Faith Communities Research Articles

An Ethical Framework for Climate Intervention Research: What It Is and Why You Should Care

Climate change poses significant threats to ecosystems, human health, and global stability. Despite international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth’s climate continues to warm, leading to extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other detrimental impacts. In response to this crisis, scientists have begun exploring various strategies to mitigate climate change through geoengineering, which involves deliberate interventions in the Earth’s climate system. This article provides an overview of climate geoengineering research, focusing on key techniques, challenges, and ethical considerations, including actions being taken by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a nonprofit professional scientific society, to develop an ethical framework to help guide research in this important area. AGU also is driving global engagement on this topic, including with leaders and members of faith communities.

Artificial Intelligence and Theology: Can Different Doctrines Have Different Outcomes?

This article focuses on how different theological perspectives may influence AI acceptance in diverse faith communities. It highlights differences between Western and Eastern Christian traditions, suggesting that the historical emphasis on intellect in Western Christianity might make it more open to AI, though challenges in church integration are acknowledged. Global examples of AI assimilation in religious practices, from a robotic Buddhist preacher to a blessing-delivering robot in a German church, are discussed. The article argues that theological doctrines shape AI perspectives, influencing ethics and raising profound questions about human identity. The ongoing debate questions whether AI threatens theology or fosters enriching dialogue. The article suggests, through historical parallels and the dynamic interplay of theological doctrines and technology, that the relationship between AI and theology could evolve into constructive engagement rather than inherent conflict.

Will the children have faith in the post-pandemic era? Investigating models of children’s faith formation in a world changed by pandemic experiences

ABSTRACT In a world significantly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the modes of contemporary children’s faith formation and ask why these have not altered in light of so much societal change. What is the role and function of faith communities in nurturing a child’s faith in contemporary times? Almost fifty years ago, John Westerhoff first asked the question: ‘Will our children have faith?’ critiquing processes of children’s faith formation. This paper seeks to examine this same question, now in the context of widespread pandemic prompted self-evaluation of religious perspectives and practices. This study examines parental and church perspectives on modern-day children’s Christian faith formation, investigating the effectiveness of established paradigms. The tentative findings reveal significant disconnections regarding perceptions, expectations and roles of key players and an urgent need for revising of the established and dominant methods of the global church in their efforts to effectively nurture the faith of younger generations.

In Search of Priestly Witness: A Barthian Intervention in the Chinese Church–State Relationship in a Neoliberal Age

Abstract This article suggests a theological proposal for envisioning the relationship between the church and state in the context of the Chinese neoliberal regime. It consists of three interrelated tasks. First, I argue that the rise of a neoliberal state has shaped the Chinese political landscape over the past four decades and constrained the collective responses of the Chinese house churches in their cooperative and negotiating strategies. Then, I examine two recent theological announcements by the church leaders and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in addressing the principles of church–state relations. This critical analysis is followed by a rediscovery of Barth’s theological politics of priestly witness, which has laid the Christological foundation for the integrity of faith communities and shed light on their primary concerns and actions towards the Chinese neoliberal state. In this way, I seek to contribute to the ongoing discussion of Chinese political theology by offering a nascent analysis of the political system encountered by the house churches and reclaiming Barth’s theological legacy for these churches in public witness.

"If we don't forgive, it's like holding on to them": A qualitative study of religious and spiritual coping on psychological recovery in older crime victims.

There is growing need to strengthen support for older crime victims. We aimed to explore spiritual and/or religious (S/R) beliefs in a sample of older victims and understand how this shapes psychological responding and coping with crime. Qualitative study with supplementary descriptive statistics nested within a clinical trial. We explored psychological responding and coping in-depth through semistructured interviews with 27 older victims of police-reported crime, purposefully sampled to achieve maximum variation. We inductively analyzed data using a reflexive thematic analysis. We assessed the breadth of S/R beliefs in a large sample (N = 402) of initially distressed older victims using an abbreviated version of The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual Beliefs. We assessed continued psychological distress using the two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire 3 months postcrime. Over two-thirds (67%) identified as S/R, but psychological distress scores were similar, irrespective of religiosity. Our qualitative analysis suggests that crime may impact religious identity or practice in some older victims (hate crime) but influences attitudes or coping in others. Positive coping included acceptance, forgiveness, and/or turning to prayer or faith communities. Negative coping included fixation on retribution, superstition, perceived abandonment by God, or an inability to accommodate the crime within their beliefs, amplifying psychological distress. Understanding the psychological impact on older crime victims is enhanced by clarifying the role of S/R. Further research, especially on non-Christian religious victims, is needed. Cultural awareness training for trauma counselors and trauma awareness training for faith leaders is recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

