TruthBook Religious News Blog

By COURTNEY WOO

Evangelical pastor Ken Wilson's environmental conversion began a few years ago with goose bumps, watery eyes and an appeal for help.

"I heard Gus Speth, the dean of forestry at Yale, say to a group of religious leaders, 'I used to think the top environmental problems facing the world were global warming, environmental degradation and eco-system collapse, and that we scientists could fix those problems with enough science,' " Wilson recalls. " 'But I was wrong. The real problem is not those three items, but greed, selfishness and apathy. And for that we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that. We need your help.' "

Back home, Wilson thought more about passages in the Bible containing messages of stewardship for the Earth. He began preaching about a Christian duty to protect the environment, or "creation care," at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor, Mich., where he is senior pastor.
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"It was like I was popping a cork," Wilson says. "People came up to me in the lobby after the lectures actually with tears in their eyes, saying thank you for speaking to this issue."

Wilson was surprised to see that many of those people were new to the church.

"There was a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology who came to the church for the very first time for the creation care series, and he said to me, 'Here's a church that is finally talking about science in a positive way and actually cares for the environment.' "

While only 21 percent of Americans report being active in the environmental movement, a 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that nearly 90 percent of Americans described themselves as religious.

"Simply based on the numbers, the faith community could be critically important to the environmental dialogue," says Jerry Lawson, national manager of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Small Business and Congregations Network, a division of EPA that helps congregations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Star estimates that if each of the more than 300,000 houses of worship in the United States cut energy consumption by 10 percent, congregations would save $200 million and would eliminate greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 400,000 cars.

Because of their large numbers, American evangelicals could be a critical component of the burgeoning eco-religious movement. About 59 million Americans identify as evangelical Protestants, according to the 2008 Pew study.

Evangelical attitudes toward environmentalism are complex. As early as 1970, the National Association of Evangelicals equated preservation of natural resources and ecological balance with preservation of God's creation.

But around that time, evangelicals began to clash ideologically with scientists and leaders of the early environmental movement over issues of population control and evolution, Wilson says. Environmentalists advocated abortion as a solution to population control, while evangelicals opposed abortion. Meanwhile, political conservatism began to dominate evangelical thought and environmentalists became associated with liberalism.

Executive Pastor Don Bromley of the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor counts himself a former skeptic of the environmental movement.

"I used to believe stereotypes that environmentalists didn't care about human beings as much as they did the natural world," Bromley says. "They were anti-progress."

Today, those divisions still hold.

The evangelical-oriented Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation questions the science of catastrophic climate change. (Mainstream scientists have concluded that the evidence of warming is unequivocal.) The Alliance argues that mandated reductions of greenhouse gas emissions will cause more harm than good because raising energy prices and cutting consumption will retard the economic development of poor regions plagued by disease, premature death and short life expectancies.

Still, signs of conversion are emerging.

Tri Robinson, 61, is senior pastor of the Vineyard Boise church. Five years ago, he revisited the Bible when his two adult children questioned the absence of environmental messages in the church. Robinson says he, like Wilson, suddenly saw environmental messages everywhere.

"I realized that issues of the environment were killing the poor and were stimulating things like human trafficking," Robinson recalls. "I'd tapped a whole new world I'd never seen before."

Also like Wilson, Robinson preached this message to his congregation. Instead of getting "tarred and feathered," as he'd feared, he received a standing ovation - his first in 25 years.

"It was like he was filling a gap," says parishioner Jessie Nilo, who heard Robinson speak that day. "It strengthened my relationship with God, connecting me to his creation in a new way. It's very freeing to be able to embrace another part of who God is."

Robinson represents a growing number of Christian leaders who, in recent years, are engaging in dialogue at a national level through conferences and interfaith coalitions.

In 2006, 86 evangelical leaders, including Robinson and Wilson, signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative; two years later, 46 Southern Baptist leaders signed a declaration for action on climate change. The Southern Baptist Convention is the country's largest Protestant denomination, with more than 16 million members and 42,000 churches.

Religious leaders from other traditions are also witnessing transformations of attitude among their membership.

"When I first started talking about environmental issues 13 years ago, there were folks who got up and walked out," says the Rev. Sally Bingham, an Episcopal and founder of Interfaith Power and Light, a national interfaith organization promoting energy efficiency and conservation. "Today, these messages are bringing people into the church."

Membership in Interfaith Power and Light has exploded.

The organization has grown from 100 congregations in 2000 to more than 10,000 congregations in 29 states in 2008.

Please click on "external source" to read the rest of this lengthy and informative article.

Labels: church, Courtney Woo, creation Care, environmentalism, evangelicals, Interfaith Power and Light, religion

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

And yet, the Haitians praise God

And yet, the Haitians praise God
Monday January 18, 2010
Categories: Religion

The other night, a day after the Haiti earthquake, ABC News ended its evening broadcast with video of destitute and shell-shocked Haitians standing in the street, singing alleluia. It was a stunning sight. Last night on Fox, Geraldo Rivera reported on a Fox crew that had gone out in search of an orphanage rumored to have been repeatedly assaulted by looters, who stole what little the poor children had. The crew was having trouble finding the place, until they heard the sound of children singing hymns. The footage Fox broadcasted of these children was absolutely heartbreaking (and Fox reported receiving a call from Colorado viewers offering to adopt the kids). This morning, the New York Times reports on how Haitians have responded to the catastrophe by turning to God. Excerpt:

Five days after Haiti's devastating earthquake, an evangelical pastor in a frayed polo shirt, his church crushed but his spirit vibrant, sounded a siren to summon the newly homeless residents of a tent city to an urgent Sunday prayer service.

Voice scratchy, eyes bloodshot, arms raised to the sky, the Rev. Joseph Lejeune urged the hungry, injured and grieving Haitians who gathered round to close their eyes and elevate their beings up and out of the fetid Champ de Mars square where they now scrambled to survive.

"Think of our new village here as the home of Jesus Christ, not the scene of a disaster," he called out over a loudspeaker. "Life is not a disaster. Life is joy! You don't have food? Nourish yourself with the Lord. You don't have water? Drink in the spirit."

And drink they did, singing, swaying, chanting and holding their noses to block out the acrid stench of the bodies in a collapsed school nearby. Military helicopters buzzed overhead, and the faithful reached toward them and beyond, escaping for a couple of hours from the grim patch of concrete where they sought shelter under sheets slung over poles.

