Alain de Botton's new book, Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion (2012), will be available in early March. If it is anything like his TED talk on Atheism 2.o, it will be worth reviewing and discussing. In his nearly 20-minute long talk in Edinburgh, Scotland last summer he shared these words: Now what is Atheism 2.0? Well it starts from a very basic premise: of course, there's no God. Of course, there are no deities or supernatural Read More …
Generational Church Experiences (#0642)
The Barna Group recently conducted a poll about the impact of church experiences. The results of this poll show that the size of the church attended had little or no effect on the way respondents characterized their experience, but the generation of the respondents had a considerable impact: So What? This survey included over 1,000 American adults who "have attended a Christian church sometime in the past." In general, Mosaics and Busters (groups covering those from age 18-46) scored Read More …
Teach Better (#0641)
Whether the classroom is a university lecture hall, a business conference room, or a church library most people assume the subject matter expert will convey information in such a manner as to aid would be students in the learning process. The expectations relative to the teaching-learning experience rise proportional to the formality and expectations of the environment. Near the high expectation end of this continuum are credit courses at Ivy League universities. Dan Berrett's Read More …
Go Slow (#0640)
Guy Chmieleski has served in campus ministry at four institutions of higher education associated with three different denominations (Baptist, United Methodist and Church of Christ). He recently blogged about pace of life, reminding everyone that today's traditional college students have lived their whole lives in an instant culture. The only real change these young adults have experienced is fast has becoming faster. To help overcome this he proposes: I think we need to Read More …
The Other Half (#0639)
Protestant churches have done exceptionally well among those who are married and even better among those who are married and have children. These groups, as a percentage of the total American population, have been shrinking for decades and likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The latest data from the Pew Research Center shows that only half of adults (51%) aged 18 and older were married in 2010. Additionally, the median age for first marriage has risen steadily Read More …
Review of Gathering Those Driven Away (#0638)
Meet the Author Wendy Farley is professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University with "teaching and research interests (that) include women theologians, religious dialogue, classical texts, contemporary ethical issues, and contemplative practices." She is the author of four books including Gathering Those Driven Away: A Theology of Incarnation (2011) and The Wounding and Healing of Desire: Weaving Heaven and Earth (2005). Book Basics Gathering Those Driven Away is a Read More …
Sexually Healthy Seminaries (#0637)
Debra Haffner is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister who serves as the executive director of the Religious Institute, a multifaith, nonprofit organization dedicated to sexual health, education and justice. Recently she blogged about the results of her institute's study: Sex in the Seminary. The number of schools meeting the criteria to be labeled as "sexually healthy and responsible seminaries" has doubled since 2009. Twenty schools currently hold this Read More …
Testing Out to Earn a College Degree? (#0636)
Decades ago those seeking a college degree either attended classes on a college/university campus or completed correspondence courses. Today degree seekers have an incredible number of options for completing their degrees, especially at the undergraduate level. Even the idea that one either attends on campus or away from campus has disappeared with the advent of blended courses that combine the two. Earlier this week I learned of Excelsior College's new degree Read More …
Renter or Owner: The Mindset Matters (#0635)
Robert Talbert, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University, recently blogged about the difference between renting and owning. After sharing his own experiences with home ownership and rental, he applies the principle to education suggesting that we all want students to own rather than rent their education. He explains the different approaches thusly: The rental mindset says, I am paying the rent, and as long as I pay, I expect the management to take care of Read More …
From Death to Life – Mainline Decline (#0634)
David Henson recently wrote a guest post on Bruce Reyes-Chow's site suggesting that the best approach to the deathly ill group of denominations known as mainline Protestantism is realistic hope. Henson does not propose a new way forward that will reverse the decades of decline. Instead he suggests that those aware of death's nearness are more likely to act boldly and that for Christians and the mainline there is life beyond death. He ends the article with these Read More …