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Welcome! At Signs and Wonders we sift through the World Wide Web looking for evidence of emerging religious futures. Our mission is to provide our readers -- religious futurists, ministers, and just plain spiritual people -- with a guided tour of the web, stopping wherever we see the future of faith unfolding before our eyes. We update this site every three days or so, so come back again and join us on our next trip. If you want to comment on anything you read here or discuss religious futures in general, come over to our forum. |
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March 23, 2000 [social] -- State of the Faith: Two Studies by Cody Clark at 8:24 AM (EST)  beliefnet conducted a survey of 16 leading religious thinkers to glean insights into the future of religion in America. The conclusions are not too surprising -- Islam will grow, Mainstream churches will decline, and the spiritual marketplace in America will be dominated by pluralism as Americans seek alternative modes of spiritual expression. Barna Reseach also has come out with their "The State of the Church, 2000" survey of a random sample of 1002 adults. The conclusion is that mainstream church participation is holding steady and not growing. Barna's positive spin: "If there is comfort in stability, then there is little doubt that Christianity in America is in the comfort zone." The study does indicate that there seems to be a growing attraction to Christian "megachurches", but concludes that "There does not seem to be revival taking place in America." editor -- Given the trends we've been tracking, I'd say that any revival taking place in America right now is in the variety of religious expression in the spiritual marketplace and not in any one traditional church. [social] -- College campuses accomodating Islam by Cody Clark at 7:57 AM (EST) From beliefnet, increasing numbers of colleges are accommodating their growing Muslim student populations by building more facilities and student centers for on-campus Muslims. editor -- This supports two trends we are tracking: 1) The ascendancy of Islam in America and; 2) The increase in religious pluralism in American Society. [social] -- Is Christianity "Outdated?" by Cody Clark at 7:57 AM (EST) This article from Zondervan News profiles the ideas of controversial Episcopalian Bishop John Spong. Spong asserts that increasing numbers of Americans, put off by "outdated" teachings of traditional churches, are searching for new and different ways to think about God and Jesus. "The fastest-growing organization in Christianity is Christian alumni," claims Spong, "I'm not interested in upsetting fundamentalists or evangelicals with what I'm saying. I'm speaking to Christian alumni about a new way of understanding Jesus." editor -- The article, tellingly titled "LIBERAL BIBLE SCHOLARS ARE PUSHING NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY" is intended, I think, to be a call to arms for the traditional faithful. But it supports a trend we're tracking of increasing numbers of Americans searching for expressions of faith as an alternative to traditional worship and belief. [technological] -- Freeman Dyson wins Templeton Prize by Cody Clark at 8:26 AM (EST) Freeman Dyson, a physicist who has written on the relationship between science and religion, won the annual Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion on Wednesday. The fact that Dyson has no religious affiliation made the award seem ironic, but Dyson has displayed a lifelong interest in the intersection of science and religion. Said Dyson in his prepared remarks, "religion has a much more important role in human destiny than science" and that "We ought to take advantage of religion to make science something we can be proud of". Dyson is an advocate of science and religion joining forces to "drive the world in the right direction." |
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