On Earth and as It Is in Heaven—There Is No Sex Trafficking in Heaven: A Qualitative Study Bringing Christian Church Leaders’ Anti-Trafficking Viewpoints to Trafficking Discourse

There is a lack of contributions in sex trafficking the academic literature from Christian evangelical leaders despite their prominence in global counter-trafficking activism. Given that the academic literature influences professional and pedagogical discourse, the lack of evangelical Christian representation could diminish the complexity of trafficking discourses, limit balanced views of the flaws and strengths of evangelical counter-trafficking, and limit the opportunities for academia to understand and address problematic areas in evangelical counter-trafficking through an emic understanding of evangelical paradigms. Using a phenomenological lens to engage evangelical Christian pastors (n = 17) in the midwestern United States, this study examined the meaning faith leaders attach to counter-trafficking initiatives. Four themes emerged: (1) God cares about survivors of sex trafficking, giving Christians a moral obligation to intervene; (2) God, the Christian, and the survivor all have essential roles in tackling sex trafficking as part of helping humanity; (3) congregations’ faith-inspired but imperfect efforts to help an imperfect and complex world create many complexities; and (4) managing complexity involves applying the truths that underpin the Christian worldview, namely that God is good and people are valuable. These findings underscore the need to create an inclusive knowledge-producing forum that allows for a pragmatic exchange of ideas to expand the discourse between multiple counter trafficking actors.

Either Sent by God or Used by God: Impact of COVID-19 on the Religious Lives of Black Families With Dementia

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored systemic disparities and laid its effects on the Black community. Often overlooked is how health disparities heighten stress and affect the emotional well-being of Black American caregivers. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of COVID-19 on church engagement for Black families affected by dementia. A qualitative design was employed to collect data from current caregivers, faith/church leaders, and persons with cognitive impairment. Participants (n = 17) were predominantly female, all identified as Black. During semi-structured interviews, participants were asked how COVID-19 has impacted their participation in faith practices. The following themes emerged: (a) ability to continue faith practices, (b) increased church engagement, (c) new normal, (d) importance of fellowship, and (e) role of technology. Participants believed COVID-19 did not impact their faith practice partly due to the ability to continue with faith traditions in a virtual format. Online worship services enabled more families affected by dementia to participate. Many church leaders expressed the intent of continuing to provide online worship services post-pandemic. Families highlighted their need to have fellowship with other parishioners. Technology was perceived as a double-edged sword that serves as both a motivator and a barrier to religious engagement. These findings will support faith leaders and churches in understanding the needs of their congregation during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, it will allow families living with dementia to continue engaging in religious activity and living in meaningful ways.

“It’s Not Doctrine, This Is Just How It Is Happening!”: Religious Creativity in the Time of COVID-19

Drawing on thirty in-depth interviews with faith leaders in the UK (including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism), we examine the diverse ways religious groups reorient religious life during COVID-19. Analysing the shift to virtual and home-based worship, we show the creative ways religious communities altered their customs, rituals, and practices to fit a new virtual reality amidst rigid social distancing guidelines. This study offers a distinctive comparative perspective into religious creativity amidst acute social change, allowing us to showcase notable differences, especially in terms of the possibility to fully perform worship online. We found that whilst all faith communities faced the same challenge of ministering and supporting their communities online, some were able to deliver services and perform worship online but others, for theological reasons, could not offer communal prayer. These differences existed within each religion rather than across religious boundaries, representing intra-faith divergence at the same time as cross-faith convergence. This analysis allows us to go beyond common socio-religious categories of religion, while showcasing the diverse forms of religious life amidst COVID-19. This study also offers a diverse case study of the relationship between religions as well as between religion, state, and society amidst COVID-19.

Citizens Committees and Local Elites: Elite Capture, Captured Elites, and Absent Elites in Health Facility Committees

Mainstream development policies often promote citizens committees to oversee basic social services. Such committees require influence over, and legitimacy among, service providers and citizens to perform their roles, which local elites can help or hinder. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyse the situation in 251 health facility committees in Burundi, part of which benefited from interventions designed to bolster their relationship with local leaders. Interviews and focus groups reveal that leaders’ support is essential for committees to access citizens and work with nurses, but the failure of the interventions show it is hard to nurture. The local socio-political elites (politicians, faith leaders) bypass and ignore the committees. In a ‘fragile’ context such as Burundi’s, the lack of political elite capture attempt suggests a largely vacuous committee system. The committees remain a façade participatory institution. Understanding and engaging with local everyday local politics is crucial for committee-based development approaches.

Psychometric Properties of the Clergy Suicide Prevention Competencies Developmental Rubric and Faith Leaders’ Readiness to Address Suicide Stigma

Faith leaders (FL) have a key role in suicide prevention. One of their roles is to address suicide stigma in faith communities. Are they ready to do so? The Clergy Suicide Prevention Skills Developmental Rubric (CSPCDR) was developed to understand and assess clergy suicide prevention skills. The psychometric properties of the CSPCDR are reported in order to assess FL’ readiness to address suicide stigma. Sample 1, 186 Protestant seminary students completed the CSPCDR twice, resulting in Pearson’s r = 0.77. Sample 2, 187 Protestant clergy and lay ministers completed the CSPCDR before and after one of eight trainings to test construct validity; the CSPCDR performed as expected. Results suggest how to expand FL’ readiness to address suicide stigma in faith communities.

Suicide Stigma in Christian Faith Communities: A Qualitative Study

Given the increasing numbers of U.S. lives lost to suicide, it is imperative to identify factors that can help protect against suicide. While regular religious service attendance has been found to be protective against suicide, faith communities have taboos against suicide which may be associated with stigma. Nine Christian faith leaders and congregants and one moral psychologist completed interviews on suicide stigma in Christian faith communities. Themes that emerged included internal, interpersonal, and theological components and group differences related to suicide stigma in Christian faith communities. Participants proposed seven barriers and seven corresponding ways to address suicide stigma in Christian faith communities: talk about suicide, address skill deficits, practice vulnerability, get leadership on board, address the theology of suicide, appreciate that faith communities have a unique contribution to make to suicide prevention, and address cultural/systemic issues.

Online Opportunities in Secularizing Societies? Clergy and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland

This article explores how Christian clergy in Ireland have framed their adoption of online ministries during the COVID-19 pandemic as opportunities for the churches to retain some significance, even in secularizing societies. It is based on an island-wide survey of 439 faith leaders and 32 in-depth, follow-up interviews. The results of this study are analysed in light of scholarship in three areas: (1) secularization in Ireland, informed by Norris and Inglehart’s evolutionary modernization theory; (2) cross-national research that has found increasing interest in spirituality or religion during the pandemic (with the UK as the main point of comparison); and (3) wider pre-pandemic scholarship on digital religion. The article concludes by arguing that the clergy’s framing of online ministries as opportunities is important: if they regard online ministries as potential sites of religious revitalization, they are more likely to invest in them. There is some evidence that they may be assisted in this by lay volunteers. However, given the secularization already underway, it remains to be seen whether an embrace of blended online and in-person religion will have far-reaching impacts on Ireland’s religious landscape.