How not to announce changes to the Immigration Rules

On 4 December, the Home Secretary unveiled a new package of measures to reduce immigration – a matter of great interest to faith communities, given that some of them depend fairly heavily on clergy and lay-workers from overseas to sustain their pastoral ministries. One of the elements in his statement to the Commons was a decision to ‘increase the skilled worker earnings threshold by a third to £38,700 from next spring, in line with the median full-time wage for those kinds of jobs’ and to raise the minimum income for family visas ‘to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers, which is £38,700’.1

Advance Care Planning in the Rural Faith Community: An Evidence-based Project Promoting Knowledge and Engagement

Advance Care Planning in the Rural Faith Community: An Evidence-based Project Promoting Knowledge and Engagement

발달장애인 신앙공동체의 예배 본질에 따른 실천적 목회

발달장애인 신앙공동체의 예배 본질에 따른 실천적 목회

Why did God let this Happen? Assessing the Spiritual Impacts of Sexual Addiction on Intimate Female Partners: A Qualitative Investigation

Recent years have seen a rise in research on sexual addiction (SA) and compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB). In the literature, these concepts describe an emerging field of study that may encompass a range of interpersonal and communal consequences for concerned individuals, their intimate partners, families, and society. Taboos surrounding SA/CSB often shroud the subject in shame and ignorance. Despite growing scholarly interest in SA/CSB, few studies have analysed intimate partners’ lived experiences in depth, and no other research has investigated the spiritual impacts of SA/CSB on intimate partners. This descriptive phenomenological study addresses this knowledge gap. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with female partners (primary participants; n = 12) and professional counsellors (supplementary participants; n = 15). The analysis reveals that following discovery/disclosure, SA/CSB may affect women via complex and multifaceted spiritual consequences. Significantly, most women did not receive validation or safety from their faith communities. Instead, many reported experiencing a range of spiritual impacts, including changes in their faith, fear of stigmatization, the perception of pastoral pressure to ‘forgive and forget’, ostracism from their faith communities, and/or a sense of anger directed towards God as the perceived silent co-conspirator who permitted the deception to continue undiscovered, sometimes over years or even decades. The study’s findings point to salient opportunities for faith communities to provide more targeted support and assistance during healing and recovery.

The taxation of consumption in late-medieval Castile: a case of contested authority and a rabbinic judgement in a fourteenth-century Jewish community

ABSTRACT Christians and Jews in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Castile relied on income from local taxes levied on commercial transactions to maintain the fabric and the effective administration of their communities. The consumption tax imposed by the crown, the alcabala (also known as the sisa), was a major source of royal revenue so that traders were doubly taxed on the sales of their produce. The mechanism for the collection of these taxes and the way in which the tax-farmers were appointed to these lucrative posts showed some similarities between the two faith communities. A dispute described in a fourteenth-century rabbinic responsum reveals, however, that the process within one Jewish community (aljama) was less structured than that followed in the Christian municipalities (concejos). Furthermore, it portrays the considerable emphasis placed by the protagonists on the legal injunctions of Jewish law (halakha). The conflict between the various elements within the Jewish leadership and their attempts to influence rabbinic authority are an illustration of rivalry and contention and of the bids to dominate judicial process within a late-medieval Jewish community.

