Economic Crisis

Most Americans still support government funding for faith-based initiatives, according to a new report.

More than eight years after former President George W. Bush launched a program allowing churches and other religious organizations to receive federal funding to perform social services, 69 percent of Americans say they favor the initiative, the Pew Forum reported.

Only 25 percent oppose it. more >>

The head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reported that 40 positions may be cut as the denomination struggles financially.

"These have been very painful days in this organization," ELCA Presiding Bishop the Rev. Mark S. Hanson told the Church Council Friday, according to the ELCA News Service.

Lutherans are looking to reduce their 2010 budget by 10 percent due to decreased giving over the past 30 years, the economic downturn, and the decision by some congregations to withhold funding. more >>

Is the fact that fertility is falling around the world good news? You would certainly think so if you agree with the analysis cheerily offered by The Economist. That very respected journal of economic analysis recently offered a cover story that celebrated falling human fertility as "changing the world for the better."

"Sometime in the next few years (if it hasn't happened already) the world will reach a milestone," the magazine predicts, adding that "half of humanity will be having only enough children to replace itself." In other words, for half of the world the fertility rate will have dropped to 2.1, considered the replacement rate for couples. This milestone, the magazine declares, "is one of the most dramatic social changes in history."

Predictions about falling fertility rates have become commonplace. In much of Europe, falling fertility has been a fact of life for decades. In many countries on the continent, falling fertility is already leading to social pressures as the workforce ages quickly and schools see falling enrollments. In Russia, the army fears that it will be unable to deploy adequate troops in coming years -- there are simply not enough boys to become the next generation's soldiers. In Japan, falling fertility rates point to dramatic changes in the society. As one observer noted, the nation is on its way to becoming a giant geriatric ward with fewer and fewer young people. more >>

Newly released The Poverty and Justice Bible highlights more than 2,000 verses that refer to poverty and social justice in Scripture.

Published by the American Bible Society, the Poverty Bible is not a new translation – it uses the Contemporary English Version – but rather serves to help users more easily find verses on issues of poverty and justice. Verses on the issues are highlighted in bright orange.

"Nearly every page of the Bible includes a message about poverty or justice," said R. Lamar Vest, president of American Bible Society, in a statement Monday. "The Poverty and Justice Bible acts as God's megaphone revealing that, from Genesis to Revelation, concerns for justice are never far from the heart of God and the minds of biblical writers." more >>

Despite the recession, churches throughout the country have stepped up to try to prevent their charitable giving from going downhill.

According to a new study, released Tuesday, more than two-thirds of congregations reported that their fundraising receipts increased or remained the same in the first half of 2009 compared to last year, even as the economic downturn was worsening.

"While many congregations have been hit hard by the recession, this study underscores the remarkable resilience of congregations, as evidenced in the extraordinary and imaginative ways they are reaching out to meet the needs of their parishioners and people in their community," said William Enright, director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center, which conducted the study with the Alban Institute. more >>