God is not dead. Fundamentalists are seemingly creeping up everywhere. And despite their spectacular growth, Mormons were never more in the public eye than when they were being targeted in the 19th century. These are some of the interesting revelations that are suggested by searching an American literary canon of more than 3 million books from 1800 to 2000.
The holy grail for helping youth remain religiously active as young adults has been at home all along: Parents. Mothers and fathers who practice what they preach and preach what they practice are far and away the major influence related to adolescents keeping the faith into their 20s, according to new findings from a landmark study of youth and religion.
Eat, pray, read the Bible. Congregations with high levels of spiritual vitality and that placed a lot of emphasis on spiritual practices such as prayer and scripture reading were more likely to have significant numbers of young adults, according to a new report analyzing data from the 2010 Faith Communities Today study. The report provides insights into the distinctive characteristics of religious communities where 21 percent or more of participants were ages 18 to 34.
The U.S. religious landscape is shifting, and no one may be more thankful than GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney. The 2010 U.S. Religion Census, now available on the Association of Religion Data Archives, found that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gained the most regular members in the last 10 years. But the denomination is not the only one spreading its wings nationally in a time of increasing religious diversity
Taken together, nondenominational and independent churches may now be considered the third largest religious group in the country.
GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney is asking voters to judge him on his individual qualifications, and not as a representative of an entire faith – just as the Catholic John F. Kennedy did in his groundbreaking run five decades ago. But each step of the way, the former Massachusetts governor will have a lot to overcome to become the first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be elected to the nation’s highest office, say scholars studying religion and presidential politics.
A major celebrity appears to be destroying himself with alcohol before the eyes of a nation, and his antics become comic fodder, fueling an endless thirst for celebrity voyeurism. What is obscured among the ridicule being heaped upon Charlie Sheen is our own discomfort in confronting alcohol addiction. Religion can be both help and hindrance in the battle against alcoholism, research suggests.
Haiti’s efforts to promote religious freedom, along with a recent period of relative political stability, mean a wide range of religious groups have ties on the ground and are energizing faithful throughout the world to provide long-term assistance in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Religious discrimination can lead to persecution and political isolation, and in some cases foment terrorism among the marginalized. The flip side is that religious freedom offers nations such as Haiti the opportunity to benefit from faith’s sweeter fruits of a humanitarian calling to ease suffering.
