News

Nigeria Named to Panel’s List of Religious Freedom Violators

Religion News Service reports that an independent federal panel on religious freedom has added two countries to its list of “countries of particular concern”—Iraq and Nigeria—and six others to its watch list.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom added Iraq to its list of countries of particular concern in December, and added Nigeria in its 2009 report, released May 1.

Nigeria has been added to the list because commissioners believe the country is tolerating violations of religious freedom. Hundreds—and some estimate thousands—were killed in sectarian violence in the city of Jos in the Plateau state in November.

Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Venezuela were added to the list for the first time this year. Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam remain on the list.

Religion Today Summaries

Young Americans Losing Their Religion

New research shows young Americans are dramatically less likely to go to church—or to participate in any form of organized religion—than their parents and grandparents.

“It’s a huge change,” says Harvard University professor Robert Putnam, who conducted the research. Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the “nones”) has been very small—hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, Putnam says the percentage of “nones” has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans.

This trend started in the 1990s and continues through today. It includes people in both Generation X and Y. While these young “nones” may not belong to a church, they are not necessarily atheists.

“Many of them are people who would otherwise be in church,” Putnam said. “They have the same attitudes and values as people who are in church, but they grew up in a period in which being religious meant being politically conservative, especially on social issues.”

This movement away from organized religion, says Putnam, may have enormous consequences for American culture and politics for years to come. “That is the future of America,” he says. “Their views and their habits religiously are going to persist and have a huge effect on the future.”

This data is likely to reinvigorate an already heated debate about whether America is, or will continue to be, a “Christian nation.” A recent Newsweek cover article, entitled “The End of Christian America” provoked responses from religious thinkers all over the spectrum.

Putnam fears the reduction in religiosity could have widespread negative impacts. His research shows that people who go to church are much more likely to vote, volunteer and give to charity.

However, he says, it’s possible that the current spike in young people opting out of organized religion could also prove to be an opportunity for some. “Jesus said, ‘Be fishers of men,’” says Putnam, “and there’s this pool with a lot of fish in it and no fishermen right now.”

Dan Harris
Institute on Religion and Public Policy

Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

CNN reports that Maine became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage when Gov. John Baldacci signed the bill into law on May 6.

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” said Baldacci, a Democrat. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

The governor tacitly acknowledged that the law could face similar motions as California’s Proposition 8, which reversed the law allowing same-sex marriage in that state.

Maine joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont as states that not only recognize but grant marriage licenses to gay couples. On Tuesday, the Washington, D.C., City Council voted to recognized same-sex marriage performed in other states.

Religion Today Summaries

Pastors Win IRS Ruling over Policy Conferences

Christians News Wire reports that the Internal Revenue Service found that pastors who gathered in 2006 for a series of public policy conferences had every right to do so and that the organizers of the events did not violate any tax laws that govern non-profit organizations.

“There is now a clear IRS statement outlining these pastors’ events and approving them as valid under the law,” said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute which represented event organizers. The IRS began its investigation in January 2008, questioning whether six conferences by the Niemoller Foundation violated non-profit rules.

The conferences called pastors to stand up for moral issues and to encourage their congregants to get involved in the political process.

Religion Today Summaries

Mideast’s Christians Declining in Influence

Christians used to be a vital force in the Middle East. They dominated Lebanon and filled top jobs in the Palestinian movement. In Egypt, they were wealthy beyond their number. In Iraq, they packed the universities and professions. Across the region, their orientation was a vital link to the West, a counterpoint to prevailing trends.

But when Pope Benedict XVI visited Holy Land in May, he addressed a dwindling and threatened Christian population driven to emigration by political violence, lack of economic opportunity and the rise of radical Islam. A region that a century ago was 20 percent Christian is about 5 percent today and dropping.

 “I fear the extinction of Christianity in Iraq and the Middle East,” the Rev. Jean Benjamin Sleiman, the Catholic archbishop of Baghdad, said in a comment echoed across the region.

The pope, in a Mass on May 12 at the foot of the Mount of Olives, addressed “the tragic reality” of the “departure of so many members of the Christian community in recent years.” On May 10 in Jordan the pope argued that Christians had a role here in reconciliation, that their very presence eased the strife, and that the decline of that presence could help to increase extremism.

A Syrian international aid worker said, “When other Arabs find out that I am Christian, many seem shocked to discover that you can be both an Arab and a Christian.” The worker asked to remain anonymous so as not to bring attention to his faith.

Local Christians are torn between sounding the alarm and staying mum, unsure whether attention will reduce the problem or aggravate it by driving out those who remain.

The decline of the Christian population and voice in the region is not only a source of concern for Christians, but for broadminded Muslims as well.

“Here in Lebanon, Muslims will often tell you Lebanon is no good without the Christians, and they mean it,” said Kemal Salibi, a historian.

Ethan Bronner
Institute on Religion and Public Policy

Prominent Missiologist Dr. Ralph Winter Dies

ASSIST News Service reports that one of the most significant missiological thinkers of the twentieth century, Dr. Ralph Winter, passed away May 20. He was 84.

Dr. Winter founded the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM) in 1976 and the William Carey International University a year later. At Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of World Mission, Winter taught mission history and leadership training. Winter also developed USCWM’s Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, a college-level course covering information crucial to any person interested in God’s global purposes, has been taken by over 65,000 people and prompted many to go full-time to the mission field.

His 1974 address to the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization created a seismic shift in mission strategy, with his call to evangelize people groups outside the focus of established mission efforts.

“He was constantly thinking outside the box,” said Dr. Dale Kietzman, a professor at William Carey. “He did this to such an extent that you weren’t sure what the box was anymore.”

Religion Today Summaries

Pulpit Helps Magazine, a ministry of AMG International, is the pastor’s one-stop-shop for tools to effectively serve a congregation. Founded in 1975 by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, Pulpit Helps is dedicated to the mission of equipping our readers with a greater understanding of the words of Scripture so that they can adequately fulfill their calling as Christ’s ambassadors. It is to that end that we provide sermon starters, bulletin inserts, illustrations and quality articles on preaching, counseling, Christian living, and more.