Category: Religion

The (Mostly) Improving State of the World

Jan 16, 2014

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by

mwkruse

in Demography, Economic Development, Economics, Environment, Globalization, Health and Medicine, Human Progress, Poverty, Religion, Science, Sociology, Technology (Biotech & Health), Technology (Digital, Telecom, & Internet), Technology (Energy), Technology (Food & Water), Technology (Manufacturing & Construction)), Technology (Transportation & Distribution), Trends: Economic, Trends: Social, Weatlh and Income Distribution

Washington Post: 40 charts that explain the world Our friend and colleague Max Fisher over at Worldviews has posted another 40 maps that explain the world, building on his original classic of the genre. But this is Wonkblog. We're about charts. And one of the great things about charts is that they show not just…
Max Weber Was Wrong (About Capitalism)

Dec 27, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Capitalism and Markets, Economics, History, Religion, Sociology, Theology

Public Discourse: Max Weber Was Wrong – Samuel Greg … Second, the empirical evidence disproving Weber’s connection between Protestantism and the emergence of capitalism is considerable. Even Catholic critics of modern capitalism have had to concede that “the commercial spirit” preceded the Reformation by at least two hundred years. From the eleventh century onward, the…
How Pope Francis Misunderstands the World

Dec 12, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Capitalism and Markets, Christian Life, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Trends: Economic, Trends: Social

Atlantic: How Pope Francis Misunderstands the World We're living at a far more equal, peaceful, and prosperous time than the pontiff acknowledges…. Pope Francis is Times' Person of the Year, an excellent pick in my estimation. He strikes me as a man with incredible integrity. I'm enjoying watching him live into this new calling. The…
Religion Links

Nov 27, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Christian Life, Ecclesia, History, Links – Religion, Politics, Public Policy, Religion, Sociology, Trends: Social

1. A federal Judge Declares Tax Exclusion For Clergy Housing Payments Unconstitutional. Peter Reilly makes the economic and legal case for preserving the exclusion, In Defense Of Special Tax Treatment For Clergy: … Section 107 is best analyzed by reviewing the historical context surrounding the development of Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code, the…
Capitalism and the Kingdom – Bob Lupton

Nov 25, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Capitalism and Markets, Ecclesia, Politics, Religion, Sociology, Theology

I love Bob Lupton's monthly posts in Urban Perspectives newsletter. I identify with what he writes in his latest installment, Capitalism and the Kingdom. Capitalism is not "biblical" in the sense of being prescribed by God. And in that sense, there is no "biblical" economic system. All economic systems are human constructs that incorporate human…
Social Science and Culture Links

Nov 19, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Demography, Education, History, Links – Social Science and Culture, Politics, Public Policy, Religion, Sociology

1. 7 Cool Political Maps That Show How Old Historical Events Still Haunt The World Today One example from Poland: The orange regions are the Powiats (counties) won by the socialist Civic Platform, while the blue are the Powiats won by the conservative Law and Justice platform: …overlay this map of the old border of…
Religion Links

Sep 30, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Ecclesia, Health and Medicine, Links – Religion, Politics, Public Policy, Religion, Sociology

1. First the Nones, now the Spirituals … Earlier this year, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, my colleagues over at Trinity's Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture, decided to find out. In an email survey of nearly 2,000 students at 38 colleges and universities across the country, they asked, "In general…
Saturday Links

Sep 14, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Business, Demography, Ecclesia, Economics, Education, Environment, Europe, Generations, Health and Medicine, Links – Saturday, Politics, Public Policy, Religion, Social Media, Sociology, Sports and Entertainment, Technology (Digital, Telecom, & Internet), Technology (Energy), Technology (Manufacturing & Construction)), Theology, Trends: Economic, Trends: Social

1. Population Reference Bureau has a great resource that maps their 2013 World Population Data Sheet on an interactive map. Here is one example: 2. Modern family redefined: Say 'goodbye' to the typical American family A New York Times story looking at the skyrocketing rate of birth outside of marriage among women under 30 (now…
Saturday Links

Sep 8, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Business, Christian Life, Demography, Ecclesia, Economic Development, Economics, Gender and Sex, Health and Medicine, Links – Saturday, Poverty, Public Policy, Religion, Sociology, Technology (Manufacturing & Construction)), Trends: Economic, Trends: Social

1. How effective has the Millennium Villages Project been? Here is a recent Op Ed in the NYT the Millennium Villages Project by Joe Nocerra, Fighting Poverty, and Critics. 2. Global Economic Growth Has Hit A Two-And-A-Half Year High 3. What Every U.S. Family Really Needs for a Minimum Living Standard … Computers have become…
Saturday Links

Aug 3, 2013

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by

mwkruse

in Demography, Ecclesia, Generations, Health and Medicine, India, Links – Saturday, Race, Religion, Sociology, Technology (Energy), Trends: Social

1. Meaning Is Healthier Than Happiness People who are happy but have little-to-no sense of meaning in their lives have the same gene expression patterns as people who are enduring chronic adversity. 2. Blacks, Hispanics more optimistic than whites … After years of economic attitudes among whites, blacks and Hispanics following similar patterns, whites' confidence…