In varying versions, this scene repeated itself throughout the Haitian capital on Sunday. With many of their churches flattened and their priests and pastors killed, Haitians desperate for aid and comfort beseeched God to ease their grief. Carrying Bibles, they traversed the dusty, rubble-filled streets searching for solace at scattered prayer gatherings. The churches, usually filled with passionate parishioners on a Sunday morning, stood empty if they stood at all.

Please click on "external source" to access the entire article.

Labels: church, God, grief, Haiti Earthquake, Haitians, Steven Pinker

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Moral dilemma: what will replace the church as our compass?

'There's been a lack of emphasis on the notion that in the end it's the individual who's responsible.'

If, following church scandals, the public is looking for common moral ground, where might they find it?

GERARD CASEY Professor of philosophy, University College Dublin

"I can’t understand people losing faith because of scandals. I’m not making light of what happened, but for me it’s not where faith comes from. Religion and morality are not the same thing, but for most Irish Catholics the two are one and the same. When you tell them the moral code associated with Catholicism is pretty much the same as in any religion, they find it hard to believe.

"You have to get morality from reason – morals are either a set of conventions in a utilitarian way or a real code to live by. The problem with utilitarianism is that morality only survives when the going is good, otherwise it’s every man for himself. There is nothing specifically Catholic about natural law. When you look at what human beings are, you see they have needs and that means we know the kind of actions that are [morally] destructive.

"A classic way of looking at morality is from Confucian philosophy. “There are four concentric circles. The innermost circle is the basic, natural state where we individually are the centre of the universe. We understand this in children and find it quite cute, but it would be sinister in an adult. The next circle is the utilitarian level: we still want things for ourselves, but have to at least simulate an interest in others.

"The breakthrough comes at the next moral level – this is when you recognise that other human beings are exactly like you: each has hopes, dreams and fears. There can be a sense of shock when we realise this.

"The final circle is the transcendent, where the human world is understood in a larger context. Traditionally this has been religious, but it can be other things, such as politics, for example – anything that says there is a dimension above us.

"The key for us as individuals is to match up the emotional and the intellectual sides of our lives. It’s a developmental process and, to some degree, a pattern of habituation."

This is an interview-type article, with the respondents giving their opinions on morality and the Catholic church. In addition to the one one this page, there are several others worth reading. Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: Aileen Fyfe, Ann James, Catholicism, church, David McConnell, faith, Gerard Casey, Martin Downes, morality, priest sex scandal

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Church survey results

Church survey results

Sunday, 06 Sep 2009
Robert Hornacek

Every Sunday, many people gather at church services. But some churches are trying to focus on the people who are not coming to church.

"We want to help connect people to God," said pastor Mark Schmechel from Journey Community Church in De Pere. Schmechel is one of about two dozen pastors in the Green Bay area who will soon be using the results of an on-line survey to try to reach more souls.

"We just want to offer people the hope that we believe as a Christian church," Schmechel said.

The survey was put together by the Green Bay Pastors Network. More than 2,000 people responded to the survey this spring. While the results are still be finalized, some have been released, including some responses from people about their frustrations with local churches.

Please click on "external source" for the complete article, and to see the preliminary results of the survey

Labels: church, God, on-line survey, Robert Hornacek

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Friday, August 14, 2009

Global survey: Kids doubt God but still put trust in parents

By James D. Davis
August 9, 2009

More teens in Malawi believe in ghosts than God.

Many youths in India make more money than their parents.

Nearly half of young Russians say they've tried to commit suicide.

These are just a few of the startling insights turned up by OneHope, a mission support organization in Pompano Beach. The organization, which distributes Bible portions to children, is conducting a massive survey of beliefs and behaviors of the world's 2 billion children younger than 18.

The survey results are on a new website, spiritualstateofthechildren.com, set up in observance of International Youth Day on Wednesday. Taking in 22 nations — from Armenia to Mexico to Uganda — the website includes photos, videos and documents. OneHope plans to add 38 more nations by 2011.

The goal of the study is simple, according to Chad Causey, OneHope's vice president for global ministry: Get adults to hear the young.

"You see a lot of demographic research on them, but when do you hear from them?" Causey says. "We want to make sure society, and especially the church within society, hears them."

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: belief, Chad Causey, children, church, James D. Davis, OneHope, religion

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Technology and the megachurch

July 26, 2009
by Daniel Terdiman

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--If you're in charge of what is thought to be one of the most powerful, influential and important megachurches in the United States, if not the world, how do you make sure that your message is reaching the largest possible audience?

To Brady Boyd, the lead pastor at the New Life Church here, the famous, 10,000-plus member nondenominational church that's directly across Interstate 25 from the Air Force Academy, the answer is technology.

It's not that the New Life Church is light years ahead of anyone else--in fact, it may well even be slightly behind some other churches--but to Boyd the key is that he and his large support team are philosophically open to technology.

As part of Road Trip 2009, I stopped in at the New Life Church for an interview with Boyd. I wanted to know how this megachurch uses technology, and just how important tech is considered. The short answer? A lot.

"Churches have to stay current. We're in the communications business," Boyd told me. "The whole purpose of a church is to communicate a message of truth....We have to stay informed and we have to realize that most of the world is rapidly advancing in their ability to communicate."

In particular, Boyd pointed to Web 2.0 technologies like Facebook and Twitter. He said, in fact, that he Twitters constantly and recently maxed out his number of friends on Facebook.

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: Brady Boyd, church, communications, Daniel Terdiman, megachurches, New Life Church, technology

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Survey: Faith of Blacks Grows Stronger, More Orthodox

By Audrey Barrick
Christian Post Reporter
Sat, Jul. 25 2009

Blacks remain the most religious ethnic group in America, a new study shows.

And over the last 15 years, African Americans have grown even more religious and orthodox in their Christian beliefs, according to The Barna Group.

Findings from surveys that included 1,272 African American respondents reveal that blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again.

African Americans were found to be the most likely ethnic group to consider themselves Christian with 92 percent saying so. Nationally, 85 percent of Americans in general consider themselves Christian. Blacks were also the most likely to be born again Christians (59 percent vs. 46 percent nationally).

Moreover, blacks had the lowest population of unchurched adults and were least likely to be Catholic.

Please click on "external source" for the complete article...

Labels: Audrey Barrick, Barna Group, Bible, Christian, church, faith, religion

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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Churches Face the Boomer Challenge

MIKE HARTON TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Published: July 5, 2009

Two recent conversations haunt me. An old college friend, a leading-edge baby boomer (age 63) whom I knew to be a person of faith in college, told me he and his wife "had given up on the institutional church." The other con versation was with an educated professional friend, also a baby boomer, who describes herself as spiritual but not religious.

