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Editor's Choice -- Ismaili Digest -- An important message from Harvard, Pew Research and others for all faith communities In June 1999, in Aiglemont, Mawlana Hazar Imam said: "You cannot know this, but I watch other immigrant communities. I don't just watch my Jamat, I watch others, and I watch what they are doing, and I draw lessons from that ..." And so, as a faith community, we decided to look at other faith communities to see what lessons we could draw from them. What we found was surprising. While overall church attendance is declining, sharply, some churches are growing, even with youth and young adults. Why? A growing body of research from Harvard, Indiana University, Pew Research, Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University and others all point to the same answer: Theology Matters, as the Canadian researchers titled their study. The Canadians "found conservative religious doctrine...is a key driver for church growth in mainline Protestant congregations. Liberal doctrine...leads to decline." "Members of declining churches more often said their mission was the pursuit of social justice." Pew, Harvard and Indiana found the same, that "only moderate religion is on the decline." That is, only so-called "progressive" churches, preaching "moderate religion" or "liberal doctrines," decline. Summarising the research, one article said, "If your Christianity is reconstituted to the day's fashion, don't be surprised if people lose interest in it. Few are seeking 2% Christianity. They want the genuine deal." There are important lessons here for us too. Are we Ismailis because of universal values or cosmopolitan ethics, that apply to all of humanity, even atheists? Or are we Ismailis because of our unique tenets, beliefs and theology? Just as Christians gravitate towards churches that offer the "genuine deal" instead of "2% Christianity," so too, we believe, it is for Ismailis except for one big difference: there isn't another place for Ismailis to gravitate to. We encourage you to read all the articles below and share this email anyone whom you feel would value this knowledge, such as parents and others involved with religious education and knowledge. Warm regards
Ismaili Digest |
