ReligionLink

Miracles are in the air – or, at the very least, on the airwaves. On Jan. 27, ABC-TV will launch a new prime-time drama, Miracles, in which a skeptical investigator confronts paranormal phenomena he cannot explain. ABC is tapping into what some religion-watchers say is a rising trend. In 1999, 84 percent of Americans said they believe that God performs miracles, according to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press. Nearly half of Americans say they have experienced or witnessed a miracle, according to a May 2000 Newsweek poll. The number of books, television specials and web sites addressing miracles reflects those beliefs.

Ole Anthony, president of the Trinity Foundation, a Dallas watchdog organization that sniffs out spiritual frauds, says belief in miracles may be at an all-time high. “There is such a sense of desperation among people,” he says. “I think it is the pressure of seeing the things they thought they believed in fail. And there is a need to believe in the supernatural.”

Talk to people in your community about miracles. Do they believe in them? Have they experienced them? How do they live life differently because of them? How have their beliefs changed over time? Are their beliefs shaped by their connection to institutional religion?

Why it matters

At a time when religious differences are at the root of much world conflict, belief in miracles is common to most world religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Baha’i.

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National sources

• Dr. Margaret Poloma is a professor emeritus of religion at the University of Akron who has written extensively about miracles. She says people believe in miracles because they need to have hope in something bigger than themselves. Contact 330-972-6837 (work), 330-328-7860 (cell), mpoloma@uakron.edu. (Dr. Poloma will be unavailable for interviews Jan. 23-28).

• Ole Anthony is president of the Trinity Foundation, a non-profit Christian-based organization that investigates religious fraud. He and Trinity help newsgathering organizations investigate the miraculous claims of televangelists, including a December 27, 2002 expose of Benny Hinn by NBC’s Dateline. Anthony says that despite all the fraud he has seen, he still believes in miracles because it is endemic to Christianity. Contact 214-826-4885, ole@trinityfi.org.

• Dr. William Dinges is a professor of religious studies at the Catholic University of America and an expert on American Catholicism. In the Catholic tradition, he says, belief in miracles stems from the fact that Catholicism is a very sacramental tradition that takes the supernatural seriously. He says it believes that divine reality is not passive, but works through the world in extraordinary ways. Contact 202-319-6890, dinges@cua.edu.

• Dr. Paul Kurtz is chair of the Council for Secular Humanism and founder and chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Contact 716-636-7571 ext. 202, PaulKurtz@aol.com.

Background

• Read ABC-TV’s description of its new show Miracles.

• Read an April 24, 2000, Washington Post story that reviews a variety of polls on religion, including Americans’ belief in miracles.

• “The Miracles Page” lists alleged miracles of various faiths, and ChristusRex lists Marian apparitions in the United States.

• Read a Jan. 7, 2003 Catholic News Service story about the investigation of a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa.

• Read a Sept. 21, 2000 Religion News Service article about Muslims and Coptic Christians sighting an appearance of the Virgin Mary in Egypt in 2000.

Read the definition of a miracle in different faith traditions:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy includes David Hume’s famous argument against the likelihood of miracles and a discussion of the religious significance of miracles.

• The Catholic Encyclopedia.

• Christianity Today.

• The Skeptic’s Dictionary.

• JewishEncyclopedia.com.

• Baha’i Library.

Regional sources

State by State

• The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal maintains a listing of local skeptic organizations by state.

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Dr. Robert Bruce Mullin is a professor of history at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City. He has written about miracles and religious imagination for several publications. Contact 212-243-5150, mullin@gts.edu.

• Dr. Jon Butler is chair of the history department and a professor of religious studies at Yale University in Hartford, Conn., and can discuss Americans’ belief in miracles. Contact 203-432-0828, jon.butler@yale.edu.

• Ray Delisle is the communications officer for the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., which has asked the church to investigate the alleged miraculous appearance of oil on statues surrounding a comatose teenager, Audrey Santos. Contact 508-791-7171, rdelisle@worcesterdiocese.org.

IN THE EAST

• Eric Mazur is an associate professor of religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and has written about religion and popular culture. Contact 570-577-3525, mazur@bucknell.edu.

• Paula Kane is an associate professor of Catholic studies at the University of Pittsburgh and teaches American religious history. She has been studying stigmata and Marian apparitions. Contact pmk@pitt.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Dr. Conrad Ostwalt Jr. is a professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. who has written about religion and films. Contact 828-262-2083, ostwaltce@appstate.edu.

• Kevin Lewis is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and teaches a course on apocalypticism. He can discuss the apocalyptic signs and miracles looked for by various religions, especially Christianity. Contact 803-777-2561, kevin@sc.edu.

• Julie Ingersoll, assistant professor of religious studies at the University

of North Florida in Jacksonville, can discuss miracles. Religious Studies, University of North Florida. Contact 904-620-1330, jingerso@unf.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Dr. Julie Ingersoll is an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and can discuss religion and popular culture. Contact 904-620-1330, jingerso@unf.edu.

• Brad Watson is senior pastor at Harvest Church in Hermitage, Tenn., and has claimed that gold dust and oil appeared on worshippers during a revival there. Contact 615-316-0085.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Dr. Paul Plenge Parker is an associate professor of theology and religion at Elmhurst College in Illinois who has written about miracles and healing. Contact 630-617-3559, paulp@elmhurst.edu.

• Dr. Richard Kieckhefer is a professor of history at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and can discuss the history of miracles, magic and sainthood. Contact 847-491-2614, kieckhefer@northwestern.edu.

• Bruce David Forbes is a professor of religion at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and has written about religion in popular culture. Contact 712-274-5185; forbes@morningside.edu.

• Dr. David K. Clark is a professor of theology at Bethel College and Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. and has written about miracles in world religions. Contact 651-638-6167, d-clark@bethel.edu.

• Dr. Alice Bach is an associate professor of religion and women’s studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and has written extensively about religion in the media and pop culture. Contact 216-368-1637, ahb5@po.cwru.edu.

• Dr. Michael Budde is a professor at DePaul University in Chicago who can discuss the growth of churches that believe in miracles. Contact 773-325-1974, mbudde@depaul.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Dr. Barry Hankins is an associate professor of history and church-state studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and can talk about miracles. Contact 245-710-4667, barry_hankins@baylor.edu.

• Dr. Daniel Stout is a professor of communications at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and can address miracles, including the Mormon perspective. He will spend the Spring 2003 semester at BYU’s Oahu, Hawaii, campus. Contact 808-293-3627, daniel_stout@byu.edu.

• Dr. Doug Groothuis (pronounced Growt-highs) is an associate professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary and has written extensively about religion and philosophy. Contact 303-762-6895, doug@denverseminary.edu.

• Dr. M. Colleen McDannell is a professor of history at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah and has written about religion and popular culture. Contact 801-581-4748, Colleen.mcD@utah.edu.

• Brent Plate is an assistant professor of religion and the visual arts at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and can discuss apparitions and other visual miracles. Contact 817-257-6444, b.plate@tcu.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Robert T. Carroll is a professor of philosophy at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, CA and author of the forthcoming The Skeptic’s Dictionary. He prefers to be contacted by email at media@skepdic.com.

• Dr. Richard Peace is a professor of theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA and can discuss belief in miracles. Contact through the seminary’s public relations office, 626-584-5367.

• Daniel Wojcik is a professor of English and folklore studies at the University of Oregon. Contact 541-346-3946; dwojcik@oregon.uoregon.edu.