Dowsing for Gold

Here is a scene from the reality show Bearing Sea Gold on the Discovery channel in which one of the characters in the show dowses to find gold.  Dowsing is done to find water, gold or other minerals, and more.  In this video the person use two metal rods.

A few things stand out.  First, deckhand Robbi Wade said, "People might think I'm crazy for doing this, but it don't bother me one way or another if they think I'm crazy or not as long as I get some gold."  He also said "I believe in it."  This is a rational chooser who is clearly results oriented.

Second, he also gave an explanation that it works via magnetism but did not provide much more details.  He does not believe it is working through the power of a supernatural being, so it is not religion according to Stark and Finke's definition in Acts of Faith.  Stark and Finke might call it magic, but his reference to magnetism suggests that he thinks dowsing works via natural rather than supernatural means.  It is not clear that the supernatural term applies very well here.

Third, that there is clear Christian imagery (a Christian cross at minute 3:03) on the ship suggests that they have no problem mixing religion with the practice of dowsing.  This may not be surprising given that they seem to view dowsing as working through natural means.  It is just a means of finding gold that they believe works for them.  It is also relatively inexpensive as you just need the two metal rods and some practice.  They do it themselves rather than hiring a professional dowser.  In their minds it is merely a cost-effect way to find the gold.

And in case you were wondering, yes, you can hire dowsers.  Maybe someone from the American Society of Dowsers.

Bible and Brew in Minneapolis

That's the title of one of the regular monthly events hosted at the home of Nicholas and Kristin Tangen, members of the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in northeast Minneapolis.  See this article or this new link.  The event brings together those that enjoy discussing the Bible while having a beer.  There are many such events around the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, each targeting a specific group.

Questions for you to consider:

• Why are these gatherings organized?
• What are the kinds of economic good that are produced at these gatherings?
• Who are the likely attendees at these gatherings?
• How integral is beer to these gatherings?
• Why might it be appropriate to call these "religious" gatherings?

Zuism and Tax Rebates in Iceland

During the last week there has been wide interest in the rise of Zuism in and its connection to church-state relations in Iceland.  From the Guardian here:

Icelanders opposed to the state funding of religion have flocked to register as Zuists, a movement that worships ancient Sumerian gods and – perhaps more importantly – promises its followers a tax rebate.

More than 3,100 people – almost 1% of Iceland’s population – have joined the Zuist movement in the past two weeks in protest at paying part of their taxes to the state church and other religious bodies. Followers of Zuism will be refunded the tax element earmarked for religion.

Icelanders are required by law to register their religious status with the state, and then some of their tax money is sent to their religious group by the state to be used to fund religious activities.  This is one way to get around the free-rider problem because members are essentially forced by the state to contribute to their religious group.

However, those who do not want to support religion do not have any of their tax money diverted to religious groups so that they are effectively paying a higher tax rate to the state.  As explained in the article, the Zuist group was at risk of being de-registered as an official religion in Iceland, and thus ineligible for money to be sent by the government, due to low numbers.  Then a group opposed to this role of the state in religion took control of the group and promised to refund money given to the group by the government back to the members.  The group has now grown to almost 1% of Iceland's population.  By comparison, in the U.S. the Seventh-day Adventist Church is about 1.4% of the population.

This development is controversial because the money is being refunded by the group to its members rather than providing religious services, clearly against the intent of the law.  However, there are tricky issues about what is a religious group and what it considers its legitimate operations.  If someone says that this group is violating the law, then someone else says, "Who are you to say what my religious group considers religion?"

Why Big Societies Need Big Gods

That is the title of a feature article in Science Magazine.  The key idea is belief in moralizing gods -- i.e., gods that encourage virtue and punish selfishness in the afterlife -- have helped to foster cooperation and the growth of large-scale civilization.

To crack the mystery of why and how people around the world came to believe in moralizing gods, researchers are using a novel tool in religious studies: the scientific method. By combining laboratory experiments, cross-cultural fieldwork, and analysis of the historical record, an interdisciplinary team has put forward a hypothesis that has the small community of researchers who study the evolution of religion abuzz. A culture like ancient Egypt didn’t just stumble on the idea of moralizing gods, says psychologist Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, in Canada, who synthesized the new idea in his 2013 book Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict. Instead, belief in those judgmental deities, or “big gods,” was key to the cooperation needed to build and sustain Egyptians’ large, complex society.

