Welcome to the fourth annual edition of So What Faith's 5 Star Books of the Year! This year, 17% of all books rated received a rating of 5 or 5+ to earn this honor (in prior years the percentage has ranged from 15% to 17%). Anthony M. Annett. Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a More Just Economy.Jennifer Garcia Bashaw. Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims.Molly Phinney Baskette. How to Begin When Your World is Ending: A Spiritual Field Guide to Joy Despite Read More …
religion
Choosing a “Good” Religion (#1871)
How does one choose a "good" religion? Over the years I've heard many detailed explanations for why one should choose a specific religion, but far fewer attempts to provide a framework for choosing a religion. In Tough Questions, Honest Answers: Faith and Religion for 21st Century Explorers (Fortress Press, 2020), Cameron Harder devotes a chapter to the question "How do we choose a "good" religion." After sharing about his research and noting his personal bias that "the community be Read More …
Religion is Losing Influence (#1836)
A new survey conducted by Pew Research Center shows that Republicans and Democrats strongly agree that religion is losing influence in American life. In an era where Republicans and those who lean Republican tend to disagree with Democrats and those who lean Democrat on nearly every issue (e.g, check out Partisan Polarization - 3 Critical Issues) it is interesting how much support there is in both groups for the statement that religion is losing influence in American life (Democrat/Lean Read More …
500 Authors Featured on So What Faith (#1790)
Since writing my first blog post in the summer of 2009, I've shared book reviews, recommendations, and/or ratings on a regular basis. These efforts have focused on recently published books, and have allowed me to introduce my readers to more than 500 authors: Elias Aboujaoude, Mustafa Akyol, Jay Allison, Dianna E. Anderson, Keith Anderson, Christophe André, Michael J. Arena, Steve Argue, Sarah Arthur, Reza Aslan, Patty Azzarello, Cheryl Bachelder, Christopher Bader, Scott Bader-Saye, Alex Read More …
Who Finds Meaning in Religion? (#1765)
What makes for a meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying life? In an attempt to answer this question, Pew Research Center conducted two surveys late last year. The first survey utilized open ended questions while the second leveraged forced-choice questions using a list of 15 possible sources. Family First In the open-ended survey nearly 7 out of 10 respondents (69%) mentioned family. This finding was consistent with the closed-ended survey result of those claiming that Read More …
My Life as an Adjunct Professor (#1752)
Education has long been a central part of what I do and who I am. A few weeks ago I shared the news that I was starting my twentieth professional position since graduating from college. Adjunct Life, Part 21 Today, I completed my responsibilities for teaching an undergraduate survey of world religions summer semester course. Submitting grades was my final responsibility to complete twenty-one consecutive semesters as an adjunct professor. Over that time, I've Read More …
Faith Palm Banners Go Viral (#1715)
Until a few days ago I had never heard anyone use the term "faith palm." Thanks to a tweet by Daniel Dale, a Washington D.C. correspondent for the Toronto star I not only learned the term, but also was introduced to a unique marketing campaign by a progressive Episcopal congregation in D.C. The President Said What? The image at right is one of four banners on a chain link fence outside of a construction area on the campus of St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church. Each banner contains Read More …
Necessary to Believe in God to be Moral? (#1710)
Is it necessary to believe in God in order to be moral? The Latest Research Last month the Pew Research Center published the results of their latest survey on the topic. The survey item asked American respondents to fill in the blank in the following statement: "It is ___ to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values." Respondents were able to chose from "is necessary" or "is not necessary." A majority (56%) chose "is not necessary" in 2017, which was up from about Read More …
4 Out of 10 Nations Favor a Specific Religion or Religions (#1706)
Earlier this month the Pew Research Center published the results of their analysis of their study of 199 countries and territories around the world. They found that more than 40% of these countries or territories (83 of 199), "favor a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths." Government-Endorsed Religion Only four religions have been granted the status of Read More …
Church Commutes (#1702)
The Baylor Religion Surveys provide some of the best recent data on American religion. The surveys consist of five waves: 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2017. Data from the latest wave was released last week, including the full 65 page report. The 2017 wave focuses on the religious, political, and ideological values of Trump voters mental health and religion in American today the intersection of technology and religion the geography of religion. Commuting As someone who Read More …