Secularization Theory: The Course of a Concept William H. Jr Swatos In 1967 the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion published a collection of essays on church-sect theory that some people at the time interpreted as intending an obituary for the church-sect concept. If so, it must instead be taken as evidence for the […]
The marginalization of evangelical feminism Sally K. Gallagher INTRODUCTION Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of religious subcultural strength (Smith 1998), I address the question of why evangelical feminist ideas of egalitarianism within marriage and the church remain a marginalized tradition among American evangelicals. Following an overview of scattered perspectives and possibilities for mutuality and partnership […]
Determinants of Parishioner Satisfaction among Practicing Catholics Mark Peyrot Mark Peyrot [*] This study examined determinants of satisfaction with the parish among practicing Catholics in Baltimore City. Data were obtained from questionnaires completed by respondents (N = 7658) in 28 urban parishes. Respondents who were older, female, married, and less educated were more satisfied. African […]
Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence – Book Reviews Rhys H. Williams Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, MARK JUERGENSMEYER. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000, 331 pp. $27.50 (cloth). I received this book to review after September 11. Not surprisingly, I struggled […]
The debate over a crypto-Jewish presence in New Mexico: The role of ethnographic allegory and orientalism Michael P. Carroll For the editors of the Atlantic Monthly (in their December 2000 issue) it was “a tempting tale, but not, it seems, a likely one.” The tale in question is one that has appeared often in a […]
Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. . – book review James Opp Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, MARGUERITE VAN DIE (ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001, 385 pp., $50.00 (cloth), $24.95 (paper). In 1980. the editor of Dr. Elizabeth Smith’s diaries explained that for the […]
Whither Hunter’s Culture War? Shifts in Evangelical Morality, 1988-1998 – Statistical Data Included Dale McConkey Dale McConkey [*] Ten years have passed since the events of the late 1980s spurred James Davison Hunter to write his book Culture wars, which was published in 1991. Since then, the political world has witnessed several shifts that call […]
Investment returns on an Islamic-principled mutual fund in the United States: further evidence for the cost-of-discipleship hypothesis Samuel A. Mueller In a previous article in this journal, I tested a hypothesis derived from Iannaccone’s (1988) formal model of church and sect, that deviation in ethical standards away from the norms of the surrounding culture should […]
Odd Gods: New Religions & the Cult Controversy. . – book review Janja Lalich Odd Gods: New Religions & the Cult Controversy, JAMES R. LEWIS (ED.), Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2001,435 pp., $33.00 (cloth). This book is an encyclopedic review, not unlike Lewis’s earlier The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions, published in 1999 […]
Muslim Communities in the New Europe. – book reviews Paul D. Numrich GERD NONNEMAN, TIM NIBLOCK, AND BOGDAN SZAJKOWSKI, (eds.). Berkshire, UK: Ithaca Press, 1996, ix + 346 pp. 35.00 [pounds sterling]. While I was reading this book, Pope John Paul II expressed concern over political turmoil in his “beloved Albania” and actress Brigitte Bardot […]