In studying the differences in brain interactions between religious and non-religious subjects, researchers conclude there must be a biological basis for the evolution of religion in human societies.
A thickening of parts of the brain cortex associated with regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practice could be the reason those activities guard against depression – particularly in people who are predisposed to the disease, according to new research led by Lisa Miller, professor and director of Clinical Psychology and director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. Miller and colleagues studied 130 subjects and found that those who highly valued spirituality showed thicker portions of brain cortices that may protect against depression -- especially in those at high risk for the disease.
Creighton University's Online Ministries website offers interesting tips to people busy with holiday activities and job responsibilities to reflect on the Advent season.
People who are part of a congregation’s largest racial group are more likely to feel they belong and be more involved— regardless of whether their group is barely half or nearly all of the members, a Baylor University study shows. The findings reveal how difficult it is not only to create a multiracial congregation, but also to maintain a thriving one.
American evangelical practices of prayer can train the mind to experience God, says the winner of the 2014 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Tanya Luhrmann, a Stanford University psychological anthropologist, received the $100,000 prize for the ideas set forth in her 2012 book, “When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God.”
Professors from Butler University and University of Manchester (England) have compiled a book of essays that look at the role of religion in the long-running series "Doctor Who."
Viewing R-rated movies leads to decreased church attendance and lessens importance of faith among young people, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher published online in the Review of Religious Research.
People who have had what they believe to be supernatural experiences are more likely to be “religious givers,” with their behavior based on cost-benefit principles that work in other transactions — whether that be through Amazon.com or an auto repair shop, according to a Baylor University study.
Congregation size has an impact on how people view the reasons for racial inequality in America, according to a new study by researchers at Baylor University and the University of Southern California.
Tolerance toward gays and lesbians is growing within the evangelical community — long a stronghold against homosexuality — with many expressing ambivalent views about the issue, according to a Baylor University study.
A faith-based prisoner re-entry program in Minnesota has saved an estimated $3 million by reducing recidivism, according to a Baylor University study published in the International Journal of Criminology and Sociology.
Candy Gunther Brown tells the intriguing story behind the mainstreaming of complementary and alternative medicine in "The Healing Gods: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Christian America."
A research team that examined the relationship between religious practices and obesity among Indian immigrants has found that religiosity in Hindus and Sikhs — but not Muslims — appears to be an independent factor associated with being overweight or obese.
Scripture has played a pivotal role in shaping America's justification for going to war from the nation's earliest beginnings, according James P. Byrd, an assistant professor of American religious history. "My research showed how important the Bible was to our founding generation -- even those who did not regularly attend church."
Two new Baylor University studies show that Israeli Jewish adults who attend synagogue regularly, pray often, and consider themselves religious are significantly healthier and happier than their non-religious counterparts. They also report greater satisfaction with life.
Young adults who deem themselves “spiritual but not religious” are more likely to commit property crimes — and to a lesser extent, violent ones — than those who identify themselves as either “religious and spiritual” or “religious but not spiritual,” according to Baylor University researchers.
American entrepreneurs pray more frequently, are more likely to see God as personal and are more likely to attend services in congregations that encourage business and profit-making, according to a study by Baylor University scholars of business and sociology.
In the heat of World War II, men who experienced intense combat were more than twice as likely to turn to prayer as those who did not, reports a Cornell University economist in the forthcoming June/July issue of Journal of Religion and Health. And the more that the veterans reported they disliked the war, the more religious they were 50 years after combat.
Praying for a romantic partner or close friend can lead to more cooperative and forgiving behavior toward the partner, according to a new study co-authored by a Florida State University researcher.
The Western democratic practice of singling out religious liberty for special treatment under the law is not in sync with the world we live in today, argues University of Chicago Law School professor Brian Leiter in his new book, Why Tolerate Religion?
Adults whose parents were divorced are more likely to switch religions or disassociate themselves from institutional religions altogether — but growing up in a single-parent family does not have any effect on private religious life, including praying, according to a study by a Baylor University sociologist.
The myth of altruism and generosity surrounding Mother Teresa is dispelled in a paper by Serge Larivée and Genevieve Chenard of University of Montreal’s Department of Psychoeducation and Carole Sénéchal of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education.
Members of The National Communication Association who study spiritual communication can provide insight into the election of the new pope.
St. Patrick’s Day has become an American tradition where everyone is Irish. However, these annual March celebrations were born from the painful experiences of early Irish immigrants, many of whom were Catholic, says Mary McCain, Irish studies instructor at DePaul University in Chicago.
People become more politically liberal immediately after practising a spiritual exercise such as meditation, researchers at the University of Toronto have found.
As the world awaits white smoke from the Sistine Chapel roof -- the signal that a new pope has been elected -- Virginia Tech historian Frederic Baumgartner speculates about what will happen next.
The Vincentian Studies Institute of DePaul University in Chicago has launched an online research archive that provides access to historical documents on the Catholic Reformation, with special focus on Vincentian history.
Speculation regarding the profile of the next leader of the Catholic Church is mounting in the days since Pope Benedict XVI’s surprising resignation. William Madges, Ph.D., dean of Saint Joseph’s University’s College of Arts and Sciences and professor of theology, warns that speculation is just that until the conclave actually meets, but notes some obvious considerations.
While it is not unprecedented for a pope to resign from his position, it is unprecedented for a pope to resign for health reasons — as Pope Benedict XVI plans to do at the end of the month — says a leading historian of religion at Washington University in St. Louis. Daniel M. Bornstein, PhD, the Stella Koetter Darrow Professor in Catholic Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, says that Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation stands out as different from previous ones, but not simply because of his medical reasons. “Previous resignations either resulted from or led to grave crises in leadership. I do not see either of those as a concern in this case,” Bornstein says.
The Rev. Gerald P. Fogarty, S.J., William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Religious Studies and History at the University of Virginia, is available to speak with members of the media about issues of papal succession.
A Kansas State University researcher is studying how religion -- particularly Buddhism -- fits into new forms of virtual reality, such as Second Life.
The reasoning behind getting religious-themed tattoos is strikingly similar to a 100-year-old theory about how the Protestant work ethic powered the Industrial Revolution.
Corporations’ religious freedom claims against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate miss a “basic fact of health economics: health insurance, like wages, is compensation that belongs to the employee,” says Elizabeth Sepper, JD, health law expert and associate professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Sepper is featured in the current Harvard Law Bill of Health blog.
Religious groups aren’t capturing the hearts of the millennial generation, and the Internet is partly to blame, says the author on a new book on building strong religious communities.
The study maps a decline in advocacy for school prayer starting in the 1970s and accelerating as skeptical Baby Boomers became ascendant. Support remains markedly lower today among Catholics and mainline Protestants yet unwaveringly high among evangelicals.
While many may see “taking Christ out of Christmas” as a recent phenomenon, the roots of secular Christmas celebrations and commercialization go deep into American history, says Anne Blankenship, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate at the John C. Danforth Center for Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.
Ah, the Christmas season. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A time to celebrate peace, love and the religious beliefs of America’s religious majority – whether you like it or not.
Rachel Wagner, author of "Godwired" and an expert on the intersections between religion and virtual reality, says that Pope Benedict is entering the profane world of social media by issuing his first tweet.
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