Interfaith Marriage in Judaism and Christianity: Jewish-Christian Matrimonial Unions

Interfaith marriage between individuals of Jewish and Christian faiths presents unique challenges and opportunities for religious coexistence and shared values. This study examines Jewish-Christian matrimonial unions, exploring the complexities and dynamics of such relationships. By analyzing the historical, theological, and social aspects of Judaism and Christianity, this study sheds light on the varying perspectives, traditions, and concerns surrounding interfaith marriages within these faith communities. Additionally, it investigates the impact of interfaith unions on religious identity, family dynamics, and the upbringing of children. By delving into the experiences and narratives of individuals in Jewish-Christian marriages, this study provides insights into the negotiation of religious differences, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the potential for mutual understanding and respect in interfaith relationships.

Review of “Faith Communities and the Fight for Racial Justice: What Has Worked, What Hasn’t, and Lessons We Can Learn”

Review of “Faith Communities and the Fight for Racial Justice: What Has Worked, What Hasn’t, and Lessons We Can Learn”

Welcome to Dear Earth: Resourcing Spirit for the Anthropocene Era

The devastating impacts of climate change on daily life are becoming more and more apparent. These challenging times call for religious educators in all contexts to help faith communities bring the lens of climate justice to all aspects of faith formation. In this article, the Religious Education Association (REA) 2024 program chairs share experiences that have shaped their own commitment to climate justice and offer insight into the foci of the upcoming Dear Earth conference.

Abstract CT272: A cluster randomized trial to evaluate a church-based navigation model to increase breast cancer screening in Korean women (Faith In Action!): Trial in progress

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Korean American women and incidence in this group is rising. Advanced-stage disease is more frequent among Korean women diagnosed with breast cancer than in other ethnicities due to low adherence to screening. Lower socioeconomic status, cultural barriers, perceived norm, distrust of healthcare system, and lack of awareness and culturally tailored communication on benefits of screening contribute to low screening utilization. Church settings offer important platforms for education as a majority of Korean American women >50 years regularly attend church services. Thus, the objective of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a culturally tailored intervention “Faith in Action!” on breast cancer screening adherence rates among Korean American women. Methods: A parallel cluster randomized trial with staggered roll-out will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the “Faith in Action!” intervention, a church-based small group education and lay health navigator program, delivered by trained church members, on breast cancer screening among Korean American women (NCT05298605). This study was designed and conducted in partnership with a Community Advisory Board. Trial enrollment began in July 2022 and is ongoing. Twenty-four total Korean churches in Los Angeles were randomized within blocks of 8 churches to either intervention or waitlist control conditions in a 1:1 ratio. Using a train-the-trainer approach, lay navigators from the Korean Church community nominated by church leadership are trained and certified to deliver the Faith in Action! intervention to study participants over a 6-month program period. Participants at churches randomized to the waitlist control group receive an educational presentation on physical activity and nutrition and, after 6-month follow-up, are invited to receive the Faith in Action! intervention. Eligible participants include women of Korean descent, ages 45-75 years, who: attend a participating church, do not have a breast cancer diagnosis, and did not receive mammogram in the last 2 years. The primary outcome is adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines within 6 months from end of program. Secondary outcomes include adherence to breast cancer screening within 1 year and participant knowledge about breast cancer screening practices. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to assess participants’ knowledge and barriers surrounding cancer screening decisions and program acceptability. To date, 16 churches (149 total participants) have been enrolled in the study and are being followed. It is expected that findings from this research will inform community-based efforts to increase breast cancer screening adherence among Korean American women and improve understanding of screening barriers in this group that is disproportionately impacted by breast cancer, while building capacity and opportunities for sustainability in the Korean faith community. Citation Format: Gillian Gresham, Christie Y. Jeon, Dong Hee Kim, Min Jung Sung, Laurel J. Finster, Marcio A. Diniz, Michael Fine, Zul Surani, Alison K. Herrmann, Jeong Yup Lee, Robert W. Haile. A cluster randomized trial to evaluate a church-based navigation model to increase breast cancer screening in Korean women (Faith In Action!): Trial in progress [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr CT272.

