Why Do Christians Leave the Faith? The Problem of Responding Badly to Doubt

Last updated on: December 8, 2011 at 6:37 am By Bradley Wright

Part 3 in a series on deconversion Does Christians’ bad behavior cause people to leave the faith? When we started this research project deconversion, I assumed that the most frequently-referenced cause would be Christians’ misbehavior—something along the lines of “I left the Church because Christians don’t act like Christians.” After all, this “Christians don’t act like Christians” narrative is extremely popular among Christian writers. A majority (42 out of 50) of the deconverts that we studied did mention frustration with... Read more

Are Atheists More Generous? QRS #1

Last updated on: December 3, 2011 at 11:21 am By Bradley Wright

For various reasons, public discussion of religion tends to attract (and create) a lot of inaccurate statistical information. This was a theme of my first book, Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites… and Other Lies You’ve Been Told, but there’s plenty more to write about. So, I thought that I would start a periodic feature where I examine some of the questionable information making the rounds on-line. I call it Questionable Religious Statistics (QRS). Examining these claims not only clarifies what’s happening... Read more

Lost (and Found) in Translation

Last updated on: December 3, 2011 at 11:22 am By Mark Regnerus

Yesterday was an unusual Sunday for American Catholics, and reinforces the distinctive nature of worship in Catholic and Protestant Christianity. It was the long-anticipated introduction of the “new” Mass translation. It is, of course, a bit humorous to talk about “new” anything when referring to Catholic worship forms, but yesterday was a bona fide beginning as the 3rd edition of the Mass translation into English rolled out for mandatory use. Since the worldwide official language of the Mass is written... Read more

Protestant Mission Stations in 1925

Last updated on: November 26, 2011 at 7:35 am By Bradley Wright

I really like maps, and several weeks ago I posted a figure that illustrates the spread of world religions over history. One of the themes of that figure is the relatively late expansion of Christianity throughout the world–mainly in the last several hundred years. Here’s a map by sociologist Robert Woodberry, at the University of Texas, that pinpoints Protestant mission stations throughout the world in 1925. (His website has the same map for other years as well). They are concentrated... Read more

Faith, Race and Gender: An Historical Look at The Bowery Mission in New York City

Last updated on: June 13, 2012 at 11:03 am By Jerry Park

New York is the largest city in the United States, so it should not be surprising that there’s plenty of religious organizations that do all manner of charitable work for the downtrodden. Much of this goes unnoticed (charitable organizations often don’t have advertising put in their budgets). However the folks over at “A Journey Through NYC Religions” have included an online photobook of the Bowery Mission (“mission” is one word used by Christians to describe some of their charitable work... Read more

The Evangelical 99 Percent

Last updated on: November 26, 2011 at 7:36 am By Jerry Park

A guest post by Richard Flory Last week I spent a day at the annual Evangelical Theological Society meetings in San Francisco. My entree to the event was an invitation from some colleagues who are working on an project linking theological reflection and California culture, which allowed me to get a closer look at a gathering of several hundred evangelical theologians, biblical scholars, philosophers, pastors and political interlocutors–in effect, the brain trust of conservative American evangelicalism. I went fully expecting... Read more

Haitian Catholics and Gratitude

Last updated on: November 26, 2011 at 7:36 am By Margarita A. Mooney

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought it best to re-post here a blog I wrote last Thanksgiving about what Haitian Catholics taught me about gratitude. The blog original appeared at the University of Notre Dame’s Contending Modernities blog. It is appropriate that Anne Barnard’s front-page New York Times piece on Haitian Catholicism, entitled “Suffering, Haitians Turn to Charismatic Prayer” appeared on Thanksgiving Day (2010), for one of the strongest themes of the Haitian Catholic Charismatic movement is gratitude. During the nearly... Read more

Why Do Christians Leave the Faith? Breaking-up with a God Who Failed Them

Last updated on: October 25, 2017 at 2:05 pm By Bradley Wright

Part 2 in a series on deconversion. In a study of religious deconversion, we analyzed 50 on-line testimonies posted by former Christians, and in these testimonies we found four general explanations for deconversion. The first explanation, which I wrote about last week, regarded intellectual and theological concerns about the Christian faith. The second, which I elaborate here, regards a failed relationship with God. Almost half (22 of 50) of the writers expressed sentiments that in some way God had failed... Read more

CCM: Contemporary Catholic Music?

Last updated on: November 24, 2011 at 7:44 am By Mark Regnerus

My wife is a big fan of contemporary Christian music (CCM), and has listened to it as long as I’ve known her—about 22 years. I’m a fan, too, I suppose, although at a much more “socially acceptable” level than she is. (I just had to say that.) Basically, she introduces me to new songs, albums, and musicians—some of which I wind up enjoying, others not so much. Our transition from evangelical to Catholic has shed light on the role of... Read more