Polarisation is exhausting largely because it seems hopeless and also because it gets progressively worse. As measured in surveys, Americans’ negative attitudes toward political parties other than their own have increased dramatically in recent decades and at a much faster pace than in other countries. These entrenched divisions simultaneously increase the vehemence of our arguments Read more
Declining membership and a lack of new blood coming through have forced the Kaimai Presbytery to review the future of its St Andrew’s Presbyterian Parish of Kihikihi. But already a replacement is waiting in the wings if the presbytery decides to “dissolve” the 130-year-old congregation and sell the church property. Read more
Ben Hart says no one can prove he’s not God. Hart won a four-year legal battle and was able to pick up the long-awaited “Im God” licence plate and place it on the back of his Jeep. Read more
The John Templeton Foundation has recently allocated almost $4 million to conduct an Otago University-led study – The Evolutionary Dynamics of Religion, Family Size, and Child Success. The research will be led by Dr John Shaver, University of Otago’s Religion programme head, with Otago Research Fellow Dr Joseph Watts, who will conduct fieldwork in The Read more
There are now more church buildings than pubs in the UK, according to figures announced last month by the National Churches Trust. But the number of churches overall is falling too, just not as fast. Read more
Across New Zealand, 58 regional, district and city councils start their meetings with some sort of blessing, 18 do not. Among those who use some form of blessing, 13 pray, 26 say a karakia, 19 use a mix of both or another blessing and 18 don’t use anything. Massey University’s Professor Peter Lineham, whose research Read more
Napier City Council has lost a court battle to retain Easter Sunday trading because it carried out public consultation while the Christian community was distracted with advent over the Christmas period. Justice Robert Dobson recently overruled the council’s decision to allow Easter Sunday trading following a High Court judicial hearing last month. Continue reading
A team using computer modelling, Future of Religion and Secular Transitions (forest), has found that people tend to secularise when four factors are present: They are: Existential security (you have enough money and food) Personal freedom (you’re free to choose whether to believe or not) Pluralism (you have a welcoming attitude to diversity) Education (you’ve Read more
Victoria University religious studies professor Paul Morris says the study Faith and Belief in New Zealand didn’t get an accurate representation of different ethnicities, particularly Māori and Pacific populations. “It’s a very strange sample because it inconsiderably includes less than our population percentages of Māori and Pacifika, and that may have actually impacted on the result – Read more
Parliament will open with a new prayer on Tuesday after the Speaker of the House listened to criticism about him removing mention of the Queen and Jesus Christ. While the Queen is back in the new version to be read ahead of Question Time next week, references to Jesus Christ are still on the chopping Read more