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TruthBook Religious News Blog



Thursday, December 25, 2008

‘This is what Christ had in mind … a church without walls’

Services in Woodruff Park break down barriers to reach those who are in need

By Drew Jubera

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, December 20, 2008

They just showed up. On foot. From all directions. As if risen right out of the same downtown streets that many of them live on.

About a dozen homeless men and women, joined by volunteers and other churchgoers, sat shoulder to shoulder in the cold last Sunday in front of the fountain at the north end of Woodruff Park. They wore hats and gloves and heavy coats. They toted backpacks and black plastic garbage bags. One guy chewed on a cheese sandwich.

They were ready for church.

“I appreciate all you huddled people,” began Carole Maddux, the Episcopal deacon leading the service. “Let us take a moment to be silent and claim this place. And call on God … to make his presence known.”

Surrounded by downtown skyscrapers, she stood in front of a folding table topped with a silver cross, a chalice, a plastic bottle of grape juice to be served with communion —- “Some of our people don’t need to drink wine,” Maddux said.

The Church of the Common Ground was in session.

“We’re Episcopal, and we have a liturgy,” Maddux explained earlier. “It can cause us to try to control every little thing: The acolytes should stand here, the candles should be lit there.

“But here, you have to go with the spirit. I’ll be talking about the firmament, and a flock of pigeons will go by. Or someone will chime in with an opinion.”

A homeless ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, the Church of the Common Ground convenes in Woodruff Park every Sunday at 1 p.m. (January through February, it moves indoors to the ministry’s nearby rented storefront at 170 Trinity Ave. S.W.) It was started about two years ago by the Rev. Bob Book, a Lutheran minister for almost two decades, and his wife, Holly Book.

After years in traditional churches, the open-air, come-one-come-all ministry felt to them like a return to Christianity’s roots.

“This is what Christ had in mind —- a church without walls,” said Holly Book. “The [Episcopal] church has strayed from this. The bishop is recognizing the importance of us to be out there and with people who are poor.”

Rick Hutchison, 58, lives in a shelter. He often attends the Sunday service and volunteers at the ministry’s indoor space on Trinity Avenue. A variety of services are offered there during the week, including a health clinic, addiction recovery meetings and a weekly movie (recent showing: “Prancer”).

But it’s not viewed by the homeless who come there as a traditional soup kitchen. Its most important service, Hutchison said, is spiritual.

Bob Book, 59, was ordained an Episcopal priest in October at a ceremony at the park.

“People will say to me, ‘Someday, pastor, you’ll be blessed with a church,’ ” Book said. “And I say, ‘We already have one. It just doesn’t have walls. And I don’t want any walls. Once you erect walls, you start keeping people out, either by accident or intentionally. I want to be visible to everyone.

“Within the Christian community, none of us feels like the Earth is our home,” he added. “And part of the journey is finding our home in Christ, our eternal home. So in that way, all of us are homeless. Some of us just have shelters.”

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Trends From National Congregations Study: Drums, Diversity, Technology and Aging Clergy

Wed Dec 17 11:55:19 2008 Pacific Time

DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- A second snapshot of U.S. religious congregations reveals four trends in American worship: a growing informality in worship practices, a graying of congregations and clergy (on average), churches becoming less white and more ethnically diverse, and an ever-increasing use of technology. The second National Congregations Study (NCS Wave II), conducted in 2006-07, encompasses information from 1,506 congregations across many religious traditions. Informants participated in a 45-minute interview designed to collect facts and opinions about congregations' social composition, structure, activities and programming. The first NCS survey was conducted in 1998.

"This is the first study that has tracked change over time in a nationally representative sample of congregations," said Mark Chaves, professor of sociology, religion and divinity at Duke University and lead researcher on the project. "We've never been able to do that before. This research tells us what is changing and what is staying the same."

Chaves said the biggest change in American churches since 1998 is the use of computer technology. His initial analysis of the survey, co-authored with Shawna Anderson, a research associate at Duke and a graduate student at the University of Arizona, will be published online this week in the Winter 2008 edition of the journal Sociology of Religion.

The number of church websites increased from 17 percent of all congregations in 1998 to 44 percent in 2006-07, an average of 10,000 new church websites each year since 1998, Chaves said.

E-mail communication is becoming ubiquitous as well, with 59 percent of all congregations communicating electronically now. In 1998, the number was a mere 21 percent. Also, the use of visual projectors during a worship service is now commonplace in 27 percent of congregations, up from 12 percent in 1998.

The study also reveals a move toward more informality and participation in the practice of worship. More church services now incorporate drums, jumping and shouting or dancing, raising hands in praise, calling out "amen" and applause.

Some of these changes are more pronounced among some groups than among others, but overall the use of drums increased from 20 percent of congregations in 1998 to 34 percent in 2006-07; people now raise their hands in praise in 57 percent of congregations, compared with 45 percent in 1998; and applause occurred in 61 percent in 2006-07, compared with 55 percent in 1998.

According to the NCS Wave II data, the head clergyperson of a church is older than in the previous study -- with an average age of 53 compared to 48 in 1998. Only 39 percent of churches are led by someone under the age of 50 these days, down from 48 percent in 1998. The "graying clergy" phenomenon is happening across denominations, although faster for Catholic and liberal/mainline congregations than others.

The fourth major trend is a marked increase in both the age and ethnic diversity of American congregations. Thirty percent of people in the average congregation are 60 years and older -- up from 25 percent in 1998. In short, church populations -- in step with their clergy -- are aging somewhat faster than society as a whole, Chaves said.

Predominantly white congregations are now more ethnically diverse. Only 14 percent of all churchgoers attend a church that is all white and non-Hispanic, a drop from 20 percent of churchgoers in 1998.

The number of people in congregations with no Latino members has dropped from 43 percent in 1998 to 36 percent in 2006-07. The number attending churches with no Asian members also has decreased -- from 59 percent in 1998 to 50 percent in 2006-07. This shift reflects recent immigration trends, according to Chaves.

"Perhaps the biggest surprise is that some things clearly are changing, even over just an eight-year period, which is not a long time when it comes to religion," Chaves said. "I would not have been surprised if we had observed complete stability over such a short time span. Religious traditions and organizations, after all, are widely considered to be remarkably resistant to change."

Initial data from the survey, including an interactive data analysis tool, is available at the National Congregations Study website, http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/ . The complete data set will be available in the summer of 2009 from The Association of Religion Data Archives, http://www.thearda.com/ .

The NCS Second Wave was funded by a major grant from the Lilly Endowment, and by additional grants from the National Science Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Louisville Institute. The survey was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center.

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Not Much Behavior Change during Christmas, Survey Finds

By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Dec. 15 2008

Unlike what most people expect, most Americans do not dramatically change their lifestyle during the Christmas season, according to a survey that examined five seasonal behaviors.

In terms of church attendance for Christmas, there is an expected increase in the number of attendees, but not from the expected crowd, according to the survey. While people may expect a large turnout of CEOs – Christmas and Easter Only attendees – the Barna study found that most of the increase in attendance is expected from regular churchgoers.

One out of five adults say they will attend more religious services at a church, synagogue or other place of worship during the holiday season than they normally would. But the group that was most likely to say that was regular attendees (27 percent) rather than those who don’t normally attend service (4 percent), the study found.

In other findings, one out of five adults (18 percent), said they would definitely donate more money to their religious center during the holidays than at other times of the year. Evangelicals are the most likely group to donate (30 percent), followed by African Americans (29 percent) and Catholics (24 percent).

Out of the five behaviors explored in the latest Barna Group survey, the only one that a majority of people said they change during the holidays is listening to Christmas carols in their home.

Six out of ten American adults (59 percent) said they will definitely listen to carols this holiday season, with evangelicals being most likely to do so (82 percent).

Among the non-born again population, 50 percent said they will play carols at home, including one-third (34 percent) of atheists and agnostics.

Interestingly, there was a racial correlation for Christmas carols: 63 percent of whites, 55 percent of African Americans, and 48 percent of Hispanics and of Asians said they would listen to carols at home.

