Muslims, evangelicals not so apart. Muslim Americans and white evangelicals have more in common than other religious groups when it comes to religious fervor, scriptural literalism and social morality, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. They consistently scored closer than other groups, including black and mainline Protestants and Catholics. For example, on the question of religious vs. national identity, 47 percent of Muslims saw themselves as Muslims first and Americans second, while 62 percent of evangelicals said they were Christians first and Americans second. Similar scores were 55 percent for black Protestants, 31 percent for Catholics and 22 percent for mainline Protestants.
Church to use Harry Potter to reach youths. The Church of England is publishing a guidebook showing church leaders how to draw biblical lessons from the Harry Potter publishing megahit. According to the church's bookshop Web page, the 48-page book, entitled Mixing it Up With Harry Potter will “help young people … see that a relationship with God is even more enchanting than a visit to Hogwarts.” Written by Owen Smith, a 24-year old British church youth worker, the booklet marks an attempt by Anglican leaders to make their messages appeal to youths. “Harry Potter is full of good lessons,” Smith told the London Times. “It's a hugely moral series of stories about good evil, love, friends and everything else.” The latest installment in the hugely popular Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, went on sale July 21.
Christian sales ring register bells. Sales of Christian products increased to $4.6 billion last year, according to reports by the major trade association for Christian retailing. The $4.63 billion in 2006 sales, through a range of religious and secular distribution channels, is up from $4.3 billion in 2004, $4.2 billion in 2002 and $4 billion in 2000, reports CBA, a trade association formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association. A new CBA study shows Christian retailers sold 52 percent of Christian products, while general-market retailers—including stores such as Wal-Mart and Borders—sold 33 percent. The remaining 15 percent of sales included direct-to-consumer and nonprofit ministry sales.
Mennonite ducks ‘mark of the Beast.' A Mennonite farmer from Pennsylvania does not have to comply with a state animal identification program after arguing that numbering his ducks would bring about his eternal damnation. Pennsylvania officials now say the identification program, designed to protect against disease outbreaks among fowl, is not mandatory. James Landis had argued the program's requirements would force him to violate his religious beliefs. Amish dairy farmers in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania objected to programs that would have forced them to number their cows, insisting the biblical book of Revelation warns of a numbering system from the Antichrist. Landis is a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church, a small, conservative spin-off from the more mainstream Mennonite Church and theological cousins of the Amish.
Compiled from RNS & ABP