Overall Congregational Vitality in the United Church of Christ: Predictors and Implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-235
Author(s):  
Erica J. Dollhopf
Keyword(s):  
Racial Diversity ◽  
United Church Of Christ ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Contemporary Worship ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
Congregational Vitality ◽  
Vitality Scale

This article examines the predictors of overall congregational vitality in the United Church of Christ (UCC), a US mainline Protestant denomination of approximately 5,000 churches and 800,000 members. This analysis is based on data from the UCC version of the Faith Communities Today survey, which surveyed all UCC congregations in early 2020. An overall congregational vitality scale was created from survey questions; factors associated with congregational vitality were tested to see which ones had a statistically significant relationship with a congregation's level of overall vitality. Aspects of congregations that were significantly associated with overall congregational vitality included the fit between the pastor and congregation, innovative worship, racial diversity, and total number of participants, while the percentage of young adults, contemporary worship, founding year of congregation, percentage change in worship attendance over the past five years, current financial health of congregation, and percentage of female participants did not influence overall congregational vitality. This research may be useful for congregations seeking to maintain or increase their vitality and for researchers interested in identifying the components and predictors of congregational vitality.

RESURRECTING LIBERALS: A NEW AGE OF AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-456
Author(s):  
LAURIE F. MAFFLY-KIPP
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
New Age ◽  
United Church Of Christ ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Advertising Campaign ◽  
The Past ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
American Spirituality

Those religious believers still willing to claim the term “liberal” are tired of being kicked around. In a swelling chorus of outrage, they have fought back against the cultural hegemony of evangelicals and the rampant rumors of liberal demise that have haunted their sanctuaries for the past three decades. In reaction, some mainstream Protestant churches in this camp have mounted concerted and organized efforts to rescript their public relations. I think here, in particular, of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a left-leaning denomination that launched a massive advertising campaign in 2004 to raise its public profile. That effort is perhaps best known for its prominent comma (“God is still speaking,”) and edgy advertisements depicting bouncers at the doors of conservative churches who physically eject potential members not in conformance with their white, heterosexual standards. The banning of those ads by many television stations, at the behest of conservative religious groups that took exception to the UCC proclamation of inclusiveness as a stab at evangelical orthodoxy, may only confirm the mainstream lament that liberalism is truly a countercultural proposition.

scholarly journals Determinants of waterpipe smoking among high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ridhwan Fauzi ◽  
Chitlada Areesantichai
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Waterpipe Smoking ◽  
School Students ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
Peer Use ◽  
Waterpipe Use

AbstractObjectivesThe study aimed to examine factors associated with past 30 days waterpipe use among high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia.MethodsWe surveyed a multistage cluster random sample of 1,318 students of grade 10th and 11th from 14 schools in Jakarta. Multiple logistic regressions were employed to examine the association between past 30 days waterpipe use with sociodemographic characteristics, cigarettes smoking status, parental and peer use, availability and affordability.ResultsOf 1,318 participants, 3.3% of female and 8.4% of male currently smoked waterpipe. Multivariate analysis revealed that current waterpipe use was significantly associated with family use (AOR: 4.844, 95% CI: 1.225–19.151), friend use (AOR: 2.554, 95% CI: 1.424–4.582), and availability (AOR: 2.143, 95% CI: 1.127–4.076). Being current smokers were six times more likely (AOR: 6.055, 95% CI: 3.123–11.739) to use waterpipe in the past 30 days.ConclusionsThe finding suggests that smoking by a family member, friends, use of conventional cigarettes, and availability are significantly associated with increased probability of current waterpipe used among adolescents.

scholarly journals Violence and discrimination among Ugandan residents during the COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Katana ◽  
Bob Omoda Amodan ◽  
Lilian Bulage ◽  
Alex R. Ario ◽  
Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past