These friends' attitudes are consistent with American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS, 2008) findings that more and more of us are claiming no religious affiliation. A similar study by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 16 percent of the population has no religious identity.

Why did my college friends give up on church? Why is my spiritual friend not religious? In light of what we know about both boomers and many churches, it is not hard to speculate.

Baby boomers are as diverse a cohort as we have known. Their religious experiences run the gamut from no affiliation or faith identity to former "Jesus freaks" (from the 1960s) to very involved, regular church attenders. Some who formerly never darkened the doors of a house of worship are now actively engaged. Others who grew up in church have dropped out, many with no intention of returning.

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: ARIS, Baby Boomers, church, faith, Mike Harton, religion, spirituality

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Two-thirds of [English] teenagers don't believe in God... and think reality TV is more important

Mail Foreign Service
22nd June 2009

Nearly two-thirds of teenagers don't believe in God and think that reality television is far more important than religion, new research has revealed.

The survey showed that 66 per cent of teens do not believe a deity exists while 50 per cent have never prayed and 16 per cent have never been to church.

Teenagers rated family, friends, money, music and even reality TV shows above faith.
Children from a London school take part in a service at Westminster Abbey: The numbers of teenagers who believe in God has dwindled

Children from a London school take part in a service at Westminster Abbey: The numbers of teenagers who believe in God has dwindled

Other statistics which emerged from the report included:

* 59 per cent of children believed religion has had a negative influence on the world
* 60 per cent only go to church for a wedding or christening
* Only 30 per cent of teenagers think there is an afterlife...
* ... while 10 per cent believe in reincarnation
* 47 per cent said organised religion had no place in the world
* 60 per cent don't believe Religious Studies should be compulsory in schools
* However, 91 per cent agreed they should treat others the way they wished to be treated themselves

Please click on "external source" for the complete article...the one bright spot - the overwhelming percentage of these teens do believe in some form of the "Golden Rule..."

Labels: church, God, prayer, Reality TV, religion, teenagers

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Mix and match: A faith of one's own

Posted by Michael Paulson June 20, 2009

There's been a lot of talk in the religion world about Americans' increasing habit of choosing their own religious affiliation -- survey research by Pew, in particular, has shown that half of all Americans have changed denomination during their lifetime. But there's been less attention to the ways in which Americans also have a tendency to make faith their own, accepting those beliefs and rituals that they like, and rejecting those they don't, within or outside their denominations.

I was thinking about this this morning, when I attended the funeral for a co-worker, Sarah Snyder, who died June 11 at the age of 51. Sarah was a gutsy and funny woman, and a talented journalist, who was felled much too soon by cancer. She was also, like so many folks in eastern Massachusetts (although she was not from these parts), a cradle Catholic who struggled with, but did not completely reject, her faith.

Her funeral took place at a Unitarian Universalist meetinghouse, First Parish in Milton, that is simultaneously non-creedal but, visually, quite explicitly Christian...

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

Labels: Christian, church, faith, Michael Paulson, religion, Unitarianism

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Friday, June 05, 2009

Praying for peace, our soldiers and our enemies

Sunday, May 31, 2009
By Joe Orso

A certain prayer that church people everywhere seem to say always causes me to pause.

I heard it again last Sunday attending my parents’ church in St. Louis on the day before Memorial Day.

After reading a story about Jesus and giving a sermon, a deacon prayed a petition asking God to protect all of the American soldiers in harm’s way.

It’s not that there is anything wrong with praying for American soldiers...

This is a thoughtful and timely article examining prayer, and our motivations for prayer...please click on "external source" for complete article

Labels: church, intercessory prayer, Joe Orso, soldiers, war

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Friday, May 08, 2009

Catholics lead the exodus

MARK E. RONDEAU, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/04/2009 03:00:24 AM EDT

Monday, May 4
The departure of U.S.-born Roman Catholics from their church is a major factor in the rise of those not affiliated with any religion, as documented by the American Religious Identification Survey, which was released in March.

This crisis exploded into the news in early 2002, after the second of the ARIS surveys in 2001. In Vermont, those identifying as Catholic were 37 percent of adults in the 1990 survey, 38 percent in the 2001 survey and then down to 26 percent in 2008, Silk noted, providing the number for 2001, which wasn't included in the published survey.

A follow-up Pew survey published on April 27 focusing on religious switching asked former Catholics why they had left the faith. This survey offered respondents both a list of reasons to choose from and asked them to explain why they left in their own words. The most chosen response by the religiously unaffiliated from the list was just gradually drifted away from the religion, 71 percent; stopped believing the religion's teachings, 65 percent; "spiritual needs not being met, 43 percent. Other common choices by religiously unaffiliated former Catholics included unhappiness with church teachings on abortion and homosexuality, 56 percent; unhappiness with the treatment of women, 39 percent; and the clergy sexual abuse scandal, 27 percent.

However, there was a difference when religiously unaffiliated Catholics explained their reasons for leaving in their own words. The top reason, at 54 percent of those responding, was disagreement with religious and moral beliefs. While 42 respondents gave reasons for leaving that fell into the broad category of religious institutions, practices and people, only 2 percent of religiously unaffiliated former Catholics listed the clergy sexual abuse crisis as a reason for leaving.

Similarly, 3 percent of former Catholics who had become Protestants listed the clergy sexual abuse crisis as their reason for leaving the Catholic Church. Drifting away from the faith was given by only 4 percent of unaffiliated former Catholics when giving reasons for leaving in their own words.

Labels: ARIS, Catholicism, church, Mark E. Rondeau, priest sex scandal

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Broken connection

Broken connection
Growing number of Christians claim no church affiliation
BY PAM THARP
APRIL 12, 2009

This is the first of a three-page article which is well worth reading. Please click on "external source" to access the complete piece.

Natasha Allen does not have a church she calls home, but she prays every night.

Allen is among a growing number of Americans this Easter with no religious affiliation, a group that's almost doubled in size during the past 18 years, from 8 to 15 percent, according to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) released last month. Fewer Americans also say they are Christians now than did in the 1990 survey.

And even though three-quarters of those polled still identify themselves as Christians, area pastors say the survey is an indicator of a church culture that's not fulfilling its God-given mission.

"Jesus gave us the blueprint and the church is not following it and the church is dying," said Pastor Ocie Poole of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Richmond. "The imperative is to go and teach and the whole thing is driven by love, but too many believers won't do it and they're not concerned about the lost."

The church isn't reproducing itself because some Christian parents have failed to disciple their children in the faith, said Pastor Laura Altman of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Richmond.