But the holiday is not a joyful time for everyone, with a small but significant percentage of Americans saying they would struggle with loneliness or depression during this season.

The group that was most likely to suffer with loneliness or depression was downscale adults, or individuals whose annual income is less than $20,000 and those who did not attend college. More than one out of ten (11 percent) said they would definitely face depression or loneliness during the Christmas season, according to the Barna study.

Evangelicals and atheists were among the people least likely to have these emotions and experiences, with less than one percent of each group saying they would struggle with these unwanted emotions.

The study also found that some Americans expect to drink more alcohol during the holidays. Those most likely to drink are people under 25 years old (12 percent), atheists and agnostics (11 percent), and liberals (11 percent).

The survey is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,203 adults across the United States from November 1 to 5, 2008.

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

Poll: Americans wary of churches pushing politics

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Americans strongly believe churches should tread lightly when it comes to political activity.

According to a survey released by LifeWay Research, Americans believe churches should not campaign for or endorse political candidates and pastors should only endorse candidates as private citizens outside of a church service.

When asked for their level of agreement with the statement “I believe it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office,” 59 percent said they strongly disagree. Sixteen percent somewhat disagree.

When it comes to how churches use their resources, Americans believe overwhelmingly that churches should not use those resources to campaign for candidates for public office.

When asked to respond to the statement “I believe it is appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office,” 85 percent disagree, including 73 percent who disagree strongly.

Regarding whether churches should lose tax-exempt status for publicly endorsing candidates, a slim majority agree and differences appear along many of the same lines.

Thirty-eight percent strongly agree and 14 percent somewhat agree “that churches who publicly endorse candidates for public office should lose their tax exemption.” Twenty-five percent strongly disagree, 17 percent somewhat disagree and 6 percent are not sure.

“Americans overwhelmingly want pastors to stick to faith and not political endorsements,” Stetzer says. “However, they are less certain that they want the government to strip them of their tax exemption. Americans don’t want churches in politics, but they are not as certain they want the government in the churches.”

When the question centers on pastors rather than churches, Americans are slightly more open to endorsement of candidates, but not during a church service.

Although more than half believe it is appropriate for pastors to endorse candidates for public office outside of the church, only 13 percent believe it is acceptable for pastors to endorse candidates during a church service.

The telephone survey was conducted in June 2008 among 1,208 adults randomly selected throughout the country in proportion to population. Weighting is used to adjust for non-response controlling for region, age, race, religion and gender. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the margin of error does not exceed +2.9 percent.

To view the entire report in addition to charts, visit www.lifewayresearch.com.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Megachurches push for greater spirituality

CATHY LYNN GROSSMAN
September 27, 2008

After decades of soaring growth, the phenomenon of Protestant megachurches — behemoths of belief where 2,000 to 20,000 or more people attend weekend worship — may be stalled.

And Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., the granddaddy of "seeker-sensitive" megachurches geared to attract the spiritually curious, is on a mission to rev the engines.

On paper, megachurches look like a trend still on the rise. Their total number rose from 600 in 2000 to more than 1,250 in 2005, says sociologist Scott Thumma of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Hartford, Conn.

On Outreach magazine's 2008 list of the largest 100, even the smallest says more than 7,000 people attend. But some of the biggest, including Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, with 43,500, showed slight declines.

Experts see more troubling concerns than slowing growth: no measurable inroads on overall church attendance and signs that many churchgoers are spectators, not driving toward a deeper faith.

"You can create a church that's big, but is still not transforming people. Without transformation, the Christian message is not advanced," says Ed Stetzer, head of Lifeway Research in Nashville, Tenn., which did the Outreach study.

The unchurched remain untouched. While the number of people who say they attend at least once a week hovers around 30 percent year after year, the number who say they "never" go to church climbs.

The tally of "nevers" varies from 16 percent in Gallup surveys to 22 percent in the General Social Survey, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, to 32 percent in an Ellison Research survey this year. The new "nevers" come from the pool of people who once attended monthly or a few times a year.

Many slide away from church to find other answers to their spiritual quest or another church where the preaching or music or family programs better suit their style.

The study, now being marketed to churches nationwide as a self-assessment tool, found many who attend church are not progressing from beginner believers to become "fully centered in Christ" — deep in Bible study, prayer and service.

In response, founder and senior pastor Bill Hybels has changed his sermons to more directly challenge worshipers at every level. Willow has launched a slate of dozens of Wednesday mini-classes focusing on spiritual growth, coached and mentored by the church.

Willow is still "seeker-obsessed," says Hybels. "But today's seekers are different" than years ago.

Today, he says, "I don't think anyone is wandering around looking for a mild dose of God. They want to know: 'What would a life centered on Christ look like in my life? What would that feel like? How do I go about it?' "

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Monday, September 29, 2008

Religion and Politics: Combustible Combination Influences Voters' Choices

September 25, 2008 —

Americans who regularly attend worship services tend to hold more conservative religious views, so if they decide to be similarly dedicated to voting in November, their votes could tip the presidential election to John McCain.

But if Barack Obama can rouse the more lackadaisical Christians among us, they may swing the election in his favor, based on historical trends.

Those were some of the links between religion and politics highlighted by Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, who spoke Monday evening at a University of Virginia Center for Politics event.

Lugo presented findings from the Pew Forum's recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which was based on interviews with more than 35,000 American adults.

The survey found strong correlations between Americans' degree of religiosity, as measured by church attendance, and voting patterns in the 2004 election. Survey respondents were asked to describe how often they attended church: more than weekly, weekly, monthly, a few times a year, or seldom to never. Those who attend church more than weekly chose Bush over Kerry by 64 percent to 35 percent, while 58 percent of weekly churchgoers voted for Bush.

In a nearly symmetrical reversal of those preferences, those who seldom attend church favored Kerry by 62 percent to 35 percent. The preference for Bush declined steadily in correlation with attending church less often.

This so-called "God gap" is more accurately described as a church attendance gap, Lugo said, and the Obama campaign is absolutely determined to close this gap.

Political preferences can also be broken down by religious affiliation, Lugo said. White evangelical Protestants, who make up nearly a quarter of the American electorate, voted for Bush at a 78 percent clip in 2004. In contrast, even higher percentages of Jews and black Protestants favored the Democratic candidates in 2000 and 2004.

But despite all the efforts of Obama to appeal to Christians, surveys show that he has made no progress appealing to self-described white "evangelical" voters. About 71 percent of them back the McCain-Palin ticket, according to a Pew survey conducted Sept. 9-14 — up from 61 percent in June, and about the same proportion as supported Bush in 2000, said Lugo.

Catholics make up nearly 20 percent of the electorate, and they have become a key swing vote in American politics, Lugo said. Gore won the overall Catholic vote by 3 percentage points in 2000, but Kerry lost that bloc by 5 points in 2004.

While about two-thirds of Hispanic Catholics favored both Gore and Kerry, white Catholic voters were much more evenly divided, with Bush garnering 52 percent of their vote in 2000 and 56 percent in 2004. How these white Catholics vote will be critical to the upcoming election, Lugo predicted.

Religion has always been important in American public life, with attitudes only shifting gradually, and over decades. From 2000 through 2008, a steady 70 to 72 percent of Americans agree with the proposition: "It's important to me that a president have strong religious beliefs." In the 1950s, Americans were much more open to electing an atheist or someone without strong religious convictions, Lugo said.

The increase in pro-religion sentiments in the past 50 years was spurred in part by facing the "godless" enemy of communism in the Cold War, said Charles Mathewes, a professor of religious studies. If Americans continue to face a significant threat from fundamentalist Muslim terrorists for the next 30 to 40 years, he wondered, will the importance of religion in public life wane?

As for this year's election, the "fundamentals" of an unpopular Republican president, a tanking economy and a derided war appear to favor the Democrats, Lugo said. But current polls show a very tight presidential race.

"In this election, everything is against the Republicans," Lugo said. "To be honest, I'm just surprised it's so close. ... I guess there's a lot of underlying discomfort in closing the deal with Obama."

— By Brevy Cannon

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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Should Churches Mix God And Politics?

