Feature Channels: Religion

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Volunteer lay leaders serve as political opinion leaders within churches, with considerable power to deepen — or bridge — gaps between religion and politics, according to a Baylor University study.

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World War I — the “war to end all wars” — in fact sowed seeds for future international conflicts in a way that has been largely overlooked: through religion, says a Baylor University historian and author.

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“Heaven Is For Real” contends the current movie by that name. But which heaven? Several versions of heaven are depicted in art, literature, music and pop culture — many of which don’t mesh with faith doctrines, says pop culture critic Greg Garrett, Ph.D., of Baylor University.

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The cultural heritage of Syriac, an important language in the spread of early Christianity in the Middle East, is being preserved through the international collaboration known as Syriaca.org.

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American Muslims who interpret negative events in life as punishment from God are less likely to believe that donating organs after death is ethical than those with a more positive outlook, according to a survey conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago’s Program on Medicine and Religion.

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the individuals and two-fifths of the congregations surveyed still prefer the King James Bible. And of the Bible readers surveyed, African Americans reported the highest levels of Bible engagement.

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In an effort to broaden reach and to continue innovating, the official journal of the Vincentian Studies Institute, Vincentian Heritage, will change to an open source, interactive PDF version on March 6. The peer-reviewed journal includes articles on Vincentian history, spirituality and praxis.

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The Rev. Gregory I. Carlson, S.J., Creighton University has amassed more than 6,000 books and 4,000 related fable objects. Fables entertain us but often use the story to provide a moral insight. Father Carlson shares his thoughts on fables to reflect on for Lent.

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The project’s first initiative revolves around studying the brains of people who have returned from serving missions on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Despite their strong pro-family values, evangelical Christians have higher than average divorce rates — in fact, being more likely to be divorced than Americans who claim no religion, according to findings as cited by researchers from Baylor University.

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A new Boston University study led by postdoctoral fellow Natalie Emmons and published in the January 16, 2014 online edition of Child Development suggests that our bias toward immortality is a part of human intuition that naturally emerges early in life.

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More than 20 percent of Americans believe God has a say in sports -- for example, whether the Seahawks beat the Broncos. But that's troubling theology, says a Baylor professor. A survey conducted in January 2014 by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that many people believe God has a say in who wins, say, the Super Bowl.

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The ultimate play-off is the ultimate unifier, chasing away everyday cares and cutting across cultural, economic and gender lines that divide people, says pop culture observer Greg Garrett of Baylor University. But then what?

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It is not uncommon for prison inmates to claim that a spiritual experience has changed their nature and made them a better person. Kent Kerley, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Justice Sciences, has heard these stories and examined religion-based programs to discover the effect they have on inmates who are still imprisoned. His findings will be published next month in his book, “Religious Faith in Correctional Contexts.”