Is the Internet bad for religion?

April 10, 2014

c. 2014 Religion News Service

(RNS) A new paper draws an intriguing conclusion to a question scholars have wrestled with for several decades: Why are Americans dropping out of church?

One reason? They’re logging on to the Internet.

Bishop Budde among the Swedes

In September, Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will travel to her mother’s homeland at the invitation of the Stockholm Cathedral.

by Gary G. Yerkey

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The good kind of patriotism

The church is called to be a loving critic, not a national cheerleader.

by Peter W. Marty

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Body counts: The dark side of Christian history

With its long coastline, rugged mountains and haunting sand dunes, Oman is a paradise for desert lovers, hikers and boaters. Muscat, the capital city, is a gem—its arched white buildings and flat roofs squeezed between the blue ocean and black mountains. Yet call me an egghead, but what I remember most from a trip to Oman is a booklet I read there with an ominous title: Body Count: A Quantitative Review of Political Violence Across World Civilizations (2009). In it, author Naveed Sheikh claims that “the Christian civilization emerges as the most violent and genocidal in the world history.” Compared to Islam, Christianity is a clear winner: 31.94 million deaths by Muslims to 177.94 million deaths by Christians.

by Miroslav Volf

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Dear Jesus, Am I broken enough yet?

At youth group and church camp, I learned to perform my own unworthiness. It took years to recognize the spiritual harm this caused.

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