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In the Age of Megachurches, Sometimes Less Is More

By Richard Flory

…ere aren’t urban megachurches in this mix as well. I could list several in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, or any other large metropolitan area, that are attracting large numbers of young, college educated congregants. Yet in many cases, these churches represent the problem faced by any mass event: it is easy to attend, and equally easy to avoid deeper commitment to the life of the church. The point is that what is often missed by these large scal…

In Trump Era, Young Muslims Question Respectability Politics of Mosques

By Hebah H. Farrag

…ligious creativity, the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture has seen Los Angeles’ young Muslims create “third spaces” such as the Ehsan Center and the Women’s Mosque of America—spaces that operate outside the norm of what a traditional mosque looks like. Across the country, I have talked to young American Muslims who are disaffiliating entirely from formal institutions and participating in community-building in new ways. In the course of thi…

Before Oprah, There Was the “Hour of Power”: Crystal Cathedral Pastor Robert H. Schuller Has Died

By Cathleen Falsani

…ler was a spiritual tastemaker, trendsetter, and celebrity himself. A 1983 Los Angeles Times profile titled “The time Muhammad Ali asked for Robert Schuller’s autograph,” concluded with the now prescient lines: When he sees all the other elegant churches and synagogues of the world divesting themselves of their wealth, “Then, you bet, Robert Schuller will be the first to join them. I’ll dismantle the Crystal Cathedral myself—piece by piece—when th…

Wal-Mart Faces a New Round of Historic Strikes… But Why Now?

By Sarah Jaffe

…has had a ripple effect nationwide. Even workers in union supermarkets in Los Angeles, when Wal-Mart moves in, face the threat of lowered wages and benefits as their employers are forced to compete. OUR Wal-Mart’s work has been different, succeeding in a way that traditional union organizing has failed, in part by replicating an older model of organizing that draws on the support of allies in the community, including faith leaders. They have thou…

The Christian Roots of the New Age: The Aquarian Gospel

By Louis A. Ruprecht

…ing was born in the Midwest, in Bellville, Ohio, he moved later in life to Los Angeles, California, which is where he wrote down The Aquarian Gospel. The year was 1908, and he died just three years later. When he died, a new Christian movement was in the offing, right there in Los Angeles, one aimed explicitly against the very kinds of Liberal Protestantism so well embodied in The Aquarian Gospel. That new-old style of Christianity called itself “…

Rejecting Blood Sacrifice Theology, Again

By Peter Laarman

…arn that the good pastor is relocating himself from square Grand Rapids to Los Angeles, where sheep and goats freely mingle. Trying to get a fix on what “emergent” actually means isn’t easy, and movement leaders say that that is part of the point. Fixed definitions are so very 20th century, and the Emergent Church is nothing if not postmodern and label-evading. The Emergent Church is not a fixed form but a conversation, they say, and if being par…

Religion Reporting as Therapy? Praying for Help with Budget Crisis…

By Michael J. Altman

…igion of soccer, seminarians in Rome are quite happy to put on a pair of cleats. Forget the U.S. tie with England, I’m more interested in the Redemptoris Mater win over the North American Martyrs. Back in Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahoney defends his decision not to tell police about abuse within the Archdiocese. NPR examines the changing role of the Catholic Church in Cuban politics….

Dining with Dawkins in the Humanist Bosom

By Edward J. Larson

…ns’ approach may please secular humanists—it clearly pleased this crowd in Los Angeles—without making much headway in converting creationists. To tell anyone who identifies with an idea that her ideas are stupid is tantamount to calling her stupid no matter what gloss Dawkins wants to put on it. Still, he had this audience eating out of the palm of his hand. I was hoping for a reasoned presentation of his theories and their impact, such as about h…

Robert Bellah’s Powerful Legacy: A Mixed Blessing for Religious Studies?

By Ivan Strenski

…t flagship campuses of the University of California system at Berkeley and Los Angeles. Granted, we in the University of California system proudly boast three campuses with fine PhD programs in religious studies—Davis, Riverside, and Santa Barbara. Yet, the flagship campuses have yet to ‘nail the colors’ of the study of religion to their masts. This grates for all who care for the national reputation of the study of religion. I am no judge of whet…

Unauthorized Catholic Immigrants will Renew a Christian America, Archbishop Says

By Marie Friedmann Marquardt

…recover the Christian Origins of America.” Really? Is the Archbishop of Los Angeles suggesting that immigrants will bring about some sort of Christian Establishment in the United States? Is he proposing that we ditch the First Amendment? In a word: No. But pay close attention, or you’re likely to miss the point. Let me be perfectly clear: Archbishop Gomez’ approach to advocacy on behalf of unauthorized immigrants stands a good distance from…