In this view, without supernatural enforcement of cooperative, “moral” behavior, ancient Egypt—as well as nearly every other large-scale society in history—wouldn’t have been able to get off the ground. All-knowing big gods are “crazily effective” at enforcing social norms, says Norenzayan’s collaborator Edward Slingerland, a historian at UBC Vancouver. “Not only can they see you everywhere you are, but they can actually look inside your mind.” And once big gods and big societies existed, the moralizing gods helped religions as dissimilar as Islam and Mormonism spread by making groups of the faithful more cooperative, and therefore more successful.

Monopoly Power in the Gravestone Business

See this short article from the Economist magazine.  The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Newark, NJ, started selling headstones to parishioners. This was quite profitable for the church, and, presumably, convenient for the parishioners.  But soon some local businesses sued the church accusing it of unfair monopoly practices.  It had a natural vertical monopoly position because it could bundle multiple goods and services associated with burial (religious services, gravestones, plots, etc.) and tax-exempt status that allowed it to undercut grave stone prices of other makers.  The plaintiffs lost the case, but in March Governor Christie signed a law that breaks some of the monopoly power by forbidding religious cemeteries from operating funeral homes or selling memorials.

Will the iPad Replace the Bible?

That is the title of this article that is very relevant given our discussion of religious apps and products in today's lecture.

"There are different churches for different people," says Josh Burns, marketing manager and blogger for Social Church. "There are churches that are going to invest heavily in the arts and music and technology, and they're going to reach a certain demographic of people that another church who may intentionally decide not to invest in those things may not reach. [Technology] has definitely changed the dynamic of the church and the people inside the church, but I don't know if that's necessarily a bad thing. It's a tight line to walk."

Why is this is a tight line to walk?  What trade-offs exist for a church that is considering how it adopts technology?  Can you imagine how the printing press changed religion 500 years ago?

Religious Apps Winter 2015

Here is a list of the religious apps and other products submitted by class members.  Non-app products are denoted by *.

Bible Study
3D Salah Guide
ChristianMingle Singles Dating
Daily Bible Devotion
Free Bible Trivia Quiz Game
Religious Quotes
Christian Radio+
GCSE Religious Studies
Smart Church
Gospel Library
Bible Trivia
Church Castor Lite
OneParish
Pray God's Will
The Bible Game*
JSwipe
Harvest
My First Bible Stories
Children's Bible Games & Activities
Learn Iqra
Cavalry Chapel Costa Mesa
Bible Quiz - Christian & Religion Trivia
PocketBible
Saddleback Church
myParish
FlyRights
Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism
Alive Festival*
GoBible*
ChristianCafe
Christian Filipina
Faithlife
EWTN

How Churches Can Attract the 'Nones"

That is the title of this Deseret News article. from yesterday.  Some quotes from the Rev. Tom Ehrich, an Episcopal priest and church consultant, are particularly interesting.

Here are some good quotes about :

Ehrich, who is based in New York City, said church leaders need to consider ways to meet the needs of newer generations. Today, he said, many congregations have become stuck in a rut accommodating older members.

"The average age (of members) in a mainline church is somewhere between 62 and 66; 20 years ago it was between 42 and 46," Ehrich explained. "We've missed two successive generations of young adults, and the same people who stuck around are getting older. We can't go on much longer before the 66-year-olds are 76 and 86. That's why the (churches) are closing."

... "Churches that are growing have small groups, high mission activities, mission teams, lots of people engaging with each other, and digital dialogues," he said. "The mainline churches and many churches are resisting it because people don't want" those changes, preferring traditional routines.

...Church consultant Ehrich said congregations also need to position themselves as providing answers to the questions those seekers eventually will bring.

"What the churches have to communicate is this is what they're about and not keeping up tradition," he said.

Some questions:  Why have some churches become stuck accommodating older members rather than younger members?  What challenges will a group face in changing how it accommodates the desires of different members?