April 27, 2009 – Americans change religious affiliation early and often. About half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once in their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faiths before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes in detail the patterns and reasons for change.
Mason starts new blog
April 23, 2009 – Debra L. Mason, director of the Center on Religion & the Professions, has launched a new blog on religion and the news. Recent posts feature topics such as religion and Facebook, media access to federal faith-based initiative leaders, and President Obama’s biblical literacy.
Mason is executive director of the Religion Newswriters Association and is a professor of journalism studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She is a nationally recognized, award-winning and widely published specialist in religion journalism and has more than 25 years of professional reporting, research and teaching experience.
- Read the Debra L. Mason blog
Lobdell speaks to packed room
April 9, 2009 – Former Los Angeles Times reporter William Lobdell addressed a packed house April 7 during his appearance at the 
Reynolds Journalism Institute at University of Missouri. Lobdell, author of “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – and Found Unexpected Peace,” spoke to more than 100 people with standing room only in the Fred W. Smith Auditorium. Lobdell signed copies of his book after the lecture.
- Read more about Lobdell’s visit in the Columbia Missourian.
A longtime reporter and editor, Lobdell covered religion at the L.A. Times for eight years, before revealing in a column that covering stories such as the Roman Catholic clergy abuse scandal and financial malfeasance among Christian TV ministries caused him to lose his Christian faith.
CORP Newsletter – March 17, 2009
News, Research, Calls for Papers and Events from the University of Missouri’s Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP)
March 17, 2009
CORP EVENTS
April 2 Film Series: “Spirituality & Health” Free. “Swimming in Auschwitz: Survival Stories of Six Women,” chronicles the families, faith and spiritual stories of six women deported to the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the Holocaust. Discussion led by Dr. Brick Johnstone, MU professor of health psychology and head of CORP’s Spirituality & Health research team. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 7 p.m.
April 7 Lecture and Book Signing: “Losing My Religion” by William Lobdell, former Los Angeles Times reporter and editor. Lobdell covered religion at the Times for eight years, reporting on such stories as the Roman Catholic clergy abuse crisis. In 2007, he wrote a column revealing that his experience with religion as a journalist caused him to lose his Christian faith. His memoir, “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – and Found Unexpected Peace,” was published in 2009. Free. Fred W. Smith Forum, Reynolds Journalism Institute, Missouri School of Journalism, 7-9 p.m.
April 11 Conversation: “Prayer and Your Profession.” Do you pray at work? Hear from those for whom prayer is part of daily practice, including in their professions. Find out what it means for them to be able to pray at work and how it relates to their professions. Free. Part of the “Sects and the City: Coffee and Conversation on the Intersection of Faith and Life” series. The Cherry Street Artisan, 111 S. 9th St., Columbia, 11 a.m.-noon.
CORP NEWS
Director Interviewed: CORP Director Debra L. Mason was interviewed about technology use by churches for an article, “PTL*: Praise the Lord, Local church invites prayer requests via text message,” in the Columbia Daily Tribune on March 7, 2009. Mason provided information about the role of technology in churches and faith outreach, types of technology and trends.
Research Published: Religion and health research conducted by CORP-affiliated researchers has been published in the Missouri Medicine Quarterly. The article, “Spirituality, Religion and Health Outcomes Research: Findings from the Center on Religion and the Professions,” was authored by Dr. Brick Johnstone, head of CORP’s Spirituality and Health research team. The issue comes out in March 2009.
New Resources Online: CORP has added new resources to its Web site, including links to codes of ethics and conduct for 41 disciplines taught at MU; and to more than 60 religious organizations at MU. The Web site now also includes a newly launched feature on ways to donate to the Center.
New Course: CORP and affiliates have developed a new course, “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions” (Religious Studies 3100) that will be taught online in Summer 2009 through MU Extension’s Center for Distance and Independent Learning. The course provides practical knowledge about religion as it is encountered in the professional world in a pluralistic society. For information, call 882-9257.
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
March 26 Lecture: “Matters of Life and Death,” by Thomas Lynch, funeral director, noted speaker and author of books such as “The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.” Part of the President’s Lecture Series at William Woods University. Cutlip Auditorium, William Woods University, Fulton, 7 p.m.
April 2 Lecture: “From Transience to Transcendence: The Psychological Impact of Awareness of Mortality on Human Conflict, Aggression and Peaceful Co-Existence,” by Jamie Arndt, associate professor in MU’s Department of Psychological Sciences. Overview of how human aggression and conflict can be understood, in part, as responses to the existential predicament of the human condition. Part of the 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series in Psychological Sciences, sponsored by the MU Department of Psychological Sciences and MU College of Arts and Sciences. Ketchum Auditorium, Laferre Hall, 3:30-5 p.m.