"Parents are letting children make their own decisions. Faith has to be taught," Altman said. "You don't get it by osmosis."

ARIS showed few gains in atheism, those who don't believe in God, said Liberty Church of Christ senior minister David Soper. It's the "nones," who have no connection to a church, that are most concerning, he said.

"The 'nones' are a growing trend," Soper said. "People know what the church is against and not what it's for. The church doesn't have good answers to people's problems and it's not addressing the problems they face.

"We've spent too much time in politics rather than living out our lives in Christ and in love. We need to focus on what the church was called to do: serve, love, teach and disciple. That's where the true influence lies."

Labels: ARIS, Christianity, church, Pam Tharp, religion

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Johnson: Religion survey shouldn't be alarming

3/21/2009
Jessica Johnson

Results of the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, released last week, have caused many to ponder the future of Christianity in our nation. The survey found that mainline churches have experienced a sharp decline in membership, while the number of people identifying themselves as nondenominational Christians has been on the rise since 2001.

The highlight that may have been most interesting to many was that the survey concluded the challenge to Christianity in America is not coming from other religions but "from a rejection of all forms of organized religion."

Many Christians like myself have wrestled with "organized religion" in our faith in the same manner the Apostle Paul struggled with the thorn in his flesh. As a child growing up in Ebenezer Baptist Church West in Athens, I always wondered why there were different denominations that claimed to believe in the same God.

Although many Americans today are, according to the ARIS findings, rejecting organized religion, I don't interpret this trend as completely negative for Christianity. I think many people who still profess to be Christians are discarding man-made ordinances - not necessarily the order of the church - to find a more intimate and meaningful relationship with God.

The Bible clearly explains the order of the church in terms of the ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that are to edify the body of Christ, but it also speaks of truly knowing God through a personal walk of faith.

Many of the Christian respondents questioned in the ARIS survey who are non-denominational are most likely looking to fill a spiritual void. Historic mainline churches are known for messages to keep believers on the straight and narrow, which we definitely need, but many people are also yearning for teachings that illustrate how they can get to know God for themselves.

We speak of having faith constantly in the church, but in order to grow in faith one must trust in God. The word "trust" occurs 152 times in the Old Testament, as documented in the Scofield Study Bible, and "trust" is the Old Testament term for faith.

When thinking of how David wrote songs emphasizing trust, such as Psalm 13:5, which reads, "but I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation," it's clear God desires much more from us than just adherence to his statutes.

The ARIS data concerning the state of Christianity in the United States have alarmed many, but I think the numbers reveal something much deeper.

Now, more than ever, many Americans are looking to their faith to sustain them through the trying times they are facing. They are seeking to strengthen the temple within themselves amid uncertainty and apprehension about the future.

It is my prayer that those on this spiritual path, who have discarded the manmade precepts of religion, will find the fulfillment in God for which they have been diligently searching.

Labels: ARIS, Christianity, church, faith, Jessica Johnson, trust

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Author: New forms of religion take shape

By Peter Smith
March 17, 2009

This is the first of a two-page article - interesting...since institutional religion seems to be on the wane, what might take its place? Please click on "external source article" for page two.

Three authors offered an unapologetically radical vision of Christianity at a conference yesterday, saying that churches may actually be able to return to their core principles now that they have lost the cultural dominance they enjoyed in past generations.

And their view of core principles, they contended, is not to focus on personal salvation or getting people into heaven but rather to build communities, fight social injustice and try to solve the urgent problems of the day.

"One of the reasons people get nervous about evangelism is … they don't want to be the marketing department for a narcissistic message," author Brian McLaren said last night at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. "When we discover God is recruiting people to join in the healing of the world, that's a whole different deal. I bet a lot of us … (would) get up and knock on doors for that."

McLaren and authors Diana Butler Bass and Marcus Borg brought those views -- which for years have drawn conservative criticism -- to the seminary's annual Festival of Theology. The festival, which brought an overflow crowd to the seminary's chapel, drew on the theme, "New Ways of Being Church."

The speakers agreed that churches -- particularly historically Protestant denominations that once dominated the social establishment -- face an identity crisis now that their numbers are declining.

A major survey released last week by Trinity College in Connecticut indicated that self-identified Christians have declined from 86 to 76 percent of Americans since 1990, while people with no religion have nearly doubled to 15 percent.

McLaren, author of such books as "Everything Must Change" and "A Generous Orthodoxy," is a leading voice in the "emerging church" movement of church leaders seeking to get past traditional labels of liberal and conservative. The movement seeks to reach a world that has shed many of the institutions and other cultural forms that dominated the 20th century.

McLaren's evangelical critics say his focus on solving social problems undercuts the need to proclaim the gospel.

Labels: Brian McLaren, Christianity, church, Emergent church, intentional community, Peter Smith, social issues

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Friday, March 06, 2009

ASKING THE CLERGY: Is there a relationship between art and religion?

February 28, 2009

Rabbi Johanan Bickhardt, Congregation Beth Sholom, Long Beach:

Without question, there is a powerful relationship between art and religion. Scripture tell us in Genesis 28:2: "You shall make Holy Vestments ... for honor and splendor." The direct commandment to create vestments that are enticing and aesthetically pleasing were to provide splendor into the holy service and bring honor to the office to those who held it. Houses of worship through the centuries always have had an eye for adornment and to create an atmosphere that was spiritually uplifting... In the words of the great 20th century writer Franz Werfel (1890-1945); "Religion is the everlasting dialogue between humanity and God. Art is its soliloquy."

Pastor James Lupis, Grace and Truth Church, Coram:

Since the beginning of time, there has always been a relationship between art and religion. Before the written word, man communicated what he felt and believed by art. I believe that in this world today, which has become mostly visual, art can be a great way to communicate our belief in God...Jesus painted pictures in the minds of men and women in the form of parables. The relationship of art and religion has never been stronger or more important than the time in which we are living. I believe that men and women and especially children can effectively communicate and minister their personal belief in God through art, and more importantly, glorify him in the process.

Pastor Joseph Costa, Blessed Hope Baptist Church, Coram:

...Art, as well as other forms of creativity, such as music or writing, can be a great way to connect with faith. I also am aware that art does not necessarily have to express anything other than that which its author intended. Some art has certain appeal to some, while it may actually be viewed as offensive to others. My church has sponsored a cable show the past seven years, called "Drawing Men to Christ," where a gospel preacher draws as he preaches. It has proved to be successful in that he keeps the attention of his audience by his artwork while at the same time his message of either salvation or sanctification settles into the soul of the listener.

