Many people visit a few churches. Some people visit many churches. I've been fortunate to visit an incredible number of congregations, including 75 in the Dallas - Fort Worth metropolitan area of Texas. As I reflect on these diverse experiences, I begin with context. The map below shows the locations of each congregation When I first moved back to Texas in 2015 after nearly a decade away, my family resided in the Northern portion of the metro area. And, during those years, I Read More …
Christianity
A Compelling Version of Christianity (#1804)
I cannot count the number of times in recent years that I've had to explain that I'm not the type of Christian someone assumes I am (and/or assumes all Christians are). A Compelling Christianity It is helpful to focus on what one's version of Christianity is about or stands for rather than how it differs from another type of Christianity that is best known for what it is against. Rozella Haydée White formerly served in the national setting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church 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 …
The Least Educated Americans: Christians (#1664)
A few weeks ago the Pew Research Center published a detailed chart showing a nation by nation breakdown of the educational attainment of those identified with select world religions. United States In the United States, the average educational attainment of all adults aged 25 and older was 12.9 years. In rank order by average educational attainment in number of years the report shows: Hindus - 15.7 Jews - 14.7 Muslims - 13.6 Buddhists - 13.4 Read More …
Unique Opportunity to Learn About World Religions (#1614)
Religious literacy is an essential interpersonal competency for all who seek to live well and to relate effectively to other people. The lack of basic religious literacy continues to fuel isolation, hate, and even violence. My belief that all people need to expand their religious literacy beyond their own religion to the world's great religions has inspired me to teach world religions at the college level eighteen times (and counting!). While I cannot invite you to audit my class, I Read More …
Fewer and Fewer Christians (& Even Fewer Mainline Protestants) (#1551)
In 2007 the Pew Research Center conducted their initial U.S. Religious Landscape Study. The 2014 edition, published earlier today, shows Christianity declined by 8% in America over the last seven years (78.4% to 70.6%). Allowing for the margin of error, this means the number of Christian adults in the U.S. has shrunk by somewhere between 2.8 million and 7.8 million. Decline Impacts All Christian Traditions Mainline Protestants and Catholics top the list for Read More …
World Religions from 2010 to 2050 (#1539)
Last week the Pew Research Center released projections for how the makeup of the world's largest religions are likely to shift between now and 2050. These projections rely on complicated assumptions and modeling designed over the last six years by team of demographers from the Pew Research Center (Washington, D.C.), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria). Globally between 2010 and 2050: world population will increase by 35%, number of Read More …
Religious Symbols on National Flags (#1502)
According to a new Pew Research analysis, a third of the world's countries have national flags that contain religious symbols. The 64 flags with religious imagery can be categorized by religion as follows: Christianity - 31 Islam - 21 Other Religions - 6 Hinduism/Buddhism - 3 Buddhism - 2 Judaism - 1. So What? According to data gathered a few years ago by Pew Research, more than half of the global population are adherents to one of the world's two largest religions: Read More …
Sermon: Be A Quitter (#1448)
Sermon Text: I Corinthians 1:10-17 (The Message) Sermon Excerpt Churchy Christians often say, “Wherever two or three are gathered in God’s name, God is present.” While they are likely right, practical Christians recognize that wherever two or three are gathered, many perspectives are present. And somehow, more often than we care to admit, extended conversations that highlight our differences turn into arguments. Good Christian people have been known to argue about nearly Read More …
Check Your Privilege (#1387)
I rarely click through when I see friends sharing their score to the latest quiz, but I did a few days ago after seeing a number of posts on my Facebook feed declaring just how privileged people were based on their response to a rather lengthy checklist. As I took the assessment, I realized my score would be high. I was, however, surprised by just how high it was, and that this placed me in the "you're the most privileged category." So What? I invite you to take the quiz, and to reflect Read More …