April 3 Brownbag Lecture: “The Mystery of the Resurrection: An Eastern Perspective,” sponsored by the MU Christian Scholars’ Forum. Fellowship, presentation and discussion; bring lunch. N243 Memorial Union, noon-1 p.m.
April 3-5 Retreat: Insight Meditation, led by Gina Sharpe, New York City Insight founder and visiting teacher at Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock. Featuring meditation, inquiry and conferences with teachers, focusing on awakening of wisdom and compassion and their manifestation in everyday life. Sponsored by Show Me Dharma. Sliding scale, $55-$100. Location to be announced. The non-residential retreat runs 7-9 p.m. April 3; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 4; and 8 a.m.-noon April 5.
April 4 Training: Diversity Train the Trainers, a program to instruct participants on diversity exploration activities. Sponsored by the MU Multicultural Center. Free. For more information, call (573) 882-7152. Gaines-Oldham Black Culture Center, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
April 8 Film: “For the Bible Tells Me So,” an exploration of how people and families of faith address having a gay child. Sponsored by the MSA/GPC Films Committee. Free. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 8 p.m.
April 14 Dinner: Social Justice Seder, an interfaith event honoring the Jewish liberation story of Passover and celebrating struggles for freedom. The meal is kosher for Passover and is vegetarian. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the MU Women’s Center, Hillel, the Jewish Student Organization, the Multicultural Center, and the LGBT Resource Center. For more information, contact Struby at strublem@missouri.edu or (573) 882-6549. Location to be announced, 6 p.m.
April 20 Lecture: “Muslims and the Secular State: Dynamics of Majority/Minority Situations” by Abdullahi An-Naim, director of the Religion and Human Rights Program of Emory University School of Law’s Law and Religion Program. An-Naim, who is from Sudan, is an internationally recognized scholar on Islam and human rights, religion and human rights, Islamic law and criminal law. Sponsored by the MU Department of Religious Studies. 114 MU Physics Building, 7 p.m.
CONFERENCES
April 29 Seminar: “Living with Grief: Diversity and End-of-life Care,” a teleconference seminar focusing on understanding diversity and how cultural histories, traditions and beliefs can affect end-of-life care. Moderated by Frank Sesno, CNN special correspondent and professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. Hosted by the MU Center for Health Ethics. Continuing education credit available. Deadline to register is April 3. For more information, contact Allison Farris at (573) 882-2738. $30 ($20 for students). MU Old Alumni Center, 1105 Carrie Francke Drive, Columbia, noon-4 p.m.
CALLS FOR PAPERS
March 31 Deadline: Nida School for Translation Studies, a program of the E.A. Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society, aimed at supporting advanced training and research into translation studies. Theme is “Translation and Culture.” Conference to be held Sept. 7-9, 2009, in Rimini, Italy. For details, visit http://www.nidainstitute.org/TheNidaSchool/NidaSchool2009.dsp .
RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Read what’s in the news about religion this week on CORP’s home page.
• Click links for more information about events.
• Bookmark CORP’s Web site here.
• See additional events here.
• Read our publication and promotion policy here.
• This newsletter comes out every three weeks. To subscribe to an e-mail format, send a request to whiteab@missouri.edu.
Mason interviewed in Tribune
Mar
ch 7, 2009 – CORP Director Debra L. Mason was interviewed about technology use by churches for an article, “PTL*: Praise the Lord, Local church invites prayer requests via text message,” appearing in the Columbia Daily Tribune on March 7, 2009.
An excerpt:
“I think faith communities need to use whatever technology exists to communicate with their parishioners,” said Debra Mason, director of the Center on Religion and the Professions. “As they try to engage younger churchgoers, they need to be on the technology that those churchgoers are using. And that means text messaging, Facebook or Twitter.”
Mason provided information about the role of technology in churches and faith outreach, types of technology and trends.
Johnstone on satellite program
March 3, 2009 – Dr. Brick Johnstone, professor of neuropsychology at University of Missouri and head of CORP’s Spirituality and Health research team, was interviewed for a segment appearing on Supreme Master TV. Johnstone spoke about the human brain, neuropsychology of the self, and research findings related to self-transcendence.
The interview appeared on the channel’s Science & Spirituality segment, and was scheduled to air March 2, 2009.
Based in Arcadia, Calif, Supreme Master TV is a free satellite channel that covers “uplifting news and inspirational programs.” The channel was founded by Ching Hai, a spiritual leader in the Quan Yin Method of meditation.
