Social networks like Facebook are all the rage, with some claiming that online communities are deepening our interpersonal relationships while others worry that they are undermining them — and our spiritual lives. Pope Benedict XVI has weighed in on virtual friendships, while a new poll shows more churches are using Facebook.
Twenty years ago, megachurches might have rated an asterisk in a journalistic overview of U.S. Christianity. Today, an estimated 12 million Americans consider one of these mammoth congregations to be their church home, making the megachurch phenomenon one of the most important for religion in modern times.
Religious teachings are full of warnings about money, if not outright suspicion of the ways of commerce. But in this recession, congregations are increasingly showing members how to navigate the choppy economic seas – and they’re finding this new type of aid in big demand.
More people are spending more of their lives single, and married couples now are a minority among U.S. households. The average age at marriage is on the rise, and one in four households consists of people living alone. As these new dynamics create socio-economic shifts, religious organizations are scrambling to address the needs and realities [...]
Some religious communities have made strides toward greater inclusion of people with disabilities, but the challenges continue and change: Religious groups are beginning to respond to the growth of autism and related disorders in young families. Military involvement since 2001 in the Middle East is producing thousands of young disabled veterans returning to their communities. [...]
How do you get to heaven? For adults, that’s a theological question, but for kids, it might be a matter of transportation – as in, is there a special bus or elevator to the great beyond? Adults are paying increasing attention to what children think about spiritual matters, and that’s reflected in innovations in congregational [...]
Despite a lot of rhetoric about diversity, racially segregated worship is still a reality in most congregations. One study found that only 8 percent of Christian congregations in the U.S. are considered racially or ethnically “mixed,” meaning no one group makes up more than 80 percent of the congregation. At the same time, multicultural congregations [...]
Leadership – the ability to inspire, motivate, discern and envision in a faithful quest to follow God’s will – is the most critical issue facing churches today. Challenges abound in the number, quality, age and diversity of people pursuing – and staying in — pastoral ministry. The effects on communities across America are profound. They [...]
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