Archive for the ‘secular’ Category


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[ READ FULL COLUMN ]
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A new survey suggests that the ‘God gap’ may actually be better defined as a spirituality gap. But there is plenty of room on both sides for peace, inspiration and love.
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No political party should take the “nones” for granted, new research suggests. “Nones now have the potential to rival evangelical Protestants as a politically relevant constituency,” a sociologist stated.
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New studies on religious tattoos explore the relation between faith and a practice associated with sex, drugs and copious amounts of alcohol. The results are mixed.
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The debate about whether the world is entering a more secular age and whether the growth of religiously non-affiliated people is hastening such secularization in part revolves around questions of timing. In other words, when did these trends start and what led to them?
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Summertime, and the livin’ seems easy on the glut of network shows featuring young men and women with sculpted bodies celebrating the narcissistic quest to determine who is the most desirable of all. But as we look away from the magic mirror of fantasy answers to the Cinderella question, consider how harmful it can be to the mental health and self-worth of those trying to live up to near-impossible cultural ideals of beauty. New research suggests faith may provide an answer.
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There are few people better able to offer perspective on the polarized state of the nation today than Michael Emerson. In an interview, Emerson, one of the foremost sociologists on race, religion and civility in the United States, offers incisive observations on how we got to where we are today, and what we can do to promote a more intellectually humble, respectful national dialogue.
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