The Rev. Richard Lehman, director of pastoral care, Long Island Council of Churches, Hempstead and Riverhead:

Art is often expressed in religious ideas and symbols...I think it is great to have art in the church. Art is an expression of a person's creativity. The church should always encourage creativity. I'm a musician, which is another creative expression. Some of the greatest music there is was written for the church. Christmas without "The Messiah" would be a distinct loss. The church would be very much at a loss without music and art.

Labels: art, church, clergy, music, Rabbi Johanan Bickhardt, religion, worship

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pew study looks at the religious landscape of African-Americans

by Helen Gray
Feb. 20, 2009

This is the first of a three-page article. Please click on "external source" for complete article.

Through slavery and segregation, the black church has provided hope, unity and sanctuary.

Today African-Americans are the nation’s most religious group. So says a recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

“While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as whole,” says the study’s overview.

Compared to the rest of the population, more African-Americans have a religious affiliation, attend worship, pray frequently and place greater importance on religion in their lives.

The data come from Pew’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, collected in 2007 and released last summer. Pew recently came out with a new analysis of African-Americans.

“Given the inauguration of (Barack) Obama, (Martin Luther) King Day and Black History Month, we thought it would be a good time to look at this subgroup,” Pew researcher Greg Smith said. “This new analysis helps people understand religion in the African-American community, which is a large group.”

The study is in line with other studies that have had similar results, said Lawrence Mamiya, religion and Africana studies professor at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Among the Pew findings:

•Eighty-seven percent of African-Americans say they belong to a particular religious group, compared to 83 percent among the total population.

•Seventy-nine percent say religion is “very important” in their lives, compared to 56 percent of the total population.

•Fifty-three percent say they attend religious services at least once a week, compared to 39 percent of the total population.

•Seventy-six percent say they pray at least on a daily basis, compared to 58 percent of the total population.

•Eighty-eight percent say they are absolutely certain that God exists, compared to 71 percent of the total population.

The religious portrait of African-Americans reveals that they are overwhelmingly Protestant (78 percent), with 59 percent belonging to historically black churches.

Only 12 percent of African-Americans are not affiliated with any particular religion; 5 percent are Catholic; 1 percent are Jehovah’s Witnesses; 1 percent are Muslim; 1 percent are atheist or agnostic; and small fractions are in other faiths.

“What I like about the study is that it indicates diversity in the African-American religious community,” said Anthony Pinn, humanities and religious studies professor at Rice University in Houston.

In reviewing the data for African-American women, Pew researchers concluded that “no group of men or women from any other racial or ethnic background exhibits comparably high levels of religious observance.”

According to the survey, 84 percent of African-American women say religion is very important to them, and 59 percent attend religious services at least once a week.

“Black women often say ‘my pastor’ or ‘my church,’ which denotes a sense of ownership and independence and trust, which they wouldn’t say about other institutions in American society, like they wouldn’t say ‘my Democratic party’ or even ‘my NAACP,’?” Mamiya said.

Additional findings:

•Religious beliefs: In addition to the high belief in God, 55 percent interpret Scripture as the literal word of God compared to 33 percent of the overall population; 83 percent believe in angels and demons compared to 68 percent of the overall population; 84 percent believe in miracles compared to 79 percent of the overall population; and 58 percent are absolutely convinced there is life after death compared to 50 percent of the overall population.

Labels: African-Americans, church, Helen Gray, Pew Religion and Public Life Survey, prayer, religion, worship

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Churches cope with recession

Local religious leaders brace for economic downturn
February 20, 2009 -
BY MATTHEW MCGOWAN

As the American Dream slips toward the shadow of the valley of death, perhaps the recession will place its steepest demands on the steeple.

According to a 2008 survey conducted by The Barna Group, a Christianity and spirituality strategy firm, 20 percent of the more than 1,200 respondents said they decreased their church donations last year as a result of the economic downturn.

In a statement accompanying the survey's results, which were released Dec. 1, the group's founder George Barna said American churches received between $3 billion and $5 billion less than expected during the fourth quarter of 2008. Most churches probably received between 4 percent and 6 percent less revenue than they would expect prior to the recession.

Labels: Barna Group, church, donations, Matthew McGowan, recession

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Poll: One in Three Americans Unfamiliar with Charles Darwin

By Katherine T. Phan
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Feb. 11 2009 08:52 AM EST

This is the first of a two-page article. Please click on "external source" for complete article.

Charles Darwin may be an influential name in the scientific community for the theory of evolution but a new Gallup poll shows that roughly one-third of Americans have no clue who he is or what he’s known for.

Ahead of his 200th birthday celebration on Feb. 12, a Gallup poll conducted over the weekend asked Americans the question: “For what scientific theory is Charles Darwin known?”

The Gallup weekly briefing on Tuesday showed that 55 percent of respondents correctly associated Darwin with the theory of evolution, theory of natural selection or his fundamental work Origin of Species. Another 10 percent gave incorrect answers while the other 34 percent said they didn’t know who Darwin was or what scientific theory he was known for.

“Whether that’s good or bad depends on your perspective,” Frank Newport, Editor-in-Chief of The Gallup Poll, told KETV Channel 7 in Omaha.

“I think most of us would assume that even if you disagree with it that a higher percentage of Americans might at least know who Charles Darwin was or at least if he was associated with the theory of evolution.”
Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Darwin, a 19th century British scientist, developed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection.

During his time, Darwin’s theory was controversial because it was perceived as contradicting the biblical teaching on creation. Nearly 150 years since the publication of his Origin of Species, it remains a highly divisive issue among Americans.

The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life recently released a report showing the American public evenly divided on the question of whether or not evolution is the best explanation for life on earth, with 48 percent agreeing that it is and 45 percent rejecting the notion that evolution best explains the origins of human life.

The Pew Forum survey showed that the views on evolution differed widely across Christian communities. Evangelical Protestants were most likely to reject the idea of evolution (70 percent), according to the report originally released in 2008. Meanwhile, historically black Protestants were more likely than mainline Protestants to disagree that evolution best explains the origins of human life, 51 to 42 percent.

Roughly half of Orthodox Christians and Catholics, however, agreed that evolution best explains the development of life on earth.

As the Pew Forum pointed out, the Catholic Church’s acceptance of the theory comes with the understanding that natural selection is a God-directed mechanism of biological development and that man’s soul is the divine creation of God.

Some mainline churches have taken a similar stance, stating that evolution and creationism do not contradict each other.

