Faith & Culture

(RNS) — Two years ago, Vineyard United Methodist Church was in trouble. They chose to change, pulling out pews cancelling some traditional events, and . gradually tweaking services. The first few changes were the hardest, according to co-pastor Jim Hein. But each one built trust for the next.

(The Conversation) Ever, for luck, rapped your knuckles on a wooden table or doorframe? Americans accompany this action by saying, “Knock on wood.” In Great Britain, it’s “Touch wood.” They knock on wood in Turkey, too.

(The Conversation) Testing investment advisers on their knowledge of ethics can lead to better behavior, new research shows.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- In the aftermath of several high-profile church shootings, around 4 in 5 Protestant pastors say their church has some type of security measure in place when they gather for worship, according to a survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Polarization in American Christianity — and American politics — may be at its highest in recent memory, but experts on the role of faith in public life nevertheless have some hope about ways to address it.

KELLER, Texas (RNS) — For four hours at a megachurch outside of Dallas, pastors of color shared their personal stories of leading a multiethnic church.

(RNS) — For Heather Thompson Day, an associate professor of communication and rhetoric at Colorado Christian University, if she shares her love of Taylor Swift and Chick-fil-A with her children, why wouldn’t she also share her love of Jesus? A viral tweet over passing along our faith has generated discussion.

Nurses in the U.S. continue to receive high marks for honesty and ethics, according to a Gallup report published Jan. 6. Clergy perception improved three points to 40% from last year, placing them 10th in the list of 22 professions surveyed.

(RNS) — I do not, and will not ever, own a cat. Instead, I own a dog. In fact, as I type this, Lucy, my 7-pound Yorkshire terrier, is snoring next to me on my office chair. Why do I prefer dogs to cats? It could be because — along with being a social scientist — I am an American Baptist pastor. And like many other Christians in the United States, I’m more likely to own a dog than a cat.

Few faith leaders appear in Gallup’s annual most admired people list for 2019, released on Dec. 30.