Posted on Thursday, 28 of August , 2008

INSIDE THE FIRST AMENDMENT
By Charles C. Haynes

First Amendment Center

Like red, white and blue bunting, pastors and prayers have been prominently displayed in Denver at the Democratic National Convention – as they will be in St. Paul for the GOP.

Much of the appeal to God from political podiums is no doubt sincere. After all, most Americans are religious people who expect political gatherings to have invocations, benedictions and a fair amount of God-talk in between.

But beyond the benign rituals of civil religion, the mixture of God and politics in America can be a volatile brew, often poisoning the body politic with charges and counter-charges about which party is religion-friendly – and which candidate is a true Christian.

From Mitt Romney’s church to Barack Obama’s pastor, this year’s presidential race has been marked by some of the ugliest debates about religion in living memory. And all of the leading candidates have scrambled to reassure the so-called “values voters” that they are on God’s side.

It’s no accident that the first joint appearance of Obama and John McCain was held in a megachurch and moderated by an evangelical pastor asking questions about what it means to be a Christian.

Until now, at least, most Americans have voiced support for mixing God and politics. According to polls taken over the past 10 years by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans have favored the idea of churches’ speaking out on social and political issues.

Now the pendulum is moving the other way. In a survey released by Pew last week, a majority (52 percent) now want churches to keep out of politics.

Here’s the surprising part: The greatest shift in opinion has occurred among conservatives. Four years ago a mere 30 percent of conservatives said churches should stay out of politics. Today, fully half of conservatives feel that way.

It’s not just conservatives generally, but social conservatives in particular who are re-thinking the role of churches in the political arena. In 2004, for example, only 25 percent of people who rated gay marriage as a top voting issue said churches should stay out of politics. Today, that percentage has risen to 50 percent.

While the causes of this discontent may be hard to pin down, I suspect that much of the shift in opinion is rooted in disillusionment with the political process. The strategy of some evangelical leaders to ally churches with the Republican Party hasn’t paid off. The same might be said of African-American churches aligned with the Democratic Party.

For some Americans, of course, any involvement of churches in politics is too much. On a billboard near the Denver convention, the Freedom From Religion Foundation proclaims: “Keep Religion Out of Politics.”

But for most Christians and for many others, faith by definition requires political involvement of some kind. Contrary to the freedom-from-religion crowd, the First Amendment doesn’t bar religion from politics. It protects the right of houses of worship to speak out on the public-policy issues of the day.

Pollsters may be asking the wrong question. It isn’t “Should churches keep out of politics?” but rather, “How should churches engage in politics?”

The “how” question is best answered when churches keep an arm’s length from political parties and partisan rhetoric – and instead focus on proclaiming a prophetic vision of the kind of society they believe God requires.

As Martin Luther King put it: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, never its tool.” 8-28-08

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Remodeling Hell: Americans Redefine the Doctrine

by Albert Mohler
http://www.crosswalk.com/pastors/11580607/
8/18/2008

Is belief in hell disappearing? "Absolutely," says Barnard College professor Alan Segal, author of Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion. Segal's remark is found within a news story released by Religion News Service. In "Belief in Hell Dips, But Some Say They've Already Been There," Charles Honey traces the transformation of hell in contemporary America.

That figure, Honey reports, is down from 71 percent "who said they believed in hell" as recently as a 2001 Gallup poll.

He writes:

Skepticism about hell is growing even in evangelical churches and seminaries, says one theologian here, a bastion of conservative evangelicalism.

"In a pluralistic, post-modern world, students are having a more difficult time with (the idea of) people going to hell forever because they didn't believe the right thing," says Mike Wittmer, professor of systematic theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.

"That's the biggest question out there right now: 'Would God send someone to hell if they were someone as good as me, but didn't believe what I believe?"'

It was easier to believe in hell 20 years ago when missionaries tried to convert people in far-flung places, Wittmer says. In today's global village, many live next to good, non-Christian neighbors and wonder why an all-powerful, loving God wouldn't eventually empty out hell, Wittmer says.

"I've noticed in the last five years how that view is making inroads even in conservative churches, whereas five years ago it wasn't even uttered or discussed," he adds.

Undoubtedly, much of this can be traced to currents in the larger culture, where non-judgmentalism, a therapeutic view of life, and a thoroughly modern view of fairness lead many to reject hell as a place of everlasting torment and punishment for those who never come to faith in Christ.

As Professor Segal observed, "They believe everyone has an equal chance, at this life and the next." Thus, "hell is disappearing, absolutely."

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Friday, August 15, 2008

Faith leaders reach out to get men in the pews

Faith leaders reach out to get men in the pews
By Teri Greene

Women are the majority in 21 of 25 Christian denominations, according to the recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, and some local pastors say they see those statistics reflected in their own churches. And while it affects the congregation, it hits families especially hard.

Some area churches are doing everything they can to encourage the presence of men in the sanctuary and in the community as outreach volunteers.
A new approach

Nationwide, many churches are brainstorming new ways to bring in the men.

One simple difference

A basic difference in the way men and women see themselves, as people and as members of the faith community, could be the factor behind the under-represented male population in many churches, some pastors say.

Many pastors acknowledge this difference between the genders when it comes to religion.

Sixty-two percent of those who attend church regularly as adults say that as children they went to church with both parents, according to a new survey of 1,007 adults by Ellison Research, a market research firm in Phoenix. If only one parent went to church -- usually the mom -- the likelihood of the adult regularly attending dropped to 50 percent. If neither parent took them to church, 33 percent now attend.

Women can have a key role in turning the negative trend around - or at least finding ways to compensate for it -- said Katrina Todd, public relations director at Pilgrim Rest. As a woman whose husband often has to work Sundays, Todd sees how problems can easily arise.

"I think sometimes our roles get reversed, because the men are taking on more hours at work and the women pick up the slack and do what's needed," she said.
Finding 'home'

But sometimes, it's more complicated, Todd said.

"I have spoken with some female friends and sometimes it's an issue of, they can't come to a common ground of the denomination, so the mom just decides, 'I'm going to go on with this denomination,'" taking the children with her and leaving dad at home.

Hoomes said it may just be a matter of whether the man is receptive to the church his wife and family are attending.

"My experience has been that churches appeal to individuals based on their own preference and past experiences," said Hoomes, adding that men of all ages serve in leadership positions at First Baptist. "Our pastor, Dr. Jay Wolf, describes worship styles like restaurants, different choices to meet different needs."

Todd's advice for women facing this dilemma: "Just encourage your husband and decide you will go to church wherever you feel the spirit together," she said. "Say, 'Let's make this decision as a family. What's going to be the best church to fulfill our needs? What has the best ministries - for youth or marriage, or whatever we need? Let's go out and research together and find out what's going to work for the family.'"

The way the church sees men is an important factor, said Gilbert, who acknowledges that the number of men in his congregation has begun to grow.

"We're not focusing on how bad they are," Gilbert said of church members in men's ministries. "We're saying, 'What can we do to better equip you to deal with the pressures of being a father or husband?'"

He said increasingly popular culture is bashing men, and that needs to be reversed.

"Men are saying, 'At what point do I feel welcome?' Here, we have somebody helping men to improve," Gilbert said. "Women have led us, carrying the household, doing more than they were called to do. Men need to go further, to step back and take their rightful place, becoming leaders in their households."

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Saturday, August 02, 2008

The Catholic "destiny" in China

Many new Christians are a mix of old and new faiths while others are torn between themselves
by Francesco Sisci

BEIJING --

In China, it is now trendy to wear a cross, hanging from a small chain at the neck, fully exposed on the chest.[1] The crosses are made of wood, metal or, sometimes, silver, gold or precious stones. And it is not just about fashion: It may be jewelry, but it is also a religious statement.

Most of the time, when asked about the meaning of the cross, the bearer will answer proudly and clearly: Yes, I am a Christian. Yet, after that, everything becomes blurred. Most people don’t know the difference between being Christian (“jidujiao,” which in China refers to Protestants) and being Catholic (“tianzhujiao”, a totally different word). Nor are they familiar with the various branches of the Protestant faith. A Chinese government estimate puts the total number of “Christians” at 130 million—almost 10 percent of the population and at least five times the percentage of Christians (Protestants and Catholics) there was when the Communists took power in 1949. Even taking into account the population increase, the absolute numbers have grown immensely, up from the original 8 to 9 million.

