior, Carter discovered. What does have a positive effect, the study found, is faith in God and access to a religious support system.
[Read Full Column...]Obese Americans are finding churches, synagogues and mosques can promote exercise, healthier diets and improved self-images, new research indicates. But many severely overweight women, paralyzed by real and perceived prejudice, find it easier to be “couch-potato saints” than to go out in public for the spiritual and social support that can lead to better health. One new study found obese women were more likely to affiliate with a religious congregation, but less likely than other women to attend services or participate in congregational activities.
[Read Full Column...]Christian clergy are keeping pace with technological advances, a trend that should only grow stronger as a younger, more wired generation takes their place in pulpits, according to a new study. Ninety-five percent of Christian clergy use the Internet at least weekly, and more than three in four send e-mails to worshippers once a week or more, according to the latest wave of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. What may be suffering is time spent in prayer.
[Read Full Column...]Forget about Glenn Beck and Richard Dawkins. Many popular commentators try to box religious Americans into simple groups of polar opposites. But the stories of the great majority of religious Americans just don’t fit. Their experiences of God shape their lives in more powerful ways than terms such as liberal and conservative, or even Protestant and Jew, two prominent sociologists maintain in a new book. In “America’s Four Gods: What We Say About God & What That Says About Us,” Baylor University scholars Paul Froese and Christopher Bader find that how people view God is one of the strongest predictors of a range of social and moral attitudes. The good news, Froese and Bader report, is that for all the attention paid to the radical few who would burn Qurans or disrupt funerals with anti-gay hatred, there is a powerful force for civility at the core of nearly all Americans’ faith life: Love, sweet love.
[Read Full Column...]There are few times in life likely to renew faith as the birth of a child. New research suggests poor urban parents and their children may find special sources of support in religious communities that can lead to brighter futures and reduced stress. But the research also raises questions about how well congregations are welcoming poor parents in their midst. Even for the child who’s got his own, a lack of parental involvement makes it that much harder to keep the faith.
[Read Full Column...]Too often, religious leaders have perpetuated violence by encouraging abused spouses to give their husbands another chance. Yet it does not have to be that way if faith communities put the safety of women first and challenge rather than enable violent men, Barbara Fisher-Townsend and Nancy Nason-Clark of the University of New Brunswick reported in a recent presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion in Atlanta. Their study of 1,200 abusive men who sought treatment in two faith-based programs in the northwestern United States found that religious intervention helped men confront the behaviors and attitudes that lead to violence.
[Read Full Column...]Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: You would be happier in church on Sunday mornings. That is the finding of one of two new studies on competition for church members’ time presented at the recent annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture. Another study shows many congregations are finding success offering secular programs such as exercise classes and book discussions alongside religious activities. The common theme: Religious groups cannot stand on the sidelines in the stiffening competition for the time, talents and treasure of potential worshippers.
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- Who are the Southern Baptists and why is their 2021 annual meeting so divided?
June 15th, 2021 - Pagan politics are not as uniform (or liberal) as you think
May 26th, 2021 - Republicans and Democrats switch sides on religion vs. science
May 25th, 2021 - Will COVID-19 finally be the end of the church collection plate?
April 22nd, 2021
Primers
- The Many Faces of Islam By John L. Esposito
- Religious Freedom and Conflict A Review of the Evidence By Roger Finke and Robert R. Martin
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