What binds these volumes together and makes them unique is the use of sociological methods to understand church practices and formulate reform agenda on the basis of sociological findings.

Hegy is a sociologist by profession and an emeritus professor of sociology at Adelphi University, and, contrary to most of his colleagues, holds that spirituality as well as religion, Christian and otherwise, can be studied from the perspective of sociology.

Of great significance is Hegy's expert deployment of the outsider-insider sociological method in his investigation of church reforms.

Most recent theological tomes on church reform, produced usually by systematic theologians heavy with scholarly learning but light on familiarity with facts on the ground, remain at a distressingly ethereal level.

To be sure, they are for the most part solidly founded on church teachings, particularly as promulgated by Vatican II, but their theological considerations as well as their concrete proposals for church reform lack the specificities of lived experience.

This is where Hegy's "pastoral sociology of religion" has made a significant and lasting impact on what might be called "pastoral ecclesiology."

This innovative approach bears abundant fruit in Hegy's study of popular religiosity and devotions, a subject of great interest to Pope Francis.

Hegy surveys the practice of popular devotions during the pre-Vatican II era, the post-Vatican II period, and our current time, in Europe, the United States and Latin America, highlighting the different ways in which these devotions form an essential part of lay spirituality as distinct from the clergy-centered ones.

He insightfully notes that popular devotions, especially as practiced in Latin American cofradías, foster lay leadership and a sense of vocation as part of Christian spirituality.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking part of the book is the last, titled "Postmodern Christianity: From Hierarchies to Networks," in which Hegy sketches the outline of a lay spirituality for an authentic renewal of the Catholic Church.

By "postmodern Christianity," Hegy means one in which "there is little fragmentation between the sacred and the profane, strong personal religious commitment, a great sense of community through communicative action, and a sense of mission, both individually and collectively." Continue reading

• Buy from Amazon.com: 2017 Lay Spirituality: From Traditional to Postmodern

The words of the apostle Paul are a familiar text at weddings, a time when hope is least tempered by experience.

But several new studies suggest the biblical text with its emphasis on consideration for others also may provide the foundation of a spiritual blueprint for lasting, satisfying unions.

Four studies published in the Journal of Family Psychology indicate that cultivating practices such as selfless prayer, spiritual intimacy and compassionate love can help keep couples happily together through the challenges of marriage, from becoming parents to caring for one another amid the infirmities of old age.

And another study in the fall issue of Sociology of Religion finds that individuals who attached great importance to their faith and entered into marriage for religious reasons are less likely to commit adultery.

The latest findings are part of a developing effort to delve deeper into the connection between religion and marriage to identify specific practices and beliefs that predict stronger unions.

Here are five ways faith may help lead to a lifetime of wedded bliss:

Praying for your partner: Asking God for help with one's own needs did not predict stronger romantic relationships, one study of 316 college students found. What did matter in the study of college students, and a separate study of 205 married couples, were divine appeals praying for the welfare of their partner and asking God to watch over her or him. Praying for others was associated with increased commitment and more satisfying relationships, researchers from Florida State University and the University of Georgia found. Continue reading

Sources

• The Association of Religious Data Archives
• Image: Stronger Marriage Blog

CWR: Why did you set out to write this book—what initially triggered your thinking on secularization in the West?

Eberstadt: Like other Americans who've travelled to Europe, I've been impressed repeatedly by how secular and non-Christian and sometimes anti-Christian the Continent has become. Empty pews and sparsely attended Masses; cathedrals that house far more tourists than pilgrims; elderly altar-servers in childless churches: these are just a few snapshots of what some call the ongoing de-Christianization of Europe.

The question of why this dramatic decline has happened seemed worth some time and thought, so I started looking into it. And the first interesting fact to emerge was that the standard ways of explaining secularization don't hold up, as the opening chapters of the book go to show.

Affluence alone doesn't drive out God, for example, and neither does education or rationalism or other purported causal factors that don't hold up upon inspection. The very phenomenon of secularization came to feel more and more like a great and intriguing jigsaw puzzle. How the West Really Lost God is an attempt to re-arrange the pieces into a better fit. Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: A Voice for Freedom Radio

What is meant by "same-sex"?

Two sisters living together to save money, raising children from former husbands who died at a young age? Two bisexual women with children from previous marriages to men? Two lesbians who have each conceived a child by sperm donation? Two gay men who have adopted a child jointly?

Different situations can impact children very differently; thus, it is risky to subsume them all under the one label of "same-sex parent". Does it mean that one parent had some same-sex experience as a teenager but now is heterosexual? Does it mean that one parent identifies as heterosexual but engages in gay affairs just for the sex? Sexual orientation is defined by attraction, behavior, and identity, with all combinations in between. Does it mean a woman who was raped at age six and became lesbian out of a hatred for her rapist? Does it mean a woman who feels she can be a better mother with another woman at her side rather than a man? Or, are we talking about someone who identifies as a "gay" man because he has found he has no sexual attraction to women or to men? Continue reading

Sources

• MercatorNet
• Image: My Fertility Choices

But he believes he is a rarity as an academic who has played and loves the game (he has a Crusaders season ticket) and also treats it as worthy of proper study.

"Why don't academics take rugby seriously?" Grimshaw asks. "It is so much a part of New Zealand society, and yet so many academics situate themselves against society by not taking it seriously, by seeking to dismiss it critically and not engage with it in the way sport is engaged with overseas. '

Grimshaw wonders,what rugby say about us as New Zealanders, in the same way the Tour de France cycle race says something about the French?

"Rugby is something that allows us to engage with what it means to be a New Zealander, in a positive and negative fashion; how we see ourselves; how we engage with other nations; how we tell our stories."

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: rackcdn.com