China, once officially atheist, now booming with religion: China is experiencing one of the great religious revivals of our time. Across China, hundreds of temples, mosques and churches open each year, attracting millions of new worshippers. Faith and values are returning to the center of a national discussion over how to organize Chinese life. This is not […]
Americans Want to Avoid Shame, Make Their Loved Ones Proud: Americans are more worried about their reputation than their conscience, less about guilt and fear, and more about avoiding shame. Shame has become particularly powerful in American culture in the internet age: “What’s surprising is not that personal freedom, ambition, and doing the right thing are valued by […]
Key voices still missing from stories on pregnant teen banned from Christian school’s graduation: This link takes you to the GetReligion coverage of this case that is getting attention in the popular media. The GetReligion page includes links to several sources. The situation and the responses make a useful case study for Mt. 18, ethics, […]
A Just Welcome: The Center for Public Justice (chiefly a Reformed theology orientation) has completed its 7 part series on refugees, the Bible, and public policy. The series could be used in a companion/comparison study of similar documents from CTCR studies of the LC-MS, from the ELCA, and from the United States Council of Catholic […]
New Study Analyzes Impact of Tax Reform Proposals On Giving To Religious Organizations: The Lily School of Philanthropy at IU/Purdue has released a study that estimates the impact on charitable giving of the tax reform proposals by the White House and House of Representatives. See links to the summary, full report, and the RNS news report […]
From Word to image: Christian colleges expand visual art programs — Over the past decade, more than 85 Christian colleges and universities have added new degree programs in the arts, according to data from college associations. At least 10 have introduced new degrees specifically in visual arts since 2012. Some have also hired new visual arts […]
New Tennessee Law Requires Religious Holy Day Accommodation For School Athletics: This law gives students’ religious observances priority over athletic schedules. The new law provides: “A local education agency, local school board, school, educator, or employee or the employee’s representative may not require a student to attend a school athletic event, or event related to participation […]
Symposium: Law and Religion in an Increasingly Polarized America — Nine articles here discuss a range of topics including Hosanna-Tabor, religious accommodation in a democracy, religious sovereignty claims in a diverse society, and the restroom debates. The several points of view will inform the reader about points of agreement and disagreement.
Why We Forgo Self-Interest for Others’ Sake: The research linked here and in the study from Nature Neuroscience below addresses the issue of moral development and altruism. Students will benefit both from learning the current state of these studies but also by learning how to frame the underlying ontological questions that research cannot answer and […]
Of Fruit Trees and Newborn Babes: Luther and Wesley on Moral Transformation — The author explores how and why Lutheran and Methodist understandings of moral transformation differ by analyzing Luther and Wesley’s writings, along with theologians of their traditions who have been influenced from both. (Recall that Wesley was powerfully affected by Luther’s Commentary on […]
