Faith Digest: Fewer Jews switch faiths

Faith Digest

image_pdfimage_print

Compared to Christians, fewer Jews switch faiths. Jews are less likely than Catholics or Protestants to change faiths, though religious switching nationwide has increased since 1965, according to a study released by the American Jewish Committee. Most who leave Judaism become unaffiliated, rather than converting to another religion. Many continue to identify as Jewish in an ethnic or cultural sense, concluded the study’s author, Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey at the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago. With 76 percent retaining their faith, Jews are more “religiously stable” than Catholics at 73 percent. While eight in ten Protestants remain Protestant, specific denominations retain a much lower percentage of members—as low as 16 percent in one case.

No opening day dogs for Catholic fans. Major League Baseball’s opening day schedule has thrown Catholic fans a curveball this year. Seven teams are hosting their home opener April 10—Good Friday, when faithful Catholics abstain from meat. That means no ballpark hot dogs. And fans shouldn’t expect any special dispensation from any bishop. “It is considered the most solemn day on the church calendar,” said Cleveland Catholic Diocese spokesman Bob Tayek, who also works as the announcer at Progressive Field. He’ll attend Good Friday services at noon, then head to the ballpark for the 4 p.m. Cleveland Indians game. That doesn’t interfere with the noon to 3 p.m. window, which Catholics observe as the time Jesus Christ hung on the cross.

Science group boycotts Louisiana. A national organization of scientists has informed Gov. Bobby Jindal it will not hold its annual convention in Louisiana as long as recently adopted science curriculum standards remain on the books. The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology told Jindal its executive committee chose Salt Lake City for its 2011 convention over New Orleans “in large part” because of the science standards. Jindal signed the law last year, agreeing with its supporters that science teachers need wider latitude to use supplemental materials for lessons on topics such as evolution, global warming and cloning. Many science groups, both in Louisiana and nationally, urged the governor to veto the bill.

Assemblies of God name new leader after misconduct. A Missouri minister has been appointed the new general secretary of the Assemblies of God, replacing the previous officeholder who resigned after admitting to misconduct. Pastor James Bradford, 56, of Central Assembly of God in Springfield was appointed to succeed John M. Palmer, who resigned after admitting to ethical misconduct and what the denomination’s news service called “an inappropriate interaction with a woman that did not involve any physical intimacy.” Bradford immediately began the post, which includes credentialing ministers and chartering churches, but he will continue as pastor of his church through Easter.

 


We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.

Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.

More from Baptist Standard