CORP Newsletter – Feb. 26, 2009
News, Research, Calls for Papers and Events from the University of Missouri’s Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP)
Feb. 26, 2009
CORP EVENTS
March 5 Film Series: “Spirituality & Health” Free. “Acting on Faith” a documentary looking at the lives and work of three American women – a Buddhist, a Hindu, and a Muslim – for whom faith, activism and identity are deeply intertwined. Discussion led by Dr. Guy McCormack, clinical professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the MU School of Health Professions. Free refreshments courtesy of DAYS INN/TRAVELODGE. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 7 p.m.
March 14 Conversation: “Meditation and Medicine, Across the Faiths.” More doctors are prescribing meditation to combat medical conditions, but meditation has been rooted in spiritual traditions for thousands of years. Relax, take a breath, and contemplate the meditation-health connection with experts and practitioners. Free. Part of the “Sects and the City: Coffee and Conversation on the Intersection of Faith and Life” series. The Cherry Street Artisan, 111 S. 9th St., Columbia, 11 a.m.-noon.
CORP NEWS
Successful Workshop: About 40 members from nine Columbia churches attended the Teen Relationship Education and Empowerment (TREE) workshop in Columbia on Feb. 21, 2009. They learned how to address issues of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in teen relationships from within church communities. TREE was established with a $50,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health submitted with CORP assistance. Read article in the Columbia Missourian.
Big Turnout: More than 500 people came to hear Christopher Hedges speak on Feb. 17, 2009, on “The Looming Collapse of the American Empire.” Hedges spoke in a public lecture and to classes in the Missouri School of Journalism. The event was sponsored by the MU Peace Studies Program, College of Arts and Science, and CORP. Read article in The Maneater.
New Course: CORP and affiliates have developed a new course, “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions” (Religious Studies 3100) that will be taught online in Summer 2009 through MU Extension’s Center for Distance and Independent Learning. The course provides practical knowledge about religion as it is encountered in the professional world in a pluralistic society. For information, call 882-9257.
Public Speaking: CORP Director Debra L. Mason was a panelist speaking on “Gutenberg 2.0: Sharing the Gospel in the Information Age” at the Missouri Ministers’ School during the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Jan. 13-15, 2009. She also spoke Jan. 25, 2009, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Jefferson City on “Religion, Media and Meaning.”
Presentation: Brick Johnstone, head of CORP’s Spirituality and Health research team, spoke Feb. 15, 2009, at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Columbia on “Selflessness as a Neuropsychological Basis of Spirituality.” The talk was based on team research determining a link between brain function, spiritual experience and selflessness recently published in Zygon: A Journal of Religion and Science.
CO-SPONSORED EVENTS
Feb. 7-March 7, 2009 Exhibit: “Global Journalist, The Face of Conflict in Darfur, Central African Republic and Uganda,” photography exhibit by Gina Bramucci, award-winning journalist, photographer and humanitarian relief worker, recently returned from Eastern Congo. Presented by the MU Center for the Study of Conflict, Law and the Media; School of Journalism; Black Studies Program; Center for Arts and Humanities; and CORP; and numerous university, community, government and professional organizations. Lee Hills Hall Rotunda, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
March 10 Lecture: “The New Shape of Nuclear Danger” by Jonathan Schell, 2005 Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization; former New Yorker, Newsday and The Nation writer; and author of numerous books, including Pulitzer Prize-nominated “The Fate of the Earth.” Schell has taught at Emory, Princeton, New York and Wesleyan universities and now writes and speaks on the nuclear issue. Sponsored by the MU Peace Studies Program and CORP. Fisher Auditorium, Gannett Hall, 7:30 p.m.
OTHER CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
March 7 Training: Multicultural Center’s Diversity Train the Trainers, a program to instruct participants on diversity exploration activities. Free. Registration required. Sponsored by the Multicultural Center. Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 882-7152.
March 9 Film: “Four Sheets to the Wind.” A young Native American man journeys to the city to fulfill a promise to his dead father. Featured at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Sponsored by Four Front, the MU Department of English, and the Multicultural Center. Free. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 5 p.m.
March 13-15 Symposium: “Darwin’s Ongoing Revolution.” 5th annual MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium explores evolutionary research 200 years after Darwin’s birth and 150 years after publication of “On the Origin of Species.” Seven featured speakers, including Ron Numbers, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of religious studies and of history of science and medicine, speaking on “Creation, Evolution, and the Boundaries of Science and Religion.” Meals, reception. Free and open to the public. Bond Life Sciences Center. See schedule.
March 15 Forum: “Care for Creation with Other Faith Communities.” Be a part of discussing how the creation care environmental movement moves forward. Free. Bring tea, instant coffee, or hot chocolate mix and fruit, cookies, or a treat to share. Missouri United Methodist Church, 204 S. 9th St., Columbia, 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (573) 443-4717.