Epistemology of Bodies as Closets: Queer Theologies and the Resurrection of Martyrized Christo-Morphic Bodies

This article seeks to rethink martyrdom, suffering, and resurrection from the perspective of queer theologies within the Latin American context and in dialogue with the praxis of the first faith communities who witnessed Jesus’ martyrdom. Starting from the queer body of Jesus—which incorporates in its praxis an ethos without gender violence and discrimination—the theological reflection contributes to the recovery of the fundamental principles of human experience. To this end, the analysis begins by addressing the feminist contribution to the understanding of violence against women to then rethink the intersection of bodies, sexuality, and violence against queer individuals and communities as a theological locus. It concludes by recognizing that queer theologies configure a resistant theological community that empowers queer bodies as a territory of hope of resurrection and transformative political action that does not disregard the suffering and the injustices perpetrated against them.

‘God protects us from death through faith and science’: a qualitative study on the role of faith leaders in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and in building COVID-19 vaccine trust in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ObjectiveThis study explored faith leaders’ perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccine and their role in building COVID-19 vaccine trust in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.DesignA qualitative study with in-depth interviews and thematic analysis...

Going Upstream: Poetic Attention and Religious Resonance

The poetry of Mary Oliver is used here as an example of how, for many people who have not encountered religious language or been part of a faith community, poems can have what might be termed a ‘religious resonance’. The poet’s art of attention is identified as a primary tool for replacing the traditional role that religion has played in human communities and consciousness – exploring the sense of life as a gift from a transcendent source, infusing intuitions of meaning into experience and confronting us with ethical demands.

Tajdid Iman Al-Muslimin fi Qoryati Silandurung min Khilali Barnamij Khidmati Al-Mujtama' fi Syahri Ramadhon

Learning Islamic sciences and the Quran profoundly influences individual and community faith renewal in various aspects. Employing a descriptive research approach, analyzing Quranic verses, prophetic sayings, and community leaders' opinions, a study conducted in Silandurong village during Ramadan revealed a lack of enthusiasm among its predominantly Muslim population for Islamic education and Quranic reading. Reasons include parental neglect in nurturing proper beliefs, societal indifference toward the illuminating religion, and governmental neglect of religious programs. Despite a Muslim majority, attendance at prayers and educational sessions barely reaches 5%, even during Ramadan. To address this, the researcher recommends the establishment of educational councils, memorization circles, and Islamic evening schools for children to revitalize faith and foster community well-being, promoting comfort, tranquility, stability, and security from harm.

Inaugurated eschatology from a transgender perspective

Many people who identify as transgender, experience discrimination, stigma and societal marginalisation as if they are not really human beings created in the image of God. This article argues for more acceptance of transgender people within a Christian world view. I contend that gender and the imago Dei can make room for more inclusivity and inherent human dignity for all people. Transgender identity, the idea of inaugurated eschatology as ‘already/not yet’ with the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the restoration of God’s image, and the acceptance of transgender individuals in God’s Kingdom will be focussed on. Inaugurated eschatology enlightens us on who we are in Christ. The topic focusses on transgender issues in relation to inaugurated eschatology and its effects on transgender roles within the Christian faith community. The nature of the research is qualitative and descriptive, either contradicting or supporting different views on transgender and inaugurated eschatology.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: To encourage discussion and deeper exploration of the concepts of transgenderism and inaugurated eschatology that could contribute to more inclusivity and inherent human dignity for all people in the fields of theology, gender studies, politics, philosophy, history and psychology.

Exploring the Role of Migration Status in Pregnancy Loss Attributions, Experiences, and Support in Australia.

While previous research has explored the impact of migration status on experiences and attributions about pregnancy loss, less common is comparative research examining similarities and differences between migrants and non-migrants. This paper reports on a cross sectional comparative study of 623 culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) or non-CALD people living in Australia. Participants completed a survey that asked about experiences of pregnancy loss, support, and attributions about pregnancy loss. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of rates of pregnancy loss, though CALD participants reported greater distress following a loss. CALD participants reported greater reliance on partners and faith communities, and found healthcare professionals to be less supportive. CALD participants were more likely to attribute pregnancy loss to spiritual reasons (among others), and non-CALD participants to fetal abnormalities. The paper concludes by calling for awareness campaigns and professional upskilling to better ensure the needs of CALD communities.