However, if one takes a closer look at these numbers, little appears to have changed since 1949. The Catholics, even in the rosier estimates, are about 12 to 13 million, or 1 percent of China’s population, the same percentage as in 1949. The rest of the Christians are Protestant or something similar. I conducted a small survey and found that in Italy, where they are free to express themselves, many Chinese migrants are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are mostly from the Wenzhou area in the Zhejiang province and converted while living in their villages. In one case, a wandering pastor stopped by a home and saved a sick relative through his prayers. In return, the family converted.

In the countryside, there are also many Mormons and Evangelicals. Most just follow whichever pastor they meet out of “yuanfen,”[2] or fate. Many of those pastors are self-taught, having read a translation of the Bible in Chinese. The translation may be not very accurate or done in a scholarly way. To this very weak Biblical background they add their own preaching, which is bound to draw more from the local Chinese lore (non-Christian) than from the Bible, simply because the Bible is not part of Chinese education or tradition. Many pastors mix Christianity with Taoism and Buddhism.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons are considered to be pseudo-Christians by Catholics. Thus they might be not very different theologically from Hong Xiuquan’s Taipings, the religious sect that almost toppled the Qing dynasty in the middle of the 19th century.

The leader of the rebellion, Hong Xiuquan, claimed to be Jesus Christ’s younger brother and said he had a vision after reading a partial translation of the Bible in Chinese. He organized a movement and a hierarchical Church, in which he was the top leader and his siblings and friends were senior officials. He also edited his own version of the Bible. At its peak, the Taiping was a tightly knit organization with many millions of converts. Some modern Chinese Christians might have sprung out of that old distorted Christian sensibility, while others might be heirs of the highly literate Protestant foreign missionaries who have flocked to China since the 19th century. In contrast to the past, modern Protestants are not organized in a single vertical Church. As far as we know, they do not plan on bringing down the government: They are not rebellious and do not want to establish a new order.

The government, mindful of the history of Taiping, might have been inclined to put down these new Christians. However, the emergence of Falun Gong in 1999 changed the order of priorities.

On April 25 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong (a Taoist-Buddhist sect) followers surrounded Zhongnanhai, China’s White House, in a show of force to demand greater political clout. China's top leaders had no warning from their security apparatus and were caught completely by surprise. They later found out the protest was organized or abetted by senior security officials. There were suspicions that it might have been part of an attempted putsch supported by the most conservative, xenophobic wing of the Communist party and aimed at stopping the process of reforms.

The Falun Gong were opposed to modern science and medicine. In a line with old Chinese traditions, they claimed that diseases do not exist, that they were just manifestations of sins, and thus without sins, there would be no sickness. The Falun Gong have a very structured organization, modeled after the Communist party with cells, a central committee, and a politburo. They claimed to have 100 million supporters in 1999.

“The fact that so many people believed in this mumbo-jumbo changed the debate in the Party. It proved that it was not that reforms were going too fast; the problem was that reforms were going too slowly.”[3]

Furthermore, it proved that there was a “spiritual market” that was out of the Party’s reach. The Party had forsaken all claims to total “spiritual” answers after Mao’s demise. It had long stopped preaching “dialectic materialism” as some kind of religion, as it did during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). This had created a huge spiritual void, and in the early 1980s, China was rife with all kinds of breathing exercises, such as Qigong, with their roots in ancient Chinese tradition. They all assured better health, but many went as far as promising miracles and immortality. The Falun Gong was one of them. People who had now lost all faith in eternal communism and who saw traditional Confucian values shattered by decades of Maoism turned to Qigong. And after the crackdown on Falun Gong many former Qigong practitioners turned their religious interest to Christianity “with Chinese characteristics”—with the blessings of the officials who preferred Christianity to Falun Gong.

In sum, many of these new Chinese Christians are new converts to "modernity," which in China is largely tantamount to “Westernization”—or the American way of life. They pray to Jesus as they eat at MacDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken. But just as they can't eat hamburgers every day (and can't digest cheese and can't stand its smell), so they can't take the "pure" overeducated Christianity and even the "purely" American Presbyterians or Evangelicals are hard to swallow. In the same way they add soy sauce or rice vinegar to their food, to Evangelical faith they may add belief in feng shui ("wind and water," traditional Chinese geomancy) and the Yijing (an ancient soothsayers’ manual).

However, as with food, there are real “gourmands” of faith. A whole legion
of Chinese goes to seminaries and devoutly studies Latin to become good priests, Catholic or Protestant. These people take the old Chinese beliefs with a grain of salt: They do not believe in the metaphysical power of feng shui, but accept some of its more physical and "realistic" aspects: Do not reside near to polluted river because the air will be dirty; build your house with back to a high mountain so that it will be protected from cold winds and warmer in winter.

It is important to consider religion in two separate parts. There is the kernel belief in divinity, and there is the cultural wrapping that enables the delivery and acceptance of that belief. These differences are not absolute, and they can be reconciled once the different cultures are fully understood and “translated.” But this translation work has been lagging behind presently.

This is not a theoretical issue—it is critical since it trickles down to present Chinese Catholics, for whom there is a split between the official and underground churches, with lots of people caught in between. This is a political issue, but not only a political issue.

The official Catholics fear of losing their standing, direct contact with the leadership, control of the physical assets of the Church, and power over the hierarchy. The underground Catholics fear of being completely swept under the rug and sacrificed for the official Church. Both know that a time of total freedom has ended.

So far, both groups are de facto independent both from the Chinese government and the Vatican. The official Catholics can have great leeway with the Chinese government claiming they have to be loyal to the religious precepts of the Holy See, and Beijing does little to interfere in the internal life of official Catholics, fearing it could face international opposition for oppressing religious followers. Meanwhile the official Catholics can also keep religious interference from the Holy See at bay claiming they have to follow the government.

The underground Catholics do not obey to the government, as they hardly recognized it; and they were also quite independent of Rome, citing the distance, the particular conditions, and the official persecution.

Over the years, things have grown so confused and messy that there are cases of dioceses with three bishops—one official, one underground, and one “conciliatory”—all fighting with each other.

It is as if parts of the same separated body are all fighting with each other, knowing they will be sewn together again but not knowing how they will to live together.

At the moment, there are two possible solutions. The first is to reach a minimal agreement and then build slowly on successive revisions. This would require sending a nuncio to Beijing to manage all the existing threads. The second solution would be to first reach a comprehensive agreement, then have normalization, and finally send a nuncio to Beijing.

Some middle-ranking officials on both sides, concerned with the actual implementation of the agreement, would prefer the latter. Top leaders might go for the former, as they are interested in benefiting from the broad political fallout of the agreement or starting to sort out practically the local complications of the life of the Chinese Church.

Despite the larger friction, there is growing trust between the two sides. China and the Holy See reached a common agreement for the man who became bishop of Beijing last year, after the demise of Fu Tianshan. Fu had been appointed by the government but not recognized by Rome. Conversely, in 2007, through intense consultations, Beijing and Rome jointly picked young Li Shan (born in 1965) for the prestigious and symbolic position of Bishop of Beijing, virtually the head of the Chinese Catholic Church.

Furthermore, for the first time since the departure of the last nuncio in 1951, the Chinese government agreed to let four Catholic priests celebrate a mass per week during the Olympics. The masses will be in five foreign languages (Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Korean) at three central churches. English-language masses are already celebrated by Chinese priests. The masses are intended for the foreign community that will flock to Beijing during the Olympics and Paralympics period, which lasts until September 20, and thus their political impact can be minimized. However, it is a major political event as the government will concede about 50 occasions (about the total number of masses) to foreign, uncontrollable priests who will preach the Catholic creed in “communist” Beijing. It is clear proof of a new trust between China and the Holy See.