While the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has not issued a definitive statement on evolution, it does contend that “God created the universe and all that is therein, only not necessarily in six 24-hour days, and that God actually may have used evolution in the process of creation,” as reported by the Pew Forum.

Another mainline denomination, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) affirms that evolution and the Bible do not contradict each other. But the Presbyterians are cautious and say it “should carefully refrain from either affirming or denying the theory of evolution.”

Rejecting the theory of evolution altogether is the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Southern Baptists affirm their belief that creation science can be backed by scientific evidence “without any religious doctrines or concepts.”

Labels: Charles Darwin, church, evolution, Gallup Poll, Katherine T. Phan, Pew Forum, religion

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Friday, February 06, 2009

Study: Service Attendance, Not Spirituality, May Decrease Suicide Risk

By Aaron J. Leichman
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Jan. 20 2009 11:20 AM EST

Religious individuals have a significantly lower chance of committing suicide, according to the results of a recent study in Canada.

Individuals identifying themselves simply as “spiritual” but not religious, however, are not much less likely to commit suicide than anyone else.

Conducted using data drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey on almost 37,000 Canadians across the country, the latest study by a team of psychiatric researchers based at the University of Manitoba was the first to use national data to look at the relationship between spirituality, religious worship and suicidal behavior in the general population and people with a history of a mental disorder.

However, what was more interesting was the differences between people who call themselves “spiritual” and those who also regularly attend religious services.

According to the data, the former category did not show a decreased inclination to take their lives, suggesting something more was involved that was related to the actual attendance at a religious event occurring in a church, mosque, temple or other spiritual gathering.

Furthermore, among people with a history of mental illness – those at the highest risk of suicide –religious attendance appeared to be associated with a decrease in suicide attempts while simply being “spiritual” was not significant enough to reduce the effect.

Despite the findings, Rasic cautioned against tying the decrease in suicide attempts directly to religious worship.

For most studies dealing with spirituality and religiousness, spirituality is considered as referring to an inner belief system that a person relies on for strength and comfort whereas religiousness refers to institutional religious rituals, practices, and beliefs.

For the recent Canadian study, religiousness was based on a person’s attendance at a religious worship service.

The research results have been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Labels: Aaron J. Leichman, Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, church, religion, spirituality, suicide

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

How pastors are soothing congregants in recessionary times

They search for the right words to express from the pulpit – a balance between compassion and urging worshipers to find deeper meanings.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald | Correspondent / February 3, 2009 edition

RAYMOND, N.H.
When the Rev. Kevin McBride opens his office door on a snowy Sunday morning, he’s ready to preach a good word for tough times. He walks straight into an anxious crowd of cookie-eating people who could really use some deeper sustenance.

Pastor McBride of the Raymond Baptist Church couldn’t be calmer. A narrow-framed man with a mustache and canary-yellow dress shirt, he smiles and jokes easily. Later, at the lectern, he explains why he’s so relaxed: Even when the economy crumbles, God is in control.

For preachers, the so-called Great Recession is doing more than boosting church attendance. It’s challenging clergy to find fitting words for a rare, tender moment when nearly everyone – including preachers – is hurting in a personal, all-too-concrete way. Most sermonizers seem to be making a stab at it, but the tactics and themes in use vary widely.

Some are urging confidence. The Rev. Amandus Derr, senior pastor of St. Peter’s Church in midtown Manhattan, ministers among towering symbols of the financial crisis, such as the neighboring Citigroup building and the office of alleged fraudster Bernard Madoff.

Lately he’s seen a lot of worried faces pressed against his 54th Street office window as hurting people seek help. He gave out $10,000 in emergency aid during the last two weeks of December, up from $2,000 during the same period a year earlier. Attendance at the church’s weekly breakfast for the homeless is up 30 percent, to about 150, since September.

In this economic environment, Pastor Derr has preached one message every week for six months: Be not afraid. “What I worry about most is that people who feel powerless … will find somebody else to blame,” Derr says. “And when you start to blame people, all kinds of things happen from that. It could be anti-Jewish, anti-Arab, anti-elite – a whole list.”

Guidance means a lot now because these are tricky waters for preachers. If they hurl too much fire, they risk being seen as uncompassionate. If they go too soft, they may miss what Larson regards as a precious, crisis-induced window – maybe three or four months – when attentive people are ready to experience a life change, much as they were right after 9/11. Moreover, to call for unwavering generosity and more giving in a time of need could seem self-serving, since a slice of the offering usually goes toward the preacher’s salary.

To make matters even tougher, pastors may already be out of touch with the economic lives of their congregants. A study released in January by LifeWay Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, concluded a “serious disconnect” exists among preachers over the realities of American life. The survey of 3,500 Southern Baptist pastors found that only 25 percent thought their congregants carried a “significant amount of personal debt.”

Still, preachers want to be sure their ministries don’t go the way of Bear Sterns or Lehman Brothers. That sometimes means keeping the pressure on the congregation at pledge time.

To help get the message right, preachers are listening to the Bible. Church consultants say Old Testament prophets are favorites once again. That means many a sermon these days is quoting such venerable figures as Isaiah, who warned of the costs of greed: “Many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.”

As pastors find their way in this environment, they seem to agree on at least one point: Now is a moment of extraordinary preaching opportunity. The hard part may be figuring out what to do with it

Labels: Amandus Derr, church, economics, G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Kevin McBride, pastors

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Obama And the Rise of Secular Spirituality

Sunday January 18, 2009
Categories: Consciousness

By Deepak Chopra and Dave Stewart

It's rare enough for an incoming President to inspire such a flood of hope and optimism, or so much relief that our long imprisonment in the political doldrums should be ending. But Barack Obama has done more than that. He has become a symbol of the rise of secular spirituality in this country, a liberated set of values that exists largely outside organized religion. Perhaps he himself is unaware of secular spirituality by that name. In lockstep with all previous Presidents, Obama must be seen attending church regularly, and that church must be close to mainstream.

However, if you consider what he stands for, Obama's worldview is more congruent with alternative theology than it is with churchgoers, 70% of whom were supporters of George Bush in his two election victories. Where organized religion has opted to stand by the right wing, millions of Americans who consider themselves spiritual have longed for peace, unity, nonviolence, and freedom that isn't imposed by the force of arms. We think Obama stands for the same values. In that regard, he is taking up the mantle of Martin Luther King< jr., who should be honored as one of Obama's spiritual forebears as much as Lincoln.

