Can belief in Hell, envisioned by many as a place of eternal torment, be considered a pathological fear? A study taking a systematic look at Hell anxiety found in general that individual belief in Hell was not in itself connected to any neuroses, and that most people did not display an unhealthy focus on the possibility of eternal damnation. The results suggested belief in hell “is perhaps a rational response to personal theological” beliefs.

Are baby boomers, part of the first generation to lead the contemporary exodus from organized religion, returning to their religious roots? The ninth wave of a multigenerational study that began in 1971 finds a little more than one in five boomers became significantly more religious in the transition from their 50s to their 60s.