Evangelical church membership growth during recessions: 1.52 percent

Evangelical church membership growth in non-recession years: 0.98 percent

Rate of major depression in women who have attended religious services since childhood: 27 percent

Rate in women who have changed attendance patterns (nearly all had stopped attending services): 36 percent

Incidence of major depression in men who have always attended religious services: 31 percent

Incidence in men who have stopped attending: 24 percent

Highlights from a 2008 Harris Poll nation-wide survey of 2,126 U.S. adults:

• Americans who believe in God: 80 percent (unchanged since the last survey in 2005)
  
  
• Americans who believe Jesus is the Son of God: 71 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the resurrection of Jesus: 70 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth: 61 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the survival of the soul after death: 68 percent
  
  

Despite the best efforts of pastors and Christian educators, many children in America still don't enjoy going to church. These kids usually reveal their discomfort through one of a few predictable habits. Some fidget in their seats; others doodle or draw; still others try to sneak in a comic book or portable video game.

But a 7-year-old boy in Plain City, Utah, recently broke the mold and attempted ...

Orthodox Church officials in Russia discovered in 2008 that one of their church buildings had disappeared. Poof—gone! The 200-year-old building northeast of Moscow had gone unused for a decade, but the Orthodox Church, which was experiencing growth, was considering reopening the church building, and that's when they discovered their building wasn't there.

They had to get to the bottom of this. ...

After his ordination in 1969, author and pastor Phillip Johnson received a call to serve one large church and ten smaller churches on the northern coast of Newfoundland, Canada. On the first day of his new circuit ministry, Johnson learned that in order to get to the smallest of the churches, he would have to travel 40 miles by snowmobile to a tiny village. When Johnson arrived, only one person had ...

In his book Being the Body, Charles Colson writes about meeting a businessman whom he calls Mr. Abercrombie. Mr. Abercrombie had invited Colson to speak at a Bible study he hosted. Nineteen other movers and shakers of the business world were in attendance. Colson writes about what transpired:

Mr. Abercrombie had asked me to speak at the luncheon and then allow time for questions. Somewhere in my ...

Spiritual formation is so often couched in more individualistic terms, that it's easy to forget the important role the church community plays in our growth as individuals. In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott shares a story she once heard from her minister that illustrates well the necessary presence of others in our journey of faith:

When [my minister] was about seven, her best friend got lost ...

Actress Reese Witherspoon, who plays the role of June Carter Cash in the movie Walk the Line, describes the benefit of attending church:

"I was raised going to church every Sunday, and I go to church most Sundays with my kids. For me, where I'm at in my career, so many people want to put you in a place that you're not real and treat you like you're not real. For me it's a great experience of grounding, ...

The Religious Right really does put its money where its mouth is—at least more so than its secular rivals—according to a recent study from Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks.

Published in November 2006, the controversial findings in Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism have grabbed the attention of political commentators.

"If you asked me, I would ...