One senses a blessed return to rationality and the end of intolerant dogma as Obama prepares to enter the White House, but secular spirituality has expanded since the days of Jefferson and Adams. It now includes the following principles that we urge the new President to espouse (several of them he already has):

-- A spiritual duty to be benign stewards of the Earth and to preserve the ecology.
-- A responsibility to revere Nature and to be humble before it.
-- A duty to further peace among nations.
-- A pledge of nonviolence that will lead finally to total nuclear disarmament in our lifetime.
-- A refusal to use America's super power for militaristic ends.
-- A sense of compassion for the poor and wretched beset by pandemic disease, lack of political influence, and denial of basic human rights.

If Obama can further any of these values, he will be leaping miles ahead of his predecessor. Nothing about secular spirituality is radical. Most of its principles are articles of belief for millions of average Americans who have largely been shut out of politics for eight years. Our hopes for the new President won't be fulfilled until he adopts all of them. If he truly wants to reform the ways of Washington, he must extend his vision to the Congress, which under Republican domination served basically to block anything good and progressive.

But secular spirituality isn't limited to the left or the progressive movement in general. It is a national phenomenon, one that will swell steadily in the coming years, particularly among the young. Born after the divisive culture wars that gave the right wing its main chance, the younger generations yearn for new values. Obama appeals to that yearning, and we hope he takes full advantage of it. It's not good enough that he becomes the first African-American President, the first green President, or the first digital President. Nothing less than spiritual renewal is needed across the board, and there is no one of equal stature to lead it.

Labels: Barack Obama, church, Dave Stewart, Deepak Chopra, secular spirituality, values

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Launch of New Church Promises to Change the Face of Religion

The Vibe in Fullerton, Ca announces the February 1st launch of an unorthodox church that chooses inclusion over religion in an attempt to reach those who find the traditional church irrelevant.

Fullerton, CA, January 15, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Vibe announces the February 1st, 2009 launch of a church with a whole new groove.

Super Sunday, The Vibe’s launch day celebration, is designed to provide a non-threatening environment for people to test drive this new kind of church. This new church firmly believes that people really want to make meaningful contact with God but religion keeps getting in the way.

“Religion sucks”, said Steve Brown, The Vibe’s Lead Pastor, “it sucks the life right out of the most liberating lifestyle imaginable. Jesus didn’t come to this planet to enslave us with a bunch of rules. He came to free us. That’s our message.”

The Vibe presents those exploring faith with an alternative to religious rules, regulations and rituals. They believe that the perfect church is filled with imperfect people - a "sinners only club". They believe that the church was established to include everyone – a belief supported by their mantra: come as you are and bring your baggage with you.

The Vibe’s optimistic enthusiasm is well founded. They began with informal, open-air meetings at Lemon Park in Fullerton, California. From the onset they appealed to people that have been marginalized by traditional religious groups. The homeless, those suffering from addictions as well as the “tattooed and pierced crowd” are embraced as family right along with those from mainstream middleclass America.

However, Brown is quick to add that the ministries of The Vibe are not solely relational or spiritual but also practical. “Prayer is powerful”, Brown said, “but prayer supported by action changes lives.” The action Brown refers to comes in the form of feeding and clothing the homeless, the establishment and support of recovery programs, assistance in obtaining suitable living conditions for those without as well as financial and job placement assistance wherever practical or possible. To this Brown added, “We can’t do everything, but we have to do something.”

Brown himself is not what one would expect. He has two tattoos and can often be spotted with the cigarette-smoking crowd on Sunday mornings. With Brown as its Pastor, one is compelled to agree that a very different kind of church has been planted in this community.

Yet, this unlikely foundation seems to explain the down-to-Earth feel of this new church. According to Brown this traditionally unorthodox version of church makes it easier for people to “catch God” – The Vibe’s primary mission. Through their Super Sunday event, The Vibe hopes to show this community what a real connection to God looks and feels like.

“It is our sincerest hope that people will find a connection to God that they never dreamed possible”, said Brown. Then he commented on The Vibe’s dress code. “Just wear what you’ve got on. God isn’t impressed by what you wear.”

Labels: church, faith, God, Jesus, religion, Steve Brown, The Vibe

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Randy Sheridan: American culture and religion: Is it on the rise or in decline?

January 14, 2009 06:10 pm

In the mid 1700s the Age of Enlightenment was sweeping across Europe like an Oklahoma grass fire.

The European culture’s love affair with liberation theology or better yet, no theology at all was in full bloom. Its theme is akin to the modern day slogan, “If it feels good, do it!”

Some progressive thinkers and prognosticators suggest that America has reached a similar point where religion is no longer a vital part of the fabric in our culture, and its time has come and gone.

Some recent studies might offer some validity to that observation.

A recent Harris Interactive poll suggests a decline of belief in key religious concepts. In 2003, upwards of 90 percent of the post 9-11 populace expressed their belief in God, while five years later that number dropped by 10 percent.

Such decline begs the question: Is the American culture prone to foxhole religion, or is it simply human nature to turn to God more readily during hard times, while holding loosely to our religion during periods of prosperity?

Sounds a bit “Old Covenant like” doesn’t it?

The poll shows even more disturbing trends as Americans continue to discount their belief in heaven, down from 82 percent to 73 percent in that same five-year period. Believing the devil is more mythical than real, a 9 percent drop to 59 percent. Bringing up the bottom, pun intended, the view of hell being real dropped from 69 percent to 62 percent.

What does all this mean? Does it have any bearings on our culture today? And how does this affect you, the average John and Jane Doe of America? Little or much, it all depends on your perspective.

An extensive new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life details statistics on religion in America and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape. Many of these new paradigms are the basis for greater spiritual interests.

Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that religious affiliation in the U.S. is both very diverse and extremely fluid.

More than one-quarter of American adults, 28 percent, have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion or no religion at all.

Just as it was during the Age of Enlightenment, a torrential uprising of spiritual fervor was sweeping across the European continent, so here in America there appears to be a sustaining devotion to all things spiritual in spite of the latest polls.

Simultaneous to Europe’s liberal utopia, America was experiencing the first Great Awakening. Department of Delaware historian Christine Heyrman writes of what historians call “the first Great Awakening” can best be described as a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s:

Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists alike experienced an increase in seekers in unprecedented numbers. In emotionally charged sermons, all the more powerful because they were often delivered extemporaneously, preachers such as Jonathan Edwards, famously known for “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” evoked dramatic, terrifying images of the utter corruption of human nature and the terrors awaiting the unrepentant in hell.

Although our nation has sunk into a recession, is fighting two wars, and humanism is alive and well — you might be surprised to know that church attendance is holding steady and is even on the rise in many parts of our country. An average of 42 percent of adults in America, say they attend worship services weekly.