Yet, in the end, both sides are clear that the agreement cannot be just a political barter over small clauses on a piece of paper. Present China is the continuity of a millennial tradition, while Vatican represents the inheritance of only 30 centuries of Western civilization. All the way to the present, in agreement with or opposition to it, the Christian tradition has been largely defined by Rome.

If these two traditions manage to find common cultural grounds and a deeper dialogue, beyond the petty economic or political bartering, relations between China and Western world could be in place.

In the end, what also matters will be finding shared values that go beyond the issue of national integrity, something that was forced onto China by Western powers during colonial times. Before adapting to “modern Western concepts” of a nation-state, China was something close to the American melting pot: You could speak Chinese, you behaved like a Chinese person, and therefore you were Chinese—despite the color of your hair, the color of your skin, or even your accent.

Meanwhile, in the West: “In their rebellion against Christianity, the nations of Europe have exhausted and demoralized themselves. After the catastrophes of the past century, they are ­neither Christian nor nationalist.”[5]

In China, influential thinkers such as Zhao Tingyang, Huang Ping, Li Xiaoning, Qiao Liang, and Wang Xiangsui are striving to elaborate new doctrines that would go beyond the notion of nation as the post-Westphalian nation-state imposed on China since the 19th century. In this sense, their effort appears parallel to a similar elaboration going on in the USA. However, this is a separate subject that goes beyond the scope of the present article.

This new cultural project should be the real basis for the renewal of international organizations such as the UN, the IMF, et cetera, which are now becoming outdated.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Holy-Stir happens in Hollister

Jul 24, 2008
By Chuck Flagg


Some people think religion is a competition. They think that pastors, congregations, even parishioners are rivals, competing against each other to have the largest membership, most elaborate building or largest budget in town.

Hollister, the county seat of San Benito County and best known for its annual motorcycle rally, seems to belie this idea. There a heterogeneous group of pastors who are combining their efforts and are working together to show unity of spirit among Christians of different faith traditions.

Five pastors regularly meet in a back booth of a local diner on Wednesday mornings:

- The Rev. Bob Rufener, Abundant Life Four Square Church.

- The Rev. Ardyss Golden, Hollister United Methodist Church.

- The Rev. Matthew Trasek, Trinity Lutheran Church.

- The Rev. Jonathan Hughes, First Presbyterian Church.

- The Rev. Rudy Ruiz, St. Benedict-Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.

Although not every minister attends every meeting and others sometimes attend, this is the core membership for Hollister's "Holy-Stir."

The group began meeting about two years ago when the pastors noticed that the anxiety level was rising in the community. One response was to inaugurate a series of ecumenical worship opportunities, bringing together as many residents as possible around various aspects of the theme of "peace."

These services have been held at many churches in a rotating schedule following the same format:

- Scripture readings

- Music

- Brief talks by all the clergy in attendance

- Prayer

The clergy involved in this endeavor have gained much from belonging to the group. They consider it a support mechanism, a place to share confidentially the struggles and concerns in their own lives. Sometimes good advice is the result, but often just having a caring listener can ease burdens.

Holy-Stir has also broadened the perspective of these clergy. They have been exposed to a wider range of spirituality than is present in any one denomination. They stretch each other to appreciate and recognize aspects of their common faith that could be barriers in other contexts.

Even these joint services have served this purpose. Pastor Rufener gives the example of an Ash Wednesday service in which he participated. Ashes were applied to the foreheads of worshippers, and he observes, "At first I didn't feel comfortable with this, and it's not something I would do in my church. But I gained an understanding of how such an ancient rite could have deep meaning for some people."

Other pastors mention the differences in music among the churches or even how building architecture influences worship in different churches.

Jesus of Nazareth famously prayed that all his followers "would all be one." In Hollister it appears that many people are striving for that spiritual goal.

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Religous survey looks at prayer, heaven, hell, hollywood, etc

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by Tracy Simmons

On USA Today’s web site there is an interactive in-depth look at Pew’s recent religious survey. Check it out here. Here are some highlights:

Question 1: Do Hollywood and the entertainment industry threaten your values? Mormons, yes, 67 percent.

Question 2: Which statement comes closer to your own views? The choices: a) society should accept homosexuality b) society should discourage homosexuality c) other. Other faiths, a, 84 percent.

Question 3: What factors most influence your thinking about government and public affairs? Sixty percent of Jehovah’s Witnesses said religious beliefs.

Question 4: Do you believe there are clear and absolute standards for what is right and wrong? Jehovah Witness, completely agree, 55 percent.

Question 5: When it comes to questions of right and wrong, which do you most look to for guidance? Jehovah Witness, religion, 73 percent.

Question 6: Aside from weddings and funerals, how often do you attend religious services? Unaffiliated, seldom or never, 72 percent.

Question 7: Do you believe there is a heaven, where people have led good lives are eternally rewarded? Mormons, yes, 95 percent.

Question 8: Do you think there is a hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished? Jehovah Witness, no, 88 percent.

Question 9: Only one religion, or many religions lead to eternal life? Hindu, many religions lead to eternal life, 89 percent.

Question 10: Is there only one true way to interpret the teachings of your religion? Buddhist, no, 90 percent.

Question 11: Should your church preserve traditional beliefs, adapt them, or adopt modern ones? Mormon, preserve traditional beliefs, 68 percent.

Question 12: Outside of attending a religious service, how often do you pray? Jehovah Witness, every day, 89 percent.

Question 13: How often do you receive a definite answer to a specific prayer request? Jehovah Witness, at least once a week, 37 percent.

What religion are you and how would you answer these questions?

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Believers see many paths to heaven

Most Americans believe in God but not dogma

By CATHY LYNN GROSSMAN • USA Today • June 24, 2008

Newly released data from a major survey find that most U.S. adults range far from knowing or caring about the distinctive teachings of their professed faith.

They believe overwhelmingly (92 percent) in God and 58 percent say they pray at least once a day. But when it comes to specific religions they're all over the map, say the latest data from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Pew's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey questioned 35,000 Americans, nearly three in 10 of whom profess no religious identity but sometimes go to church. Most evangelicals, whose denominations teach that Jesus is the sole route to salvation, instead say people who have "led good lives" go to heaven. Only one in three Catholics say their church should preserve its traditional beliefs rather than change with the times or adopt modern practices.

Pew released demographic data in February from the survey, conducted in May through August 2007. This new installment focuses on questions about religious beliefs and practices, spiritual experiences, and views on society and politics.

Diversity and complexity

This analysis, based on a questionnaire that never mentions Jesus, portrays a nation of "free-flowing spirituality," said Pew Forum Director Luis Lugo, who finds the declining adherence to dogma "stunning."

When Green and Lugo factor in Pew's February findings that 44 percent of adults say they've switched to another religion or none at all, Lugo said, "You have to wonder: How do you guarantee the integrity of a religious tradition when so many people are coming or going or following ideas that don't match up?"

You can't, said the Rev. Frank Page, of Taylors, S.C., immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

Page said people don't know their faith because "Gospel, once clearly preached in virtually every Protestant church, is rarely heard in the 21st century. The number who teach a clear doctrinal Christianity are a minority today. How would people know it when they never hear about how to be saved?"
Individualism vs. church

Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sees in the numbers that Catholics, like everyone else, are shaped by an individualistic culture. "People are trained to trust only their own spiritual experience," he said.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

June 22 - Galileo Sentenced for Believing Sun Is Center of Universe

June 22, 2008 12:10 AM

On June 22, 1633, a Vatican Inquisition passed down judgment on Galileo Galilei for his writings and teaching of the Copernicus Theory.

A brilliant scientific mind in 17th century Florence, Galileo, was forced to renounce his work and writings concerning the theories of Nicolaus Copernicus, who had suggested that the sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe.

Directly contradicting Biblical thought in the eyes of dogmatic critics, the Copernicus Theory was a subject Galileo embraced and studied for much of his life.

Promoting it in his writings and lectures early in his life, Galileo was first admonished by the Papacy in 1617.

However, the existence of an official injunction at the time instructing him to remain silent on the subject remains a source of controversy.

It was this injunction that would seal his fate when he was ordered to stand trial before a council of cardinals in the spring of 1633 to explain the publication of a Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems—a text that many found to validate the teachings of Copernicus.

