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Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Investigating church attendance and the religious middle
If you are a Christian, how often do you go to church? Do you go weekly? Once a month? Or maybe only on Christmas and Easter? If you are in the latter group, you are not alone. That has become normal for a growing number of churchgoers in Canada, especially in the Anglican Church of Canada. That's what Sarah Kathleen Johnson found when she did research on attendance patterns of members of that church. She shares her findings in her new book, Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience (Oxford University Press). For Johnson, a professor of liturgy and pastoral theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, interest in the topic was sparked by her own experience of attending an Anglican church in Toronto. During Christmas services, the church was packed. The following Sundays, the sanctuary was nearly empty. Until then, Johnson had not paid much attention to that phenomenon. But seeing the contrast made her wonder how widespread and common it was for Anglicans. Very common, as it turns out. Through interviews, research and her own observations, Johnson concludes that occasional attendance is now normal in many Anglican parishes. 'Routine attendance patterns have changed,' Johnson said, noting there was a time in the past when weekly churchgoing was more the norm. But today, most Anglicans attend church only on holidays like Christmas and Easter or for life transitions such as funerals, weddings or the baptism of someone's child. And not just Anglicans; Johnson suspects that may be the dominant way many Christians go to church in Canada today. This is supported by research by Statistics Canada, which found that 25 per cent of Canadians who attend church services said it was their practice to go either monthly or between one to three times a year. Thirteen per cent said they went once a week. Johnson's findings are also supported by Neil Elliot, statistics and research officer for the Anglican Church of Canada. In his most recent report to the 2025 General Synod, he noted that attendance for Easter services was up 41 per cent and Christmas was up 51 per cent. As for Sunday attendance, that continues to 'decline steadily with no bounce back,' he said, dropping by a third since 2017. Or, as he put it, 'it appears people are coming back to festival services, but not to regular Sunday worship.' What especially intrigued Johnson about this large group of people who attend occasionally was the lack of information about them. She found many books about the very religious who attend services often and also many about non-religious people who never go at all. 'But there wasn't much on the religious middle,' she said. Through her research, Johnson found these occasional attenders are quite content with their current practice. 'They don't feel the need to go more often,' she said. As for why they feel that way, Johnson said it wasn't because they are anti-religion; they just didn't feel going to church was necessary anymore. And when they did go, it was usually because of tradition or family — Grandma wants the family together at church on Christmas Eve. One thing Johnson wants to emphasize is that occasional church attendance isn't a new thing; it's been happening for a long time. In fact, it was over 25 years ago that sociologist of religion Reg Bibby coined the term 'monthly plus' to describe how many churchgoers were considering what constituted regular attendance — no longer as weekly, but as once or twice a month. And not only that, the earliest Christians experienced it, as can be seen in the book of Hebrews. In Chapter 10 Verse 5, the author writes that believers should not be 'neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.' And it also was on the minds of church leaders in the fourth and fifth centuries, when they complained about people not going to church on a weekly basis. Understandably, clergy and denominational leaders would prefer to see churches full every Sunday. But Johnson said they should avoid preaching against the practice at times when the church is full. 'It will be hard to convert these people into intensive churchgoing,' she said. She thinks it would be better for clergy to accept this as normal and then view Christmas, Easter, weddings and funerals as a way to engage occasional attenders through what she called 'tender, pastoral moments.' Clergy can also shift their thinking about what it means to be part of a church, she said; people may feel part of its mission through volunteering, helping during a disaster, visiting with neighbours or in other ways that don't involve being at worship services. At the same time, it's important to not think God only engages people at religious services. 'I assume that the Spirit is at work within and beyond the formal and informal institutions of the Church,' Johnson said. 'God is active in the lives of people, including occasional practitioners, in ways that are known, unknown, and unknowable to theologians and social scientists.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
From bluey to bogans: Researchers who help define how the nation speaks to lose their jobs
There are blueys and bludgers, chardonnay socialists, cleanskins and cashed-up bogans. The way Australians use the English language is often direct, facetious and occasionally just a little cruel. And for almost 40 years, the words the nation uses in speech, newspapers and books has been mapped by a small team at the Australian National Dictionary Centre in Canberra. Those efforts are set to come to an end after Australian National University management, as part of a major cost-cutting drive, unveiled plans to 'disestablish' the centre. 'It is going to be a loss to the community as what we do is explaining changes in language use,' said centre director Professor Amanda Laugesen. Researchers at the centre produce The Australian National Dictionary as the pre-eminent record of Australia's unique vocabulary. 'Its job is to document and study the way Australians have used language over time, and as such is essential to understanding Australian society, culture and identity. There is no other project that does this in Australia and so it will be a tremendous loss to the nation.' The university cited reduced external funding from Oxford University Press for the centre and its 'limited alignment' with the university's broader strategic direction as reasons for closing it. Other research centres facing the chopping block, after the university unveiled plans to shed jobs, include the ANU's Humanities Research Centre and the ANU Centre for European Studies.
