I’ve been thinking a lot about history lately – how we tell complicated stories and how we know about the past. Maybe that’s because I’m cleaning out my attic! How do we know? Students of congregations have a great new data source available at The ARDA. In the first half of the 20th century, the…
When we think about why clergy might leave their positions, we often focus on the obvious challenges: long hours, modest pay, or theological disagreements. But new research I conducted, forthcoming in the Review of Religious Research, reveals a clear and perhaps surprising finding—the single most important factor in whether ministers stay or go isn’t about…
Between the pandemic and the spread of virtual meetings, congregations – like other organizations – are left to wonder what it means for people to ‘attend’ services. Attendance numbers can’t be deduced by counting the ‘butts in the pews,’ so YouTube views and Zoom participants have to be added to the mix. But what are…
Blue Zones Perhaps you’ve heard of “Blue Zone” places – places around the world where people tend to live very long, healthy lives – many of them passing 100 years. Scientists have been studying these places for a couple of decades, and they have been featured on Netflix and the TED Radio Hour, among many…
Ash Wednesday marks the start of the Christian period of Lent. Christians often receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their forehead and tend to wear that mark with pride throughout the day. It’s generally one day out of the year where the lines between secular society and personal belief are blurred, where…