CALLS FOR PAPERS
March 2 Deadline: Symposium on Religion and Human Rights in China. Focusing on the diversity of religious practice in China, Communist Party religious policy, the contributions of religion to human rights and civil society in China, and the connection between religion and dissent. Symposium to be held May 30, 2009, in Toronto. Hosted by the York Centre for Asian Research at York University, Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry at University of Toronto’s Knox College, and Hudson Taylor Centre for Chinese Ministries at Tyndale College. For information, visit http://www.yorku.ca/ycar/Events/religion_human_rights_china.html
March 31 Deadline: Nida School for Translation Studies, a program of the E.A. Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society, aimed at supporting advanced training and research into translation studies. Theme is “Translation and Culture.” Conference to be held Sept. 7-9, 2009, in Rimini, Italy. For details, visit http://www.nidainstitute.org/TheNidaSchool/NidaSchool2009.dsp.
April 1 Deadline: Restorative Justice Symposium. Focusing on restorative justice in adult criminal courts. Symposium to be held Nov. 13, 2009, at MU. Hosted by the Restorative Justice in Criminal Courts Committee of the Missouri Restorative Justice Coalition, MU School of Law’s Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, and MU Peace Studies Program. For details, e-mail colemanl@missouri.edu.
April 15 Deadline: Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Meeting to be held Oct. 23-25, 2009, in Denver. Papers and sessions accepted. For information, visit http://www.sssrweb.org.
April 30 Deadline: Symposium on the Social Study of Religion in China. Focusing on the globalization and localization of religion. Symposium to be held July 7-8, 2009, in Wuxi, China. For information, visit http://www.sssrweb.org/news.cfm?newsid=113.
CONFERENCES
March 6-7: Gender and Power in the Muslim World. Sarah Lawrence College. For more information, visit
http://www.slc.edu/womens-history/conference/.
June 11-17: Survey Research & American Religion seminar designed for graduate students and recent Ph.D. graduates. Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich. For more information, visit http://www.calvin.edu/henry/schedule/gradstudwkshp/2009announc.pdf.
RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Read what’s in the news about religion this week on CORP’s home page.
• Click links for more information about events.
• Bookmark CORP’s Web site here.
• See additional events here.
• Read our publication and promotion policy here.
• This newsletter comes out every three weeks. To subscribe to an e-mail version, send a request to whiteab@missouri.edu.
Religion and health research
Feb. 2
6, 2009 – Religion and health research conducted by CORP-affiliated researchers has been published in the Missouri Medicine Quarterly. The article, “Spirituality, Religion and Health Outcomes Research: Findings from the Center on Religion and the Professions,” was authored by Dr. Brick Johnstone, head of CORP’s Spirituality and Health research team. The issue comes out in March 2009.
Citation:
Johnstone, B. (2009). Spirituality, Religion and Health Outcomes Research: Findings from the Center on Religion and the Professions. Missouri Medicine Quarterly, 106 (2), 63-66
Lecture: “Losing My Religion” by William Lobdell
Lobdell covered the religion beat for the The Los Angeles Times for eight years, first as a columnist and then as a religion beat reporter. He earned several national awards for his work. As a reporter, Lobdell covered the Catholic clergy abuse crisis and televangelist financial malfeasance, among other stories. In 2007, Lobdell published a column in the Times revealing that what he saw and experienced covering religion – and its failures – had caused him to lose his own Christian faith.
Lobdell asked for a new beat at the newspaper and became an editor in 2006. He left the paper in 2008. His memoir, “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace,” was published in 2009. Lobdell also is a blogger, author and has been a guest lecturer for 12 years at the University of California, Irvine, where he teaches “Religion and the Media,” “Politics and the American Media” and “Blogs an
d the Media.” Copies of Lobdell’s book will be available for sale and signing at the event.
Sponsored by the Center on Religion & the Professions. Free.
UPDATE: See article in the Columbia Missourian April 9, 2009
April 7, 2009 – 7-9 p.m.
Fred W. Smith Forum, Reynolds Journalism Institute
Missouri School of Journalism
MU recognized by Carnegie Foundation
Feb. 16, 2009 – The University of Missouri was recognized as a Community Engaged Campus by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The MU Center on Religion & the Professions contributed to MU’s application for the recognition, sharing information about its curriculum, film series, research, online resources, community partnerships, interdisciplinary activities and other events.
To qualify, MU officials were required to describe teaching, learning and scholarly activities that addressed community-identified needs, deepened students’ civic and academic learning, enhanced the well-being of the community, and enriched the scholarship of the institution [MU New Bureau]. “The university is proud to be recognized as a university that strives to reach out and form partnerships and distribute our knowledge in any way that we can,” MU spokesman Christian Basi said [The Maneater].
The honor makes MU one of 173 institutions – less than 5 percent of colleges and universities nationwide – given that classification.
- Read MU News Bureau press release
- Read article in The Maneater