On average, church attendance is dropping in the majority of the congregations in many denominations. Some denominations, such as the Pentecostals are gaining ground, and some congregations are healthier than others within denominations. But the overall trend is that the older members are dying off and they are not systematically being replaced. Millennials, for example, are replacing evangelical churches with other spiritual satisfactions in increasing numbers. With such glum news about the future of the church, I wish that something could be done to... Read more

Although it was never supposed to, Christianity inadvertently played a major role in spreading racism and white supremacy. Something that was meant to enlighten mankind has instead been one of the largest sources of brainwashing and evil. Instead of spreading love, wisdom, and a connection to The Light, religion has often caused stunted social advancement, lost or destroyed history, science and art, and has caused several wars and death because of its misguided mismanagement. Below are some of the ways... Read more

Never before in post-independence India have political elections have created this sense of alarm and fear from religious fanaticism. But fear of religious fanaticism is nothing new to a secular, liberal India. Fear, ignorance and violence are common elements that encourage fanaticism. Fanaticism occurs when monism outweighs pluralism. Mahatma Gandhi who himself was a victim of religious fanatics, struggled all his life against fanatical zeal and monistic impulses. When Mahatma Gandhi arrived on the political scene of India in 1915... Read more

Last week HuffPo Religion‘s executive editor Paul Raushenbush wrote about a “stunning resurgence” of progressive Christianity. The right, he notes, had been the “default religious voice” of the final three decades of the twentieth century—but its loud, extended run may be over. Why did progressive religion languish for so long? Ed Kilgore has explained this way: 1) the religious left is a smaller and less homogeneous movement than religious conservatism; 2) secular progressives have little use for religion; and 3) when political progressives do decide... Read more

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary will welcome prominent theologian and scholar Dr. Mark Lewis Taylor during the fall 2014 semester as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Theology. Taylor has written extensively on religion, culture, and politics and holds the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.Since the beginning of her presidency at Garrett-Evangelical, Dr. Lallene Rector and key faculty members have been exploring what it means to be a public theologian in the... Read more

The reconciliation of science and religion is one of the most compelling tasks confronting religious believers today. For we are truly faced with a pair of hostile, warring camps. Many religious believers have drifted into a kind of pietistic mistrust of science that seeks comfort in demonstrably false propositions like young earth creationism. On the other hand, we find a number of scientist who dismiss the possibility of a spiritual dimension to human existence. Some dismiss faith altogether as an... Read more

David Brat’s victory over Rep. Eric Cantor was a shocker, leading to the lightning-fast unearthing of Brat’s writings, such as those calling for Christians to “rise up” in defense of capitalism. But Brat is part of a bigger movement in recent years of overtly religious economists, particularly of the conservative Christian variety. The rise of the Randolph-Macon College economist, who defeated Cantor in the Republican primary for the Virginia 7th Congressional District,comes as Pope Francis forces questions about theology and... Read more

A coalition of 90 religious, educational, health, women’s, LGBT, and civil rights groups this week called on the Department of Justice to abandon a 2007 Office of Legal Counsel Memo that interprets the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to allow faith-based organizations receiving federal funding to circumvent federal prohibitions on hiring discrimination in employment. A smaller coalition, known as the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD), has been pressing the Obama administration to reverse this Bush-era rule since early in President Obama’s first term. This larger... Read more

Ask any wrestling aficionado about the greatest wrestlers from the last quarter century and one name you will consistently hear is “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, the wrestler discussed at the very end of part one of my series on the intersection of religion and professional wrestling. With the charisma of The Rock, the wrestling skillset of Bret “The Hitman” Hart, the masochistic daring of Jeff Hardy, the microphone skills of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and the eye-candy good looks... Read more

When David Brat defeated House Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in the Republican primary of Virginia’s 7th Congressional District last night, House Republicans likely lost their only Jewish representative. In his place, they may have gained a radically pro-capitalist Christian theologian. Christian Tea Party candidates are certainly not unusual, but a trail of writings show that Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon college, has an especially radical theology to support his right-wing politics. Brat’s CV lists him as a graduate of Hope College,... Read more