On the decline? Possibly, but American psyche has been so thoroughly “blood washed” for the last 300 years, I don’t think we are going away anytime soon!

Randy Sheridan of Burleson is a speaker, counselor and mediator. He can be reached at drsheridan@aol.com.

Labels: America, church, God, Harris Interactive, heaven, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Randy Sheridan, religion

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Gallup: Americans see religious influence waning

12/31/2008 8:03 PM |
By Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service

Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, according to a new Gallup Poll.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans think religious influence is waning while just 27% say it is increasing. That perspective demonstrates a continuing downward trend, Gallup said.

Those who regularly attend worship services are more likely to say religion is losing its influence; three out of four weekly attenders (74 percent) said religious influence is falling, compared to 24% who thought its influence is on the rise.

The latest poll also finds that the percentage of Americans believing that religion "can answer all or most of today's problems" has reached an all-time low. Slightly more than half of those surveyed — 53% — held that view, while 28% say it is "largely old-fashioned and out of date."

The poll results are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 4-7 with 1,009 adults; the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Labels: Adelle M. Banks, church, Gallup Poll, influence, religion

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Pew poll follows up on controversial one

Jan 8, 2009 | by Staff

WASHINGTON (BP)--A new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that a significant minority of self-identified evangelicals believe that many religions can lead to salvation, even though some of those evangelicals apparently are confused over what the term "religion" means.

The poll seeks to bring clarity to a much-criticized poll by Pew in June that found 70 percent of Americans, including 56 percent of white evangelicals, believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life." Several Christian commentators criticized that first survey's general wording, saying that Christians often refer to their denomination as their religion. In other words, those critics wondered: Were the evangelicals who were polled saying they believe people within multiple Christian denominations can obtain eternal life, or were they saying that Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus also have a path to salvation?

The new poll asked follow-up questions, and its findings do -- as least partially -- support the claims of those critics. Nevertheless, the poll contains very little good news for the evangelical church.

In the new survey, 47 percent of professing evangelicals said they believe "many religions can lead to eternal life," a decline of nine points from the earlier poll. Pew then asked that same group how many non-Christian religions they believe can lead to eternal life. More than one-fourth (28 percent) said "none," giving credence to the theory that some evangelicals confused "denominations" with "religions." Still, 72 percent of those who said "many religions can lead to eternal life" cited at least one other non-Christian religion.

Among the general population, 65 percent of Americans -- a drop from 70 percent in the earlier poll -- said there are many paths to salvation.

The newest Pew survey found that church attendance made a difference in one's beliefs. It also discovered a striking gap in beliefs between evangelical Protestants and mainline Protestants. Among white evangelical Protestants who attend church weekly, 37 percent -- a drop in 10 points from the earlier stat -- said "many religions can lead to eternal life." But among white mainline Protestants who attend church weekly, 75 percent believe there are multiple paths to salvation, and among white Catholics who attend church weekly, 85 percent hold to that view.

The latest Pew poll surveyed 2,905 adults July 31-Aug. 10.
--30--
Compiled by Michael Foust, assistant editor of Baptist Press.

Labels: church, eternal life, evangelicals, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion

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Time-crunched believers find ways to squeeze in God

Jan. 7, 2009
Los Angeles Times

So you're racing through another jam-packed day, late picking up the kids from basketball practice because you got stuck at the office. Then you pay the bills, walk the dog and perhaps grab cold pizza before collapsing into bed.

When do you ever find time for God?

One publisher has the answer: The One-Minute Bible, Day by Day, whose brief readings promise to inspire your "daily walk with the Lord."

Or check out 5 Minute Theologian: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time.

Because man does not live by bread alone - and might be tempted to eat on the run - there's Aunt Susie's 10-Minute Bible Dinners: Bringing God into Your Life One Dish at a Time.

The American style of worship, like everything else in overloaded lives, is speeding up. Call it God on the go.

This hurried search for the Almighty partly explains the rise of a niche industry of books, DVDs, podcasts, text messages and e-mail blasts that distill the essentials of faith.

The materials offer bite-size spiritual morsels that can be digested in minutes, or even seconds, on the daily commute, aboard airplanes or at the dinner table. As 7 Minutes With God promises, "Learn how to plan a daily quiet time that takes just 7 minutes." And what about your over-programmed 10-year-old? Again, religious publishers have an answer: The Kid Who Would Be King: One Minute Bible Stories About Kids.

Publishers aren't the only ones adjusting to the time pressures on modern religious life. Rabbis and ministers, aware that worship is just another weekend option for many parishioners, are shortening their sermons and taking other steps to entice worshipers

Traditionalists say that quick-hit spirituality can be useful but that it's no substitute for true learning or involvement in a religious community. Even some of the die-hard faithful, however, see the prophetic writing on the wall.

The Rev. Leith Anderson leads a 2,900-member church in suburban Minneapolis and is president of the National Association of Evangelicals. He also produces a daily radio segment - FaithMinute - that is heard throughout the Midwest.

"It's preaching to people who have never been in the choir," Anderson said.

Even as traditional worship attendance languishes, an appetite for spirituality has created new opportunities for alternative forms of religious communication, publishers say. Podcasts and other electronic adaptations are leading the way.

Only about one-quarter of Americans attend weekly religious services, a figure that has remained relatively steady over most of the past century, according to sociologists who study religion. Yet many Americans feel a need to connect regularly with a supreme being.

A recent national survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 71 percent of people were absolutely certain about their belief in God and that 58 percent said they prayed daily outside of religious services.

Labels: church, God, Pew forum on Religion, religion, spirituality

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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.”

Labels: Bob Book, church, Drew Jubera, Episcopalians, homelessness

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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.

Labels: ageing, church, computer technology, congregations, email, National Congregations Study, religion, trends

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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.

Labels: atheists, Barna Group, carols, Christmas, church, depression, evangelicals, religion

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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.

Labels: Americans, church, LifeWay Research, politics

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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?' "

Labels: Cathy Lynn Grossman, church, faith, Hartford Institute for Religion Research, megachurches, Scott Thumma, spirituality, unchurched

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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

Labels: Barack Obama, Brevy Cannon, church, election, John McCain, Luis Lugo, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, politics

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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

Labels: Charles C. Haynes, church, First Amendment Center, politics, religion

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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."

Labels: Alan Segal, Albert Mohler, church, God, hell

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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."

Labels: Christianity, church, men, religion, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, women

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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.

Labels: Catholicism, China, Christianity, church, Falun Gong, Francesco Sisci, Hong Xiuquan, religion