Papal critics were especially angry that the text was written in such a way to bring the message to a wider audience, outside the scientific world.

Called to Rome from his home in Florence, Galileo immediately distanced himself from his work, though whether his words came out of necessity or actual regret remains a mystery.

Weak and unhealthy at age 70, Galileo was unable to defend charges that he had contradicted the church’s earlier ruling or remember what it had said.

At the mercy of the Inquisition, the Church body charged with seeking out heretics, Galileo endured a trial that lasted months before finally being ordered to renounce his views.

The trial signaled a debate between the church and science that has lasted centuries.

The trial resulting in Galileo’s renouncement of his belief of the sun’s role as the center of the universe lasted months and required a 23-day journey from Florence to Rome—a taxing and exhausting experience for the 70-year-old scientist.

Galileo’s career

Born in the Italian city of Pisa in 1564, Galileo claimed a number of discoveries during his lifetime, studying time intervals, motion and first theorizing that, regardless of their weight, objects fell at the same speed in a vacuum. However, it was his study of the Copernicus Theory that eventually led him to run afoul of the Church.

Galileo’s life was rich with study and discovery, including the development of the refractor telescope—one of two standard telescopes used today alongside Sir Isaac Newton’s reflector. Galileo used this telescope to observe the movement of the moons of Jupiter, strengthening his faith in the teachings of Copernicus.

Mistreatment of Galileo by the Vatican

Contrasting with reports that Galileo had been mistreated during his trial, and possibly abused in an effort to make him renounce his beliefs, the Vatican’s Secretary of Doctrinal Congregation, Archbishop Angelo Amato, claimed the Church had actually treated him quite well. In 2003, Amato disputed claims that he had been mistreated, citing church documents stating that he had been hosted in the Vatican lawyer’s apartment and treated with every courtesy during his stay in Rome.

After centuries of allegations of mistreatment, the Catholic Church began to rethink its approach to Galileo in 1979 when Pope John Paul II suggested an analysis of how the trial had occurred. A formal apology followed in 2000 and earlier this year, a statue of the scientist was announced, which will be erected outside the apartment where Galileo stayed while awaiting trial.

Science vs. religion

The trial of Galileo has been cited throughout history as a part of the ongoing debate between science and religion, often by scientists who point to the scientist as a “martyr” for scientific persecution at the hands of dogmatic critics.

NASA named the first satellite to closely monitor Jupiter after Galileo, thanks to his achievements in the field of astronomy. The satellite became the first to pass an asteroid, observe a moon of an asteroid and directly observed a comet colliding with an asteroid. It was plunged into Jupiter’s dense atmosphere and lost in 2003.

The Church vs. Galileo

The centuries-old debate between the Church and science does not necessarily have to continue, argued Philip Meyer in USA Today earlier this year. The two explanations for life can indeed coexist and can actually support one another. “Religion is about the mystery. Science is about figuring out what works in the material world. There is no danger that science will ever deprive us of the mystery,” said Meyer.

While the Catholic Church has since backed away from its judgment of Galileo, notably with an official apology in 2000, it has often defended its 17th century actions by pointing out that the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe was considered common scientific knowledge at the time.

Source: Catholic.com

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Agnostic feels a tug after Sunday in church

by Steve Lopez
May 11, 2008

Page one. Click on "external link" to see the complete article.


I'm coming up on 40 years of slogging through life without any religious affiliation, and for the most part, I have no regrets. Last Sunday, though, I was standing before a couple hundred members of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena and found myself envious.

I had been asked to talk about my three-year friendship with a musician who slept on the streets of skid row when we first met.

Life with Mr. Nathaniel Ayers is opera, with great soaring arias and sudden crashes, I told the parishioners. I feel good about having found ways to help this man whose promising career ended with a breakdown 35 years ago. But at times, I worry that my good intentions have brought him more attention than he might have wished.

In describing the journey, the soul-searching and the rewards of giving, I used the words "spirituality" and "grace." As I did, I saw people nodding as if I belonged in that room with them.

But wait. I'm an agnostic, and quite content.

So why did I feel such a connection? Could my stubborn resistance to faith be slipping?

No way, I told myself after leaving the church. Religious fervor has done an awful lot of harm in the world, dividing people, sparking wars, producing an endless parade of charlatans and hustlers.

And just look at how religion is playing out in the presidential campaign, with the running battle over which candidate is linked to the worst and most hypocritical human being who claims to speak for God.

Is it Sen. John McCain, who sought the support of televangelist John Hagee? Hagee, you'll recall, referred to the Catholic Church as "the whore of Babylon" and said God whipped up Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for sins that included "a homosexual parade."

Or is it Barack Obama, who recently had to distance himself from his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.? Rev. Wright suggested in a sermon that the phrase "God bless America" should really be "God damn America."

He also offered congregants his theory that the government created the HIV virus to kill off blacks, and recently said that the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, who is seen by many as an anti-Semite, is one of recent history's leading voices.

I spoke about all of this with my wife, whose beliefs and non-beliefs are similar to mine. She mentioned that our daughter, just shy of 5, had asked a couple of questions lately about people who practice different faiths and what it all means.

I've always felt that what we believe in and how we live are the only forms of spiritual guidance we need to give our daughter. But maybe that's the lazy man talking -- the one who used to skip Catholic church on Sunday and watch ballgames on TV instead.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt, my wife and I agreed, if we were to show our daughter that our values are important enough to us to clear time and to celebrate and honor them in a ritualistic way.

I don't know that either of us is ready to make a decision about all of this, but I did go back to All Saints a few days after my appearance at the Rector's Forum to mull things over with the Rev. J. Edwin Bacon Jr.

I felt a bit of a tug, I confessed to Bacon, while speaking to his parishioners. Bacon, who missed my presentation but later watched it on video, said he sensed there was "a moment" in the room in which we all connected. I was speaking about giving, he said, which releases the divine in all of us.

"Martin Luther King is my north star," said Bacon, who grew up in Georgia. As a young man, he met King, whose work he calls a "prophetic vision, a blend of spirituality and justice, spirituality and peace."

In this week's Sunday sermon, he said, he would talk about how the Rev. Wright comes out of that same tradition of identifying injustice and demanding change.

"The role of the church is not to be the servant of the state but to be critical of the state, and that's where Jeremiah gets it right," Bacon said. "The role is to stand with those who have been marginalized and say to the state, 'You can do better.' "

But Wright went off course with some of his comments, and his ego didn't serve him well, Bacon said. It's one thing to question connections between U.S. foreign policy and the rise in terrorism, Bacon said, but another thing entirely to suggest that God should damn America.

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Keeping the faith? More people look inward to find peace

By Amie Jo Schaenzer
The Reporter ajschaenzer@fdlreporter.com

People, apparently, are pretty wishy-washy when it comes to religion.

A recent study conducted by the Pew Forum -- one of the largest and most extensive of its kind -- shows Americans are switching religions and choosing to be "unaffiliated" more than ever before, said Brian H. Smith, chairman for the department of religion at Ripon College.

Organized religion throughout the nation, as well as locally, is on the decline, with nearly 16 percent of all men and women today not belonging to any particular affiliation.

The extensive survey released in February shows more than one-quarter of American adults, 28 percent, have either left the church they were raised in or have chosen no religion at all, according to the PewUnited States Religious Landscape Survey.

Smith said the sharp increase locally in contemporary, non-denominational Christian churches shows residents are opting for the more "upbeat services" over the traditional types of worship offered by mainstay Catholic and Protestant churches.

Ken Nabi heads one of the largest evangelical churches in Fond du Lac, Community Church, and says his congregation has seen steady growth over the past 28 years, with a current weekend attendance of 850 to 900 members.

He said many choose Community Church, N6717 Streblow Drive, because the message offered is more in-tune as to what people today want to hear.

Why?

Today, more than in years past, people are looking inward to find peace and longstanding types of worship do not offer the type of spiritual escape they want, Smith said.

"Today, people want an emphasis on the goodness of a person and not so much that they've sinned and they're bad," Smith said. "Traditional services do not nourish their spirit."

