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Religious life has consistently played a prophetic role in the church; its post-Vatican H era is no exception. The failure of dialogue between those leaders whose ecclesiology is described as traditionalist and those labeled progressive continues to wound the Body of Christ. This article argues that it is in and through the dialogical living of their charism in service of the global church and society of the 21st century that religious offer healing and hope in and through their prophetic, ecclesial witness., RELIGIOUS LIFE: PRE-VATICAN II THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF the Christian church, religious life has been in dialectical tension with both its ecclesial and cultural contexts. The various histories of religious [...]

This research note describes changes in religion and church in Eastern Germany after the demise of state socialism. In order to understand these changes, different theoretical models are examined: the market model, the thesis of individualization, and the theory of secularization. A distinction between different dimensions of religion is used for discussing the applicability of these theoretical models to the processes of religious change in Eastern Germany. After dramatic losses during the time of state socialism, both religion and churches have continued to lose social significance since 1989. Research findings support the secularization thesis as the most appropriate approach for describing these religious changes in Eastern Germany., HYPOTHESES Within 40 years of state socialism, the number of church members in Eastern Germany declined from more than 90 percent to less than 30 percent. When the socialist regime [...]

Attempting to determine who belongs to the church in the fullest sense clarifies the meaning of baptism and salvation as well as the church's sacramental nature. It illuminates theological anthropology and ecumenism.

By now, nearly everyone has heard the statistics. From the end of Vatican II in 1965 to the present, the American Catholic Church has experienced dramatic drops in attendance at [...]

Many observers have been perplexed by the sudden membership drop in Catholic religious orders following Vatican II reforms. They are faced with the paradox that increasing individual liberties and decreasing communal demands have been associated with membership declines. Using a recent survey of religious orders, I find strong support for the thesis that when religious orders limit nongroup activities (by supporting the traditional demands of membership) they are more successful in recruiting new members. But the thesis does not suggest that support for traditional demands stifles innovation or change. I use the activities of recently formed religious orders to illustrate how religious movements make innovative returns to tradition.

Conservative churches have been reporting a rise in membership even as liberal mainline churches experience declining memberships. North America has also recently witnessed the growth of a new breed of thriving sects and independent churches. Three new evangelical movements (NEMs), namely, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Calvary Chapel and Hope Chapel, were studied based on their sources of growth. Results showed that the growth of NEMs is due to conversion and switching from Protestant and Catholic churches. This may be due to the NEMs' aggressive pursuit of outsiders, uncommon degree of ecumenism, charismatic mainliners and culturally current worship.

Even in our age of skeptical relativism an absolute assent of faith can and does occur, not at the level of secondary reflection but as a fundamental option. Thus, people can in good faith remain in the church even if they cannot presently embrace specific truths maintained by the magisterium.

The Dutch Catholic Church has experienced an immense growth and an equal measure of decline in the last two centuries. This article explains this development by using the sect-to-church theory, as has been developed by the rational choice theory of religion. This theory explains the growth and decline of a church by the degree of tension it has with society. Historical evidence is used to test this theory with regard to the Dutch Catholic Church. As long as that church was in tension with society it kept growing, but as soon as the tension decreased, which was already taking place prior to 1960, it declined.

A hundred and seventy one thousand is a lot of people. That is how many adults came into the Catholic Church in the United States in the past year. That [...]

* Emmanuel Milingo, 71, the former archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, who married a South Korean acupuncturist May 27 in a mass wedding organized by Sun Myung Moon of the Unification [...]