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Non-Profit Giving Habits
The only annual study dedicated to analyzing the giving habits of donors worldwide was recently published. Produced by the Public Interest Registry and Nonprofit Tech For Good, the report “seeks to...
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Necessary to Believe in God to be Moral?
Is it necessary to believe in God in order to be moral? The Latest Research Last month the Pew Research Center published the results of their latest survey on the topic. The survey item asked American...
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The Largest Religion in America in 2037
The rise of the “nones” (those claiming no religious affiliation) has been well documented in general, and also here on this blog. Assuming the shift away from religious affiliation continues, when...
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Top 5 Posts of 2017
2017 has been a year marked by transitions in my personal life. And, not surprisingly, posts about two of those transitions rank among the top five posts of the year here at So What Faith (ranking...
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American Well-Being is Declining
Well-Being by Don Shaw – .flickr.com/photos/donshall/5517659445/ Overall, the world has been becoming a better place for quite some time (for an in-depth consideration I encourage you to read Steven...
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The End of Church Weddings?
Most people get married in a church. That is what I was told growing up and also the place I officiated most often once I entered pastoral ministry. Rapid Decline A quick Google search will yield a...
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America the Unique: Daily Prayer
The Age Gap in Religion Around the World (Pew Research Center, June 2018) is packed with enough data to keep anyone interested in religious trends busy reading and pondering for quite some time. This...
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Celebrating 9 Years of So What Faith
Earlier this week Facebook memories showed me that five years ago that day I had posted the following Marking a milestone – did you know that I have now written a blog post at least once a day for the...
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Changing Jobs For the 20th Time
People change jobs. 1979 Frequent job changes are common today, but holding many jobs over the course of one’s adult lifetime has actually been common for quite some time. While a snapshot of any...
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7 New American Religious Types
photo by Greg Smith A few days ago the Pew Research Center published The Religious Typology: A New Way to Categorize Americans by Religion. For those not inclined to read the full 99 page report, Pew...
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What Students Think of Me
A few weeks ago I shared some reflections on my life as an adjunct professor. Since writing that post, I’ve spent some time looking back over the last eight years. Student Evaluations In higher...
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More and More Clergywomen
photo by Greg Smith “State of Clergywomen in the US: A Statistical Update,” published earlier this month, finds that clergywomen continue have grown from 2.3% of all clergy in the United States in 1960...
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6 Decades of Decline in the United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) was formed in 1957 as the result of the union of two Protestant denominations: the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. In 1957...
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Who Finds Meaning in Religion?
Data from Pew Research Center survey “Where Americans Find Meaning in Life” (Survey conducted December 4-18, 2017) What makes for a meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying life? In an attempt to answer...
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Top 5 Posts of 2018
2018 has been a year of new beginnings for me. The year began with my family moving into a new home. As the year progressed other major changes followed including two that appear in this year’s list...
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Top 10 Posts of All Time
I started So What Faith back in 2009, and added Google analytics to the site in 2013. Based on data gathered from 2013 to present the top all time posts are photo by Greg Smith (My Visit to Next Level...
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Public Perception – Clergy Ethics at All-Time Low
Eight years ago I wrote about how clergy fared in an annual Gallup survey on the American public’s views of the honesty and ethical standards of a variety of occupations. In 2010, I noted that “clergy...
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Spiritually Vital Congregations
Is spiritual vitality the same across denominations and even religions or does it look differently within each of these contexts? Common Ground According to the Faith Communities Today American...
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Majority of UCC Congregations Worship 50 or Fewer
The percentage of all congregations in the United Church of Christ with average worship attendance of 50 people or less has been increasing since 2000. During that time the percentage nearly doubled...
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Current Issues & Church
According to a recent Public Religion Research Institute survey of adults who attend religious services at least once or twice a month, most people never hear clergy speak about current issues from...
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