The idea of a Protestant or Puritan work ethic -- that individuals work harder, save more and seek economic success as signs of a diligent faith -- has worked its way into national lore.

But in looking at the religious engines of economic growth, new research indicates it may be...

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Maybe a caveat should be added before saying this line from The Lord's Prayer, asking a second round of forgiveness for failing to meet divine standards. Many religious people count on God's forgiveness, but it...

The Rev. Stephen Fichter understood just how dominant a role sports has assumed in the culture when a family told him they would be out of town Good Friday to Easter Sunday to attend their child's volleyball tournament.

"It's truly sports that has become like the religion" for many people,...

Superstar personalities are no small part of the supernova of Christian growth in the past century: the Pentecostal and charismatic renewal movements.

In the U.S., think of Oral Roberts or Bishop T.D. Jakes.

So it is with a sense of anticipation that many Catholics,...

The number of Americans with no religious affiliation continues to rise. Fewer young people are going to church. And the effects of recession have placed greater burdens on religious institutions in a time of shrinking resources.

How tough have times become?

In one startling...

You can learn a few things about religion and politics listening to flea market dealers in Indiana.

For starters, sociologist Arthur Farnsley writes in his new book "Flea Market Jesus," it is a political mistake of biblical proportions to write off all Christian fundamentalists as...

In a scene from the movie "Lincoln," a Democrat arguing against passage of the 13th Amendment derisively mentions the idea of interracial marriage to ridicule the legislation that would abolish slavery.

A century-and-a-half later, as an African-American president is inaugurated for a second term, interracial unions still...

There is only one U.S. religious group, propelled in part by an enthusiastic group of young followers, that is expected to grow to 100 million adherents by the middle of the century.

Yet, to hear some critics focus on generational shifts showing declining Mass attendance and doctrinal...

Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good."
-Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

Spending quality time with God appears to make benevolent love possible for many Americans, new research indicates.

We may be biologically hard-wired to worship at...

The killing of a guru in a Sikh temple in Vienna leads to riots across the Punjab region of northern India. An anti-Islamic video produced in California results in global protests. Immigrants from Muslim countries are attacked by vigilantes in Greece, where arsonists burn down a makeshift mosque in Athens.

These days, it may seem like a miracle that people still believe in miracles.

But even as more people appear to be turning away from organized religion, a new study finds that the number of Americans who definitely believe in religious miracles increased 22 percent in the...

Retirement planning is not all about the money.

It may be just as important for aging Baby Boomers to have invested in their spiritual lives as in their 401K plans, new research shows.

The benefits of increased spiritual activity range from battling loneliness through...

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. --Matthew 6:24

Churchgoers like to think of themselves as generous and cheerful...

As long as the money from federal loans rolls in, many seminarians find it hard to think ahead to how they are going to pay back their huge chunks of a national student debt tab that has reached $1 trillion.

As a result, what began as a...

In a world where humility is considered more a weakness than a virtue, she was self-effacing and dedicated to serving others.

In a profession where information can be guarded to serve institutional or personal concerns, she leaves behind a rich collection of data on American religion that...

Pay. Benefits. Opportunities for advancement. These are some of the major considerations people take into account in choosing where to work.

Now, employers can add another factor: faith.

After deciding whether and whom to marry, the choice of a job or career...

Motivated by her faith, she was a powerful advocate for radical political and social change. Upon meeting her, President Abraham Lincoln reportedly said, "So this is the little lady who made this big war."

Was Harriet Beecher Stowe a Christianist?

At this year's National Prayer Breakfast,...

A Pentecostal pastor lays down a saw at a residence for homeless people with AIDS, raps on wood and expresses pride in being able to look out in his church and see two pews filled with people with HIV.

A retired Episcopalian schoolteacher in her 80s, with...

Social media is an effective vessel for New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow to carry his religious message. When he quotes Scripture or wishes people a good night with God's blessings, he has an audience of nearly 2 million public subscribers to his Facebook page and more than 1.5 million...

The U.S. religious landscape is shifting, and no one may be more thankful than GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney.

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census, released May 1 on the Association of Religion Data Archives, found that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gained...