Likewise, the Pew research shows the makeup of some of the more traditional types of religion is changing: While 51.3 percent of Americans today claim to be Protestants, the group is fading, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church experienced one of the greatest net losses because of affiliation changes, according to the survey, with one in three Americans being raised Catholic and only 1 in four sticking with Catholicism today.

Despite the changes, the vast majority is still affiliated to a Christian religion. According to Pew research, 78.4 percent of Americans are Christians, while 4.7 percent belong to other religions, including 1.7 percent who are Jewish and 0.7 percent who are Muslim.

In Fond du Lac, changes in religious affiliation have proven gradual, said Michael Ketterhagen, associate professor of theology at Marian University.

Traditions among young people

One in four Americans ages 18 to 29 say they are not affiliated with a religion, according to the survey. Many in this age group —whom Smith teaches at Ripon College — he refers to as "nightstand Buddhists." They keep a Buddhist statue on their nightstand, he said, read Buddhist text because they like the message, but do not practice the religion.

This translates into cherry-picking highly individualized ways to be spiritual and seek faith, Ketterhagen said.

"They pray at night and they get involved in organized religion less," he said. "They still have a strong commitment to connect with God or their own personal spirituality that they call all different types of names. It's more personal and they will pray at night, meditate or go out in the woods to be closer to nature."

In the past, young people have left the church during their high school and college years only to return when they got married and settled down. The Pew survey suggests that is less likely to happen with today's youth.

Smith thinks this demographic niche will continue to mix and match religions to fit their needs, instead of returning to their childhood church. He envisions a type of spiritual smorgasbord — drawing upon Buddhism, for meditation; Judaism, for ethics; and the Lutheran religion for its Christmas and Easter services.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Book Review: Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope

April 22, 2008
reviewed by Todd Friesen


Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope
by Brian McLaren
Thomas Nelson

Brian McLaren may not eat locusts or wear clothing made of camel's hair. But in Everything Must Change, this modern-day prophet issues a piercing critique of a U.S. church which, he says, too often serves as a force of "domestication, resignation, pacification, and distraction" rather than "liberation and transformation." All the while, a perfect storm of global crises gathers ominously on the horizon. But like the prophets of old, McLaren balances his warnings of impending doom with a compelling invitation "to defect" from the world's "suicide system" and to join Jesus' nonviolent insurgency of peace, generosity and sustainable living.

McLaren taught college English for 18 years and pastored the nondenominational church he founded in Spencerville, Maryland, for 24. In the past decade he has become a leading voice in the Emergent church movement and a prolific and sometimes controversial author. In 2005, Time magazine named him one of the "25 most influential evangelicals in America." Everything Must Change is a sequel to an earlier book, The Secret Message of Jesus (2006), in which he focused on the kingdom of God. In his new book, McLaren asks: "What would change if we applied the message of Jesus—the good news of the kingdom of God—to the world's greatest problems?"

This book's most significant contribution is its incisive look at the competing "framing stories" of our world and of Jesus Christ. McLaren argues that the world's crises are being driven by a powerfully destructive and covert narrative. This story tells us that we are godlike creatures who are free to live without moral or ecological limits and that we exist merely to consume products and experience maximum pleasure. The devastating consequences of this story are becoming increasingly evident in our families, communities and environment.

McLaren convincingly argues that Jesus exposed and confronted this suicidal story, which already existed in his own day, and offered a radically different one. His new framing story tells us that we have been created not "to shop" but to live in loving relationship with our Creator, one another and creation. This new narrative gathers us into faith communities that proclaim and embody God's liberating and nonviolent love. It leads us not to escape our troubled world but to engage its crises so God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Evoking September 11, McLaren provocatively writes that the followers of Jesus are called to "fly airplanes of generosity into towers of need and plant improvised encouragement devices [IEDs] by roadsides and in neighborhoods everywhere."

In a book so focused on the dominant systems of our day, I found it surprising that McLaren mentions only once the New Testament's theme of principalities and powers (Colossians 1), and then only tangentially in his closing chapter. His analysis of the destructive potential of our world's structures would have been strengthened if he had integrated this crucial concept.

McLaren clearly recognizes that it is going to take more than a book to inspire American Christians to engage the urgent global crises of our day. It will require a profound transformation in our worship life, in what we sing about, and in the kinds of sins we confess each Sunday. With some fellow musicians, McLaren has recorded a CD called Songs for a Revolution of Hope to begin to fill this vacuum. He is also trying to connect with the younger, media-savvy generation by posting clips about his book's central ideas on YouTube and maintaining a Web site (www.deepshift.org) as a venue for further conversation.

As a pastor of a congregation in Chicago's wealthy suburbs, I found this book tremendously compelling, challenging and troubling. Everything Must Change left me asking two questions: What does defection look like when it is practiced by faithful Christian communities in the United States? And where in our nation are Jesus' followers actually making radical changes commensurate with the urgent crises we face and providing one another with the mutual support necessary to sustain this new way of living? McLaren's most recent work begs for its own sequel.


Todd Friesen is lead pastor of Lombard Mennonite Church in Lombard, Illinois.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Book Review: How did we become so anxious?

by Judith Timson
March 18, 2008

In her compulsively readable new book, A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours & Mine), Toronto author Patricia Pearson reports that more than 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety.

Ms. Pearson herself has battled her way back from debilitating anxiety attacks, one of which involved frantically ordering crates of freeze-dried vegetables in case the pandemic flu hit and there was no fresh food available.

After reading her book, rich in humour and insight, I came to the grateful conclusion that I was (barely) within the normal range of anxiety. I know people who are not so lucky, burdened with clinical anxiety that inhibits their lives.

But how did we all get so anxious? It can't all be from watching CNN.

Ms. Pearson thinks anxiety is spreading through our culture because "we need, on a collective, cultural and spiritual level, to grow." There's also the matter of control - we wish desperately to control what is going to happen to us, and if modern life has rammed home anything to us, it is that we have little control.

Workplace angst is a major component of this modern condition. Julie McCarthy, a professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management, says new statistics show that "in North America, 25 per cent of workers feel anxious most days in a week and that 44 per cent are anxious about losing their jobs."

I can believe that. Our jobs are insecure, the demands of new technologies are overwhelming and our bosses, suffering from bottom-line anxiety themselves, just aren't very nice to us any more. Hence the feeling of working throughout the day with your stomach clenched.

Of course the flipside of workplace anxiety involves workaholics using their jobs to keep all their other anxieties at bay. Self-medication through BlackBerry use. If I'm at work, the feeling goes, I can control the universe. If I'm at work, I don't have to be thinking about all the other things in my life that make me anxious.

But it's the kids I'm really worried about.

Ms. Pearson argues that anxiety in young adults is about the search for emotional attachment, but my guess is that low-grade (and not clinical) anxiety is exacerbated by a number of factors - including seeing their parents worried about money, work and health all the time, not to mention transmitting a hyper-realized state of global anxiety (cyber-terrorist attacks, anyone?). Children's anxiety can also be heightened by overweening parenting. (I shudder when I remember how overprotective I was of my children, "streetproofing" them into such paranoia that they probably thought they were living in a Martin Scorsese movie).

And certainly there's the foreboding sense many kids of all ages have that they simply have to succeed. Or else. A long-time philosophy professor told me he has never seen such driven students as the ones today: "They know that the world is no longer their oyster, that they can't depend on it to validate them, and that they have to differentiate themselves."

It's no wonder, then, with all this anxiety, that people young and old are desperate for ways, pharmaceutical and otherwise, to calm down and cope.

Ms. Pearson, having given up on medication, hints that visiting her local church is doing her a world of good. Others look to yoga and its calming properties, and there are lineups to get into "mindfulness programs," which teach people how to find the "stillness" at the centre of their beings.

The birth of anxiety as the disease of our times has actually been a progression from the paranoia of the 1960s, which became the depression of the 1980s and 1990s, and is now presenting as anxiety in the 21st century. What's next?