The Age
a day ago
- Politics
- The Age
From bluey to bogans: Researchers who help define how the nation speaks to lose their jobs
There are blueys and bludgers, chardonnay socialists, cleanskins and cashed-up bogans. The way Australians use the English language is often direct, facetious and occasionally just a little cruel. And for almost 40 years, the words the nation uses in speech, newspapers and books has been mapped by a small team at the Australian National Dictionary Centre in Canberra. Those efforts are set to come to an end after Australian National University management, as part of a major cost-cutting drive, unveiled plans to 'disestablish' the centre. 'It is going to be a loss to the community as what we do is explaining changes in language use,' said centre director Professor Amanda Laugesen. Researchers at the centre produce The Australian National Dictionary as the pre-eminent record of Australia's unique vocabulary. 'Its job is to document and study the way Australians have used language over time, and as such is essential to understanding Australian society, culture and identity. There is no other project that does this in Australia and so it will be a tremendous loss to the nation.' The university cited reduced external funding from Oxford University Press for the centre and its 'limited alignment' with the university's broader strategic direction as reasons for closing it. Other research centres facing the chopping block, after the university unveiled plans to shed jobs, include the ANU's Humanities Research Centre and the ANU Centre for European Studies.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
From Rabindranath Tagore to Satyajit Ray, meet the secret green revolutionaries
The title of Sumana Roy's book Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal makes one wonder what it means to be a 'plant thinker' and who might be called one. An Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Ashoka University, she writes about 'revolutionaries who created a plant poetics that secretly changed the way a people would imagine and live with plants'. Their non-violent revolution seeks to challenge the dominant worldview. The volume is divided into seven chapters. Six of them are about public figures like Jagadish Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattopadhyay, and Satyajit Ray. The last is about a domestic worker, Maya-mashi, personally known to the author. Though none of them were professional environmentalists, what they have in common is a 'vocabulary of intimacy and cohabitation with plant life'. Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal Sumana Roy Oxford University Press ₹1,100 If you are a Roy fan who enjoyed How I Became a Tree: Dispatches from a World on Fire (2017) and Provincials: Postcards from the Peripheries (2024), her latest would be a worthy addition to your bookshelf. She returns to abiding preoccupations with renewed vigour. Her disenchantment with the capitalist, anthropocentric mode of engagement with plant life is on full display here, as is the joy of re-discovering people from the past who share her concerns. Unlike the previous books that were more autobiographical and inward-looking, this one is more intent on contributing to a fledgling discipline called 'plant humanities'. The vocabulary is not technical but the writing style is geared towards a scholarly audience. Roy has been working on the Indian Plant Humanities project with the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability at Ashoka University, so this should not come as a big surprise. 'Natural cosmopolitanism' The first six chapters combine biographical sketches of the thinkers along with discussions of their work. The one on Bose — a scientist and a science fiction writer — is about 'his desperation to prove the legitimacy of plants as citizens in the country of the living' whereas the one on poet-artist-playwright Tagore revolves around 'the natural cosmopolitanism' of the forest that he meant to recreate in Santiniketan, an educational experiment in Bolpur. The third chapter shows how Bandyopadhyay, the novelist who moved from Bengal to Bihar to work as an assistant manager at an agricultural estate, recognised his own complicity as a 'coloniser' in destroying the forest and turning the forest into profit-making agricultural land. The chapter on poet-essayist-novelist Das frames him as a chronicler of 'the botanical history of provincial Bengal' while the one on Chattopadhyay looks at him as a poet whose affection for rustic life comes from his childhood experiences in a village where he lived with his maternal grandfather who was a teacher and homoeopath. The world of Apu Roy draws attention to the recurring figure of the botanist in Ray's stories. She notes that, unlike Apu in Ray's film Pather Panchali who grew up in the countryside, 'little Satyajit' was raised in the city uninitiated into the mysteries of the plant kingdom. However, childhood vacations were spent with an aunt and uncle in Darbhanga with easy access to trees. Roy does a terrific job of highlighting their contributions. However, she is more descriptive than analytical and seems reluctant to approach the work of these personalities with a critical lens. The flow of her writing is disrupted by large chunks of quotes from primary sources. The last chapter, though beautifully penned, comes across as an afterthought. It seems that Roy's championing of a domestic worker who expressed herself in botanical idioms and proverbs is meant to address the absences in the first six chapters. She notes that Bose, Tagore, Bandyopadhyay, Das and Ray 'came from families with strong connections to the Brahmo Samaj', so the Upanishadic way of thinking and living was ingrained in their understanding of their own place in the world as well as their approach to plant life. Chattopadhyay and Bandyopadhyay's fathers, she remarks, 'came from similar intellectual histories — Sanskrit teaching, classical literatures, the Brahminical background'. However, Roy does not explore how 'a naturalised understanding of a multispecies universe where everyone and everything was a citizen' seems incompatible with the oppressive caste system. It is surprising that writer and activist Mahasweta Devi does not get a whole chapter but just a few lines in a paragraph on 'the botanical imagination among Satyajit Ray's contemporaries in Bangla literature'. Hopefully, future editions of the book will fill this gap. The reviewer is a journalist, educator and literary critic.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Colon cancer sees alarming rise in young adults; Scientists blame this popular food habit
