As much as American religion is "American," it is also local, shaped by the particular history of immigration and economic forces of each place, as well as the particular landscape that often fires religious imaginations. These books remind us that place matters.
Review of a book about American decline in religious, political and social life. The author points to evidence in a variety of other civic arenas as well -- labor unions, parent-teacher organizations and fraternal organizations.
The author argues that in the 21st century, churches as institutions will remain essential to nurturing and shaping Christian identity. They will do this as they serve as communities of memory, denominations that help people act locally with thinking globally, or as support groups.
Clergy need to be aware that they are not as powerless as they often perceive themselves to be -- victims of the ecclesiastical system and the whimsy of the local church. By taking responsibility for their own psychological well-being, social needs, spiritual growth and professional development, clergy can do a great deal toward creating a more positive professional experience, and a happier personal life for themselves and their families.
Each congregation develops a complex network of rituals and habits that define everyday interactions. Congregations that adapt to change seem to be good at creating opportunities for different people to eat together.
Today the "always reforming church finds itself once again at a dramatic turning point in the U.S.
The authors report on the results of a survey of scientists and theological educators, asking about their belief in a God who intervenes in human affairs.
The results of several surveys indicate that charismatics and Pentecostals are not as apolitical, otherworld, bent on "speaking in tongues, the "hard-driving engines fueling the global spread of Christianity that is usually the stereotype.
The actual church attendance figure is about half the rate indicated by public opinion surveys. As people’s church-related identities erode, so too will their need to say they went to church when they didn’t.
The market introduces some tendencies toward democracy. But there is nothing inexorable about such development. There's a danger of romanticizing the idea of civil society. Not all mediating structures are good ones. The problem with liberal Protestantism is not the loss of orthodoxy but the loss of religious substance.
(ENTIRE BOOK) This book is a collection of essays by Joachim Wach representing each major phase of his scholarly career. Wach emphasizes that both historical and systematic dimensions are necessary to its task, and he argues that the discipline’s goal is "understanding."
The findings of this study of Americans suggest a pervasive social outlook among the religious-minded that seems to be incompatible with and often opposite to the compassion taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
Bellah holds that the initial shift in point of view that allowed him as an adult to consider religion as a viable option came from his exposure to Tillich and his confident assertion that Christianity is not "belief in the unbelievable." His later turn to more active fellowship in the company of believers was motivated as much by a feeling that the church had need of him as it was by any private needs of his own.
Both the extent and the inexorability of secularization have been exaggerated, even in Europe and North America, and much more so in other parts of the world.
There is good reason to believe that Americans are receiving an overly optimistic picture of charitable giving in the U.S. Amounts being widely publicized indicate that charitable giving has increased dramatically. The authors' analysis however, reveals that giving has been declining as a portion of income for almost 30 years. As Christians try to make intelligent decisions about giving, accurate information is indispensable. The authors suggest ways to improve that accuracy.
The authors, Roof and McKinney, are interested not in issuing a jeremiad or an apology about the state of American religion, but in ascertaining just how the landscape of American religion is being altered.
In working with those who believe without belonging, mainline Protestants may rediscover the true church. With them we apparently share many values of the past as well as hopes for the future. We may not get them “back” into the churches, but we can join with them to do the Lord’s work on earth. And we may rediscover the Christian church in the process.
A retrospective piece marking the tenth anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy – in which more than 900 people affiliated with Jim Jones’s Peoples Temple in Guyana took part in a communal act of murder and suicide. The most frequently asked question: "How did they ever become involved?"
A noted sociologist analyzes the reasons behind the current religious malaise in American culture, then proposes three possible scenarios for the future.
A recent faculty survey is devastating to the preconceptions of those who carry radical images of the theological professoriate. Doctrinally these faculty members are conventional. Ecclesiastically they are faithful. In general we get the image that, across the spectrum, they are bourgeois Hauspapas (although 7.7 per cent are female).
Wuthnow concludes, from
his three-year research into how Americans view faith and money, that although
there is much lip service to decrying the
overemphasis on money and materialism, in practice mammon is winning out over
God, and the churches are silent for the most part on stewardship issues.
Religious institutions built on modern skepticism will be fragile, but they can show remarkable vitality.
(ENTIRE BOOK) Wuthnow proposes that the term "rediscovery" rather than "revival" clarifies what is happening in religion today. He provides personal background which informs this choice, then outlines his case using insights from other sociologists as well as social commentators. This volume offers a contemporary survey of sociology of religion, as well as challenging suggestions for further work.
The authors examine preaching in 1,580 churches, and conclude that whether or not people listen, there is not much to hear. Most sermons rarely touch on controversial moral and ethical issues.
Liberals must come to terms with the personal religious vocabulary and quit discrediting people’s spiritual quests or somehow looking upon them as less important than social and political matters.
Though church attendance continues to drop, sales of religious books continue to rise. What’s going on?
The results of a survey of over 2,000 working Americans, including in-depth interviews with more than 175 of them, to discover what religious people think about their responsiblity to the poor.
This article is a review of the thoughts of the sociologist of religion and historian, Rodney Stark. Stark finds belief in the supernatural essential to religion.
Roozen analyzes three reasons for the renewal of religion in America in contrast to other nations: 1. Immigration; 2. The characteristic nature of American religious movements; 3. Contemporary forms of worship. In regard to contemporary forms of worship, it is no panacea, the term itself has different meanings in different traditions; and the change of style brings conflict.