It would be nice to think that all our relaxation techniques will eventually pay off, that serenity will rule and the calm will inherit the earth.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Society diverges on idea of need to attend church

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More Christians turn to non-traditional paths

SURVEY RESULTS

For decades, Christians -- four of every five American adults who identified themselves as Christians -- assumed they had one legitimate way to practice their faith: through involvement in a conventional church. A study from The Barna Group, which examines cultural trends and the Christian church, shows a majority now believe they have legitimate alternatives which are "a complete and biblically valid way for someone who does not participate in the services or activities of a conventional church to experience and express their faith in God."


* Engaging in faith activities at home, with one's family; acceptable by 89 percent.


* Being active in a house church; 75 percent.


* Watching a religious television program; 69 percent.


* Listening to a religious radio broadcast; 68 percent.


* Attending a special ministry event, such as a concert or community service activity; 68 percent.


* Participating in a marketplace ministry; 54 percent.


Less than 50 percent consider other alternatives to be biblically valid, including faith-oriented Web sites (45 percent) and participating in live events via the Internet (42 percent).


Used with permission of The Barna Group (www.barna.org), a marketing research company in Ventura, Calif., that studies cultural trends and the Christian church.

Can you be a legitimate Christian without going to church?

The question dates back to the earliest days of Christianity when post-resurrection adherents struggled to define doctrine in the decades after Christ's earthly departure. In letters to various first-century faith communities, the fledgling church's earliest theologian, Paul, wrote that individual Christians are members of the "body of Christ."

Times have changed -- dramatically -- at least according to a recent national survey of American adults.

A report from The Barna Group showed a majority of adults believe several alternatives to conventional church membership are legitimate ways to practice Christianity. The alternatives included sitting at home and watching a religious television program, which 69 percent said was "a complete and biblically valid way" to express faith in God, according to the Barna survey conducted in December.

Not surprisingly, the question of whether one can be a Christian without going to church drew strong opinions in a random survey of residents.

Some adamantly asserted the only way to be an authentic Christian is through a conventional church, where like-minded believers are educated and enabled to live following the divine example of Christ.

Others view God's grace as totally providential and not limited to dispensation through an earthly vessel.

Attitudes changing

Not too long ago, the Barna organization said most American adults -- four out of five identified themselves as Christians -- assumed the only legitimate way to practice their faith was through a conventional church. Barna is a marketing research company in Ventura, Calif., that studies cultural trends and the Christian church. But in recent decades, Barna said the pendulum has swung toward what some describe as non-traditional practices.

As a result, membership in organized Christian churches has declined in recent years, according to a 2008 yearbook prepared by the National Council of Churches. Among the 25 largest denominations, only Jehovah's Witnesses, with 1.07 million members, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with 5.78 million adherents, noted significant increases -- 2.25 percent and 1.56 percent, respectively.

Four other denominations gained members since the 2007 yearbook -- Southern Baptists, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Roman Catholic and Assemblies of God -- but the growth rates ranged only from 0.19 percent to 0.87 percent.

In a news release, yearbook editor Eileen W. Linder said 20- and 30-somethings might attend worship and other religious activities, but resist becoming official members of conventional churches.

Their reticence can lead to a religious "freedom" that is contrary to biblical teaching, Sorber said.

Many mainline Protestant and Catholic churches are feeling the pinch caused by "lone ranger" Christians.

A changing culture

The question can probably be debated endlessly and can arise in the most unlikely of settings. Several years ago, singer Bono of U2 told Rolling Stone magazine that even though he is a "believer," he finds it difficult to be around other believers. "They make me nervous. They make me twitch," he was quoted as telling an interviewer in 2005.

The only certainty is the changing face of religion, particularly Christianity, in America, which is a contributing factor to faith practices becoming less dependent on religious institutions.

Whether one accepts or rejects non-traditional practices or conventional churches, surveys show adults are an increasingly diverse and pluralistic lot who are willing to abandon their childhood faith for other options.

According to a recent national study, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found roughly 44 percent of American adults since their childhoods have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

"People will be surprised by the amount of movement by Americans from one religious group to another -- or to no religion at all," Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, said in a news release.

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Monday, March 10, 2008

Journeys of faith can take different paths

March 8, 2008 6:00 a.m.

By Rosa Salter Rodriguez

When a recent national survey found that 44 percent of respondents had switched from the faiths in which they were raised, it was hardly news to Craig Smith of Fort Wayne.

After all, he’s one of the switchers.

A city firefigher, Smith, 37, was brought up Roman Catholic in Illinois and was married in the church. But by the time he got divorced in his early 30s, he’d fallen away from practicing the faith of his childhood. Still, he felt the need for spiritual sustenance.

“I kept trying to go back to the Catholic Church,” he says. “And every time I’d go, when I’d leave, I’d feel either uninspired or angry over something I’d heard. And you don’t want to feel that way about your church.”

After trying several Protestant denominations, including Methodism and Lutheranism, Smith ended up at Fort Wayne’s Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren.

“I really found my home there,” he says.

Indeed, many Fort Wayne-area residents who responded to a request from The Journal Gazette last week to discuss changing faiths say they’ve gone on journeys that led them away from their religious roots. Residents were asked for their stories in light of the findings of the Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, one of the largest studies of its kind.

Local residents say they did not take changing faiths lightly. Most say it took years, or even a lifetime to come to the decision, and many said they studied doctrine and practices thoroughly before switching.

None who responded cited reasons such as the proximity of a particular church to their home, the influence of a charismatic pastor or a desire to keep peace within their family as reasons for switching.

Several said they pursued their decision to switch although it was upsetting to family members or friends.

Some of those who switched faiths said they were prompted by unpleasant experiences in their former churches.

Michelle Bibbo, 38, of Fort Wayne, a former Catholic, says she felt shunned when she had a child out of wedlock. She is now a happy Lutheran, and so are her husband, Robert, and her children.

“They (Lutherans) had a lot of the same beliefs and values but were not so judgmental about your past,” she says. “They didn’t look at me as a perpetual sinner. I felt welcomed and relieved to be able to be honest about who I was.”

With her husband and son-in-law William Born about to be deployed by the Army to Iraq, Bibbo says she’s more grateful than ever to have found a church home.

“Religion brings comfort and safety and other things that you just can’t describe, especially now with the way the world is,” she says.

Others say they switched because they no longer believed what their previous church taught.

Bill Voors, 57, of Fort Wayne, a former Catholic, says he had increasing trouble accepting the Catholic belief of transubstantiation. “Actually eating flesh and drinking blood (in the Eucharist) got to be almost repulsive to me,” says the member of Fort Wayne’s Plymouth Congregational Church, which is part of the United Church of Christ.

Experts say economic, social and geographic mobility, marriage among members of different religions, the rise of minority religions in America such as Buddhism and Islam, and individualized faith styles are key reasons for the religious turnover. About 16 percent of Pew respondents said they were unaffiliated with any tradition, although many of those said personal spirituality was part of their life.

Some analysts say the findings reflect Americans’ consumer mentality.

“As with most things, for Americans, religion is a consumer product. But it’s not brand loyalty you can rely on,” the Rev. Eileen Lindner, a Presbyterian minister who edits the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches told The Associated Press.

Affiliation is dependent on “marketing, location and other things,” she says, adding: “Denominations have been slow to react to that.”

Regardless of where local faith changers have landed, most say they respect and learned a great deal from their former faiths.

“I don’t regret the other churches I attended, and I have received spiritual wealth from each different experience,” says Deemer, mentioning the “wonderful Wesley hymns” from the Methodist tradition and the evangelical zeal and biblical knowledge of the Baptists. “I think we should be joyous about the spiritual journeys of others and not judgmental.”

It teaches tolerance, says Smith, whose family now includes his mother, still a devout Catholic; his brother, a non-denominational evangelical Protestant, and his father, who is unaffiliated.

“We’re so fortunate that we live in America and we can practice the faith we believe. What a blessing that is,” Voors says. “It’s the most important thing in life, to follow the light within.”

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Monday, January 28, 2008

Odyssey Catholics

December 28, 2007

Young and restless, tenuously connected to their faith

Please click on "External source" for complete article, and interviews with three "millenials."