Abstract Background In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive, implemented lockdowns, curfew, banning of both private and public transport systems, and mass gatherings to minimize spread. Social control measures for COVID-19 are reported to increase violence and discrimination globally, including in Uganda as some may be difficult to implement resulting in the heavy deployment of law enforcement. Media reports indicated that cases of violence and discrimination had increased in Uganda’s communities following the lockdown. We estimated the incidence and factors associated with experiencing violence and discrimination among Ugandans during the COVID-19 lockdown to inform control and prevention measures. Methods In April 2020, we conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data under the International Citizen Project (ICP) to assess adherence to public health measures and their impact on the COVID-19 outbreak in Uganda. We analyzed data on violence and discrimination from the ICP study. We performed descriptive statistics for all the participants’ characteristics and created a binary outcome variable called experiencing violence and/or discrimination. We performed logistic regression analysis to identify the factors associated with experiencing violence and discrimination. Results Of the 1726 ICP study participants, 1051 (58.8%) were males, 841 (48.7%) were currently living with a spouse or partner, and 376 (21.8%) had physically attended work for more than 3 days in the past week. Overall, 145 (8.4%) experienced any form of violence and/or discrimination by any perpetrator, and 46 (31.7%) of the 145 reported that it was perpetrated by a law enforcement officer. Factors associated with experiencing violence or discrimination were: being male (AOR = 1.60 CI:1.10–2.33), having attended work physically for more than 3 days in the past week (AOR = 1.52 CI:1.03–2.23), and inability to access social or essential health services since the epidemic started (AOR = 3.10 CI:2.14–4.50). Conclusion A substantial proportion of Ugandan residents experienced violence and/or discrimination during the COVID-19 lockdown, mostly perpetrated by law enforcement officers. We recommend mitigation of the collateral impact of lockdowns with interventions that focus on improving policing quality, ensuring continuity of essential services, and strengthening support systems for vulnerable groups including males.

God is Doing a New Thing in the ELCA: Trends from the FACT Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-266
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Coe ◽  
Brad Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Congregational Studies ◽  
Lutheran Church ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evangelical Lutheran Church ◽  
Protestant Denominations ◽  
Evangelical Lutheran ◽  
The Church

For decades, mainline Protestant denominations in the United States have experienced steady membership declines. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is no different, and our research team has been exploring this topic for years. Faith Communities Today (FACT) is an interfaith project consisting of a series of surveys conducted by the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership, of which the ELCA is a long-standing member. In this article, we examine data collected from the three decennial FACT surveys to discern where, despite declining membership, God is, to quote the prophet Isaiah, “doing a new thing.” We find that over the past twenty years, the typical ELCA congregation has had a gradually increasing: sense of vitality, belief that it is financially healthy, desire to become more diverse, willingness to call women to serve as pastors, openness to change, and clarity of mission and purpose. Because there are multiple possible explanations for these positive trends, we recommend approaching such trend lines cautiously, viewing them through a critical-thinking lens. Even though there is an increased perception of congregational well-being, overall finances and the number of people involved in the church continue to decline. There is still much work to be done.

Restoring the financial health of debtors: Changing approaches in the legislation

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 959-971
Author(s):  
Andrei L. BELOUSOV
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Regulatory Enforcement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Method ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Business Entities ◽  
Financial Recovery

Subject. The article considers the development of the institution of bankruptcy in the context of the emerging legal environment in this area. Objectives. The focus is to study the development of relations in the bankruptcy sphere in the Russian Federation that relate to inefficient procedures aimed at the financial recovery of business entities, and to formulate the main directions for further changes in the legal regulation of this area. Methods. The study employs research methods, like logical and structural analysis, systems and functional approach, the formal legal method. Results. The paper reveals the essence, specific features and legal regulation of bankruptcy, assesses the regulatory enforcement based on the existing law on insolvency, formulates the key problems of the law enforcement practice of business entities that has been formed over the past 20 years, defines further directions of changes in the legal regulation of bankruptcy relations in the Russian Federation. Conclusions. Changing the approaches to the current bankruptcy system in favor of expanding the application of rehabilitation procedures for restoring the solvency of debtors will enable to support businesses that are in difficult financial situation. This will result in preservation of employment, increased tax revenues to budgets at various levels, improved competitiveness of Russian businesses. The findings may be useful in terms of theory, for the study of issues relating to the concept, essence and legal regulation of the institution of bankruptcy in the Russian Federation, and in practice, for developing proposals to improve regulations in this sphere.

