Posts Tagged ‘Bible’
Oct 27 2012  |
Even as more people appear to be turning away from organized religion, a new study finds that the number of Americans who definitely believe in religious miracles increased 22 percent in the past two decades, The increased belief in miracles crosses all religious traditions, with the strongest gains reported by those who attend services infrequently.
[Read Full Column...]Feb 29 2012 |
U.S. Cardinal Edward Egan recently generated controversy by expressing regret for issuing an apology for the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse. Yet no matter how much individuals such as the cardinal would like to put the abuse scandal behind them, they can no longer appeal to an obedient laity to ignore or downplay the crimes, according to new research. Many Catholics are still mad as heck, and they are not going to take it anymore. The enduring consequences include continuing defections, lower collections, ruptures in pastoral relationships and a loss of moral influence by church leaders, research indicates.
[Read Full Column...]Aug 12 2011 |
Does higher education lead to a loss of faith? The answer, as indicated in a new study, may be as complex as the American religious landscape. Evangelicals, black Protestants and Catholics appear to become more religious the more steps they climb on the academic ladder, while the religiously unaffiliated are far less likely to pray or hold traditional beliefs as they acquire advanced degrees, according to the study, which analyzed data from the 1972-2006 General Social Survey. Overall, however, “The main contribution of this study is that education does not uniformly decrease religiosity,” the researchers reported.
[Read Full Column...]Jul 5 2011 |
Bible reading matters – just not in the way many commentators on popular culture would predict. A new study, one of the first to examine the social consequences of reading Scripture, reveals the effects of Bible reading appear to transcend conservative-liberal boundaries. Thus, while opposition to same-sex marriage and legalized abortion tends to increase with more time spent with the Bible, so does the number of people who say it is important to actively seek social and economic justice.
[Read Full Column...]Jan 31 2011 |
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...]Nov 3 2010 |
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.
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