We are witnessing the rampant criminalization of faith, enabled by the smartphones in our pockets. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
These past two years have exposed how the science vs. faith discourse isn’t an abstract ideological debate but a false dichotomy that has disastrous real-world consequences. Read the article from the New York Times.
Read More
For many, the relationship between birds and Christianity does not stray farther than seeing a dove carrying an olive branch on a banner at church. However, for Christian birdwatchers, this link is alive. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
While megachurches often make headlines, most of the congregations in the United States are relatively small. Read the article from Religion News Service.
According to the recently released Faith Communities Today study, half of the congregations in the United States have 65 people or fewer, while two-thirds of congregations have fewer than 100.
Read More
Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. View the slideshow here.
This week’s photo gallery includes the Hindu sun god festival Chhath Puja, a Mass for migrants in Mexico and more.
Read More
“Pastors are concerned at the disproportionate presence of QAnon believers in their churches,” says Pastor Ed Stetzer, Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. “Pastors ask me regularly how do I address this in my church? We’ve all been taught in seminary not to politicize the pulpit.“
“People are being discipled by their cable news choices, spiritually shaped by their social media feed, and the result is they’re saying well if I believe this, I want to hear this on Sunday. The implications for the Christian Church and its witness are substantial.”
Read More
After fielding back-to-back complaints about masks in church—one regarding a fellow parishioner who had shirked a mask during a recent service and the other wondering whether our congregation had changed its policy from “strongly recommended” to “required,” because “everyone” was wearing them—I realized something surprising: Leading a church is harder now, in 2021, than it was in 2020, during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, state and diocesan mandates meant I could throw up my hands and respond, “Sorry, not up to me.” And anyway, the answer was, for the most part, a straightforward “no”—no, we can’t gather for services, and no, we can’t sing. Now it is up to me, the rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, and I am struggling to find a way forward. Read the full article in The Atlantic.
Read More
East German student of Karl Barth and Martin Heidegger believed “God has become speakable.” Read the article from Christianity Today.
Read More
Americans are getting more comfortable with new forms of spirituality, but their views of atheists are still complicated. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
'It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. We get our wellies muddy ... We don’t wait for them to come to us, we go to them,' said a rural chaplain in Suffolk, England. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
A popular series contains hidden wisdom for those of us who work for God. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
Apache Stronghold members will stop in Tucson and Phoenix on their way to meet with Native American communities and faith leaders before an Oct. 22 court hearing. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
From Carey Nieuwhof: “When you’re in the middle of a disruption, it’s hard to know exactly what’s changing, let alone how deeply or permanently things are changing. As we round the corner into 2022, there are three numbers that, at least for me, show how quickly, radically and perhaps permanently the church is changing.”
36%: In-person attendance isn’t what it used to be
41%: The percentage of Gen Z who primarily prefer physical gatherings post-COVID
30%. The percentage point gap between Boomers and Gen Z
Several US mainline denominations — including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church — encouraged their members to observe a day of remembrance for US Indian boarding schools on Sept. 30. Read the article from Religion News Service.
Read More
Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. View the slideshow here.
This week’s photo gallery includes Desmond Tutu's 90th birthday, Catholic church sex abuse in France and more.
Read More
The initial push for the monument was supported by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, but the two closest chapters of the Navajo Nation resisted the plans. At stake are two different visions of how to best protect sacred land. Read the article from Religion News Service here.
Read More
In her new book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, atmospheric scientist and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe encourages her readers to talk to each other about climate change, to meet friends and family where they are. She hopes they will work to repair the atmosphere, in part, by repairing relationships. Read the article in Religion and Politics here.
Read More
Young people’s trust in religious institutions is low, but trust in relationships with religious people is still extremely high. Read the article from Religion News Service here.
Read More
A new PBS documentary shows how religion can be a machinery for improvement. Read the article from Religion News Service here.
Read More
Instead of worshippers, some churches have been filled with local tourists, professional chefs or burnt-out frontline workers.
Church Space, a platform akin to Airbnb, allows houses of worship to rent their sanctuaries, fellowship halls and kitchens to other congregations and organizations for as much as $30,000 a year. Read the article from Religion News Service here.
Read More