scholarly journals ICT Based Screening Tools and Etiology of Dyscalculia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Athanasios Drigas ◽  
Marios Pappas
Keyword(s):  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Cognitive Disorder ◽  
Mathematical Achievement ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
World Population ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Computerized Screening ◽  
Specific Learning

Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disability of childhood, which is mainly related to problems in arithmetic skills and numerosity. It is estimated that the prevalence of dyscalculia range between 3 and 6 % of the world population. DD is a cognitive disorder, observed during the development of the individual. Mathematical achievement of children with DD fall far short of their mental capacity. In this study we present an approach to genetic, neurological and environmental factors associated with DD, as well as the computerized screening tools that have been developed and used so far, according to the literature review of the past two decades.

Satisfied Correctional Staff

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric G. Lambert ◽  
Nancy Lynne Hogan ◽  
Shannon M. Barton
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Correctional Staff ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past

During the past decade, there has been increasing pressure on correctional agencies to attract and keep quality staff. Raising worker job satisfaction is seen as a fundamental way of decreasing turnover. There has been a considerable amount of research in the area of the possible causes of correctional staff job satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, the possible consequences of job satisfaction. However, due to the numerous studies, some with conflicting results, it is difficult to understand clearly the factors associated with job satisfaction. A review of the literature is presented to provide a better understanding of correctional staff job satisfaction. Based on this review, correctional administrators are urged to concentrate more on improving the work environment rather than focusing on correctional staff characteristics.

scholarly journals Factors Associated With Willingness to Use Oral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Among Fishing Communities in Peri-urban Kampala, Uganda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bashir Ssuna ◽  
Anne Katahoire ◽  
Mari Armstrong-Hough ◽  
Dennis Kalibbala ◽  
Joan N Kalyango ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Fishing Communities ◽  
Key Populations ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis ◽  
Oral Prep

Abstract Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in key populations at elevated risk for exposure to HIV. If used effectively, PrEP can reduce annual HIV incidence to below 0.05%. However, PrEP is not acceptable among all communities that might benefit from it. There is, therefore, a need to understand perceptions of PrEP and factors associated with willingness to use PrEP among key populations at risk of HIV, such as members of communities with exceptionally high HIV prevalence. Objective: To examine the perceptions and factors associated with willingness to use oral PrEP among members of fishing communities in Uganda, a key population at risk of HIV. Methods: We conducted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study at Ggaba fishing community from February to June 2019. Survey data were collected from a systematic random sample of 283 community members. We carried out bivariate tests of association of willingness to use PrEP with demographic characteristics, HIV risk perception, HIV testing history. We estimated prevalence ratios for willingness to use PrEP. We used backward elimination to build a multivariable modified Poisson regression model to describe factors associated with willingness to use PrEP. We purposively selected 16 participants for focus group discussions to contextualize survey findings, analysing data inductively and identifying emergent themes related to perceptions of PrEP. Key results: We enrolled 283 participants with a mean age of 31±8 years. Most (80.9%) were male. The majority of participants had tested for HIV in their lifetime, but 64% had not tested in the past 6 months. Self-reported HIV prevalence was 6.4%. Most (80.6%, 95%CI 75.5-85.0) were willing in principle to use PrEP. Willingness to use PrEP was associated with perceiving oneself to be at high risk of HIV (aPR 1.99, 95%CI 1.31-3.02, P= 0.001), having tested for HIV in the past 6-months (aPR 1.13, 95%CI 1.03-1.24, P=0.007), and completion of tertiary education (aPR 1.97, 95%CI 1.39-2.81, P<0.001). In focus group discussions, participants described pill burden, side-effects, drug safety, and accessibility as potential barriers to PrEP use. Conclusions and recommendations: Oral PrEP was widely acceptable among members of fishing communities in peri-urban Kampala. Programs for scaling-up PrEP for fisherfolk should merge HIV testing services with sensitization about PrEP and also address issues of access to drugs.

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