Amid voices of division, the people of Charlottesville, white and black evangelicals, Jews, Catholics, and people not affiliated with any religious group, lifted up messages balancing love, hope and moral non-equivalence at several sites surrounding the place where one of their own, Heather Heyer, was murdered. One might even call the public response at these memorials a profile in courage and humility.
Science is providing greater insight into how black faith and the black church have been sources of enduring hope and strength in troubled times. Several new studies build on past research in revealing how this special faith continues to be associated with positive outcomes for black Americans amid the realities of discrimination and economic, political and social inequality.
Are there times when too much control can be ceded to God? When it comes to health, the answer in many cases may be yes. Placing too much control in divine hands may lessen efforts to seek treatment or take preventive measures such as quitting smoking or following a healthy diet, a new study indicates.
America may be nearing a critical tipping point where our fears, particularly of vulnerable groups such as Muslims and immigrants, are breaking down the sense of social trust that enables nations and communities to work together for the common good, research indicates. A new set of studies surveying fears in 2014 and 2015 offer insights into how much we are afraid of one another.
In a nation where rising numbers of people are dropping out of organized religion, one dynamic religious movement continues to display remarkable strength. The black church. Several studies and surveys reveal black Americans retain remarkably strong levels of religious beliefs and practices. And that spiritual core is having an impact on community life in areas from health to economic empowerment.
Pursuing a clerical career in their 40s and 50s can be a dream come true for many women and men, a chance to follow what they consider God’s call and do meaningful work in their later years. But the realities of a shrinking clergy labor market, and seminary tuition costs outpacing inflation, leave some facing debts of $80,000 or more trying to find work in a relatively low-paying profession, researchers state. The burden is falling particularly hard on prospective minority clergy with the fewest resources.
Favorite biblical book: The Psalms. Percentage of Americans who read the Bible on their own: About half. And far and away the No. 1 reason they pick up Scripture is for personal prayer and devotion. A major new study on American Bible reading offers insights into how, why and when Americans read Scripture outside of worship.
It is tempting to think of America as a nation that is transcending an historic racial divide. But a developing body of research is revealing just how pervasive racial differences are in one of the nation’s most powerful voluntary institutions — the houses of worship where people gather for spiritual and moral guidance and fellowship.
New findings from the second wave of a major study on religion and race lay bare the dramatic and growing gap in racial attitudes and experiences in America. We do not live in a post-racial nation, the 2012 Portraits of American Life Study suggests, but in a land of two Americas divided by race, and less willing than ever to find a common ground of understanding.
America’s pews are becoming dramatically more welcoming to gays and lesbians and increasingly reflective of the nation’s racial and ethnic diversity, according to the latest results from a major study of U.S. congregations. Nearly three in ten U.S. congregations permit gays and lesbians in committed relationships to hold volunteer leadership positions, almost double the 19 percent of congregations in 2006-2007 that allowed such opportunities, the National Congregations Study found. And the percentage of U.S. congregations with only non-Hispanic whites declined from 20 percent in 1998 to 11 percent in 2012, the study found.