In recent years, doctors have witnessed a disturbing trend: colon cancer – traditionally viewed as a disease of older adults – is increasingly striking people under 50. Scientists are pointing fingers at a common dietary culprit: it's the ultra‑processed foods. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These time-convenient snacks, ready-to-eat meals, and sugary drinks are now linked not only to obesity and metabolic issues but also to more direct threats, like gut inflammation, harmful bacteria, and DNA‑damaging toxins. This unexpected connection invites us to rethink our food choices and recognize that what we snack on today could impact our health decades later – potentially changing how we prevent, detect, and treat colon cancer in tomorrow's adults. Fact-backed theory: One leading theory links this increase to obesity, which is also on the rise in the US. A study from 2019 found that women with obesity were nearly twice as likely to develop early-onset colorectal cancer. Alarmingly, nearly half of all US adults are expected to be obese by 2030, according to the same research, published in the journal by Oxford University Press. Obesity can lead to inflammation and higher insulin levels, which increase the risk of various cancers, including gastrointestinal ones, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other risk factors include smoking, alcohol consumption, a Western-style diet, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Recent studies have also highlighted the role of a gut toxin called colibactin, produced by E. coli bacteria, which can damage DNA in colon cells and raise the risk of cancer. While the specific causes remain unclear, it's an issue not just in the US. 'The incidence of GI cancers in adults younger than age 50 is rising globally,' explained Dr. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sara Char, an oncology fellow at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In the US, there has been a 'marked increase' in early-onset gastrointestinal cancers among both men and women since the mid-1990s. Those born in 1990 are now twice as likely to develop colon cancer and four times more likely to develop rectal cancer compared to those born in 1950. For men under 50, early-onset colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, while for women in the same age group, it's the second leading cause. What is colon cancer? Colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer, is a type of cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon or rectum. It's one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Thanks to obesity and alcohol consumption, bowel cancer has become the primary cause of the rising death toll among young adults. The colon and rectum are both parts of the large intestine, which is part of the digestive system. Colorectal cancer often begins as a growth called a polyp inside the colon or rectum. Most colorectal cancers are curable when localized to the bowel. However, recurrence following surgery is a major problem and is often the ultimate cause of death. Colorectal cancer can develop when cells in the colon or rectum change and no longer behave normally. These changes can lead to precancerous conditions, such as adenomas, or colorectal cancer itself. The most common type of colorectal cancer is adenocarcinoma, which starts in the gland cells that line the colon or rectum. Colorectal cancer, the most common gastrointestinal cancer, disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian populations. Reasons behind colorectal cancer: Colorectal cancer can be caused by several factors. Inherited genetic mutations or variants can increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Certain genetic conditions, such as Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), can also increase the risk. Besides, unhealthy lifestyle choices can increase the risk of colorectal cancer. A diet low in fruits and vegetables, high in fat, and low in fibre, and high in processed meats contributes to this kind of cancer. Being overweight or obese and a lack of regular physical activity are glaring reasons for colorectal cancer in millennials and Gen X. Habits like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption also catalyze this cancer. Alcohol consumption has been linked to early-onset bowel cancer, which tends to be more aggressive and lethal when compared to the kind that's diagnosed in older individuals. As per doctors, being overweight or obese – and related health conditions like hyperglycemia and diabetes – are the primary factors responsible. In the late 1990s, colorectal cancer was the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women younger than age 50. Now, according to the American Cancer Society, it is the leading cause of cancer death among men and the second leading among women. The practical resolution: Given these worrying trends, researchers suggest that treatment practices may need to be updated. Young patients often face delays in diagnosis as both doctors and patients may not suspect cancer. As a result, many are diagnosed at later stages and tend to receive aggressive treatments, which may not always offer a survival advantage. Colorectal cancer ranks as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American men and fourth among women, and it's expected to cause around 52,900 deaths this year, according to the American Cancer Society. These younger patients often face additional challenges, including financial strain, body image concerns, mental health issues, and a lower quality of life. Dr. Char emphasized the importance of continued research, stating, 'Ongoing research efforts investigating the biology of early-onset GI cancers are critical to developing more effective screening, prevention, and treatment strategies.' Why is Colon Cancer Rising Among Young Adults?
