The respected academic joined RadioLIVE's Mark Sainsbury to discuss how new age and traditional religions are evolving in the 21st century. Listen to the interview

In the 2006 national census, 508,761 people identified themselves as Catholic. By the time of the 2013 census that had fallen to 492,111.

The census results show that the number of self-identified Catholics in every diocese except Auckland fell from 2006 to 2013.

Lineham thinks there are good reasons to expect that trend to not only continue, but perhaps extend to Auckland.

He says the increase in Auckland can be attributed to migration and once migrants have been here for 10 years or so, their pattern of loyalty or joining falls away.

Source

• NZ Catholic
• Image: interestingtimestours.co.uk

His departure is the latest in string of high profile members leaving Destiny Church. Janine Cardno, the church's media spokeswoman for many years, and Paul and Michelle Hubble, who had been with Destiny leader Brian Tamaki since 1990, quit Destiny last year

Lewis, a former police detective and political candidate, is believed to be starting his own church and will this Sunday start preaching at the Dream Centre, a community facility in Manukau City from which seven other churches operate.

Associate Professor Peter Lineham of Massey University, who was granted access to the inner workings of the church when he wrote the book Destiny says, "I think very few of the church's achievements would have been possible without the firm hand of Richie Lewis behind because Brian [Tamaki] is a dreamer, an inspirational type of person."

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• TVNZ

"I'm feeling quite, wow, chuffed," he told about 100 academics, Destiny Church members, and the public who packed the room for the launch in Auckland last Thursday.

The few issues he has with the book revolve around four or five "porkies".

The one that annoys him most is an incorrect tale about him buying son Sam a Corvette, which he most certainly didn't. Other than that, he's happy enough.

The book's author, Associate Professor Peter Lineham, believes the public will have to think again about what their views are.

Tamaki attended and welcomed the book's launch, despite the author being gay, a sexual orientation Tamaki says he disagrees with.

He said contrary to popular belief: "I do not hate anybody. I do not dislike gays."

Mr Lineham says that issue was put to the side during his writing of the book, and Destiny Church members actually embraced what he was doing.

"I mean it's very interesting because I think in the relationship of just talking to them they came to respect what I was doing and I think that says something for them, that they're willing to do it."

Source

• NewstalkZB
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: Penguin Books

In an interview with Kim Hill Lineham says his book is not an expose. He says there are some good things to be said about the Destiny Church

Listen to interview

It has been written by Massey University's associate professor of religious history, Peter Lineham. He relies heavily on the accounts of Lynda Stewart, a former financial administrator for the church.

Brian Tamaki's wife Hannah says Stewart was a member for seven years, but left after Brian Tamaki was anointed bishop in 2005.

Stewart accuses the Tamakis of living an extravagant lifestyle off the backs off their oft-impoverished church members.

Hannah refutes the accusations made by Stewart about her life style and behaviour.

"She is trying to paint me as unethical and that is what people do, but it comes back on them." She claims Stewart owns part of a gold mine in South Africa and a villa in Italy.

And she rejects some of the claims about her own extravagance. "One of my favourites was that we gave our son Samuel a Corvette. We have never even sat in a Corvette so, no, we didn't give him one.

"Another was that we bought our daughter a cruise, which we haven't."

Recent reports put donations to the church as high as 30 per cent of parishioners' incomes, but Hannah says this is untrue - the tithe sought, she says, is the traditional 10 per cent. She describes members who in the past would have spent $100 on booze each weekend but now give $60 to the church. "They are saving $40 and getting a lot more for it," she says.

Claims the poor are forced to tithe are also untrue, she says. "We don't force people to give and we don't follow up saying you didn't tithe last week," she says. "Other churches tithe and no one questions them on it."

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• Image: 2p.blog.hotspot

Professor Peter Lineham, who led the study, said the survey showed the mainstream Christian churches were "failing to connect" in areas of Auckland with a high concentration of ethnic minorities.

He said the Catholic Church continues to grow in New Zealand because it reflects more closely the changing nature of New Zealand's ethnic mix.

"The Catholic Church have got exactly the same problem of ageing Pakeha (as the Anglican Church), and they've lost a lot of ground among Pakeha, as Pakeha become more and more non-religious, but they've gained enormously from the new populations flooding into Auckland - Fillipinos, Koreans, Indians, Samoans and other Pacific peoples.

"That means that the Auckland Catholic Church is quite representative of Auckland. It's very striking," he said.

"Any religion that did not engage wider than the rich, white middle-class will certainly not be growing in a city with Auckland's demographics of today," Dr Lineham said.

Speaking on RNZ's The Panel, Auckland Catholic Diocese's spokesperson Lyndsay Freer said that because of its universal nature the Catholic Church transcends nationality. She said people from all around the world get a sense of being at home in the Catholic Church no matter what their nationality or ethnicity is.

Freer also said that the growth of the Catholic Church is a world-wide phenomenon. Catholics now account for 17.5% of the world's population.

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• Radio New Zealand
• TVNZ
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

The church offers four services a day to hundreds of followers, often asking its members to give to God for his blessings.

Associate Professor Peter Lineham from Massey University says the NZ group is part of an international organisation involving 120 countries. He believes the Brazilian-based church is a sect.

The Pay and Pray movement, also known as the Prosperity Gospel, teaches that the more you give in sacrificial donations the more they say you will receive in return.

Some former members of the Pay and Pray Church are disenchanted and speaking out against what they say are unethical practices.

Watch Close Up Video

Source

• TVNZ
• Image: Image