This note from the classroom explores teaching new or alternative religions within the context of a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College. The essay will specifically focus on a section of a course entitled "Modern Religious Movements" in which students were asked to consider different methodological approaches to the teaching and study of…

This paper asserts that Continuing Education aimed at equipping Christian leaders (lay and ordained) to carry out their ministries in the midst of America's increasing religious diversity in a way that views this diversity positively must be two-pronged: (1) it must provide accurate information about the beliefs and practices of the neighbors, and…

The author confronts the popular myth or false idea that Zen Buddhism is escape from reality through drugs and sex. (Author/DE)

In this article, Julia Ipgrave takes the idea of inclusion beyond the field of special educational needs to incorporate the needs of children with different faith backgrounds in the religious education (RE) class. She recommends that teachers respect the integrity of their pupils' faith backgrounds by making room for the children's own experiences…

This volume contains an address by Richard John Neuhaus entitled "Let the Church Be the Church" in which it is asserted that the crisis in Christian social ethics today is a crisis of faith which calls for spiritual, theological, and ethical renewal. The address is a retrospective look at the Vietnam-era debate between Neuhaus and Paul Ramsey,…

Notes that the ritualization of lachrymosity is not limited to Jews. Black History week, the marking of Black Sunday by the North Irish Catholics, and the commemoration of significant events in Palestinian-Israeli relations by the Palestinians are of this nature. (Author)

Female adult members of a spiritual community denying the existence of chance were matched by age and educational level with adult female nonmembers. Level of development of logical operations and causal belief systems were assessed. Findings indicate that personally charged, magical concepts of causality can develop into maturity and exist…

Counselors who work with conservative Christians may ask how to respect a client's values when "God" seems to be saying something contrary to what the counselor believes is in the client's best interests. This article portrays conservative Christianity as a culture and articulates conservative Christian beliefs that may challenge the counseling…

In 'Religious Upbringing Reconsidered,' Michael Hand revisits the debate on the right of parents to give their children a religious upbringing in a liberal context. According to him, the logical difficulty lies in the fact that parents cannot both impart religious beliefs and avoid indoctrination. While Peter Gardner and Jim Mackenzie have…

Religious faith plays a central role in the lives of many people. Although studies and anecdotal literature have explored the conflict between sexual and religious identities, no research has investigated the role of faith group affirmation of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity on the mental health of LGB members. This study compared 2…

Contends that the belief in saints did not emerge spontaneously. Traces a consistent ecclesiastical propaganda campaign aimed at communicating the character, powers, and importance of saints. Calls this the oldest, most enduring, effective propaganda campaign in the Western world prior to the invention of the press. (PD)

This report gives the results of a study that probes how typical individuals think about religion, faith, and personal morality. Alongside their belief in the power of religion to help individuals become better people, most people are also instinctively wary about injecting religion directly into politics, the public schools, and public life in…

Presents a longitudinal analysis of the impact of the group's millenarian orientation upon its developmental career. Attention is focused upon long-term modes of adjustment to recurrent prophetic failures, examining the ways in which the sect has adapted its collective identity to meet such crises." (Author/SE)

The resurgence of conservative religious groups over the past several decades raises interesting questions about its effects on women's life chances. Conservative religious institutions promote a traditional understanding of gender within families. Women's beliefs about appropriate family roles, in turn, influence their preparation for market work…

Reported is a study of the understanding and support of science for sample groups of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod ministers, seminarians, and high school seniors. Catalogs of Synodical schools were examined to determine changes in science requirements from 1925-30 to 1968. Science teachers were surveyed to ascertain course improvements…