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Substantial changes in worship style and organizational structure are transforming the way Christianity will be experienced in the next millennium. The style of Christianity dominated by eighteenth-century hymns, a routinized liturgy, and bureaucratized layers of social organization is gradually dying. In its place are emerging hundreds of new-paradigm churches, which are appropriating stylistic and organizational elements from our postmodern culture. This reformation, unlike the one led by Martin Luther, is challenging not doctrine but the medium through which the message of Christianity is articulated. Appropriating contemporary cultural forms, these postdenominational churches are creating a new genre of worship music; they are restructuring the organization of institutional Christianity; and they are democratizing access to the sacred by radicalizing the Protestant principle of priesthood of all believers. This trend within American Christianity is illustrated by describing research on three religious movements—Calvary Chapel, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, and Hope Chapel—that have emerged since the mid-1960s and now number collectively more than a thousand organizations.

Substantial changes in worship style & organizational structure are transforming the way Christianity will be experienced in the next millennium. The style of Christianity dominated by 18th-century hymns, a routinized liturgy, & bureaucratized layers of social organization is gradually dying. In its place are emerging new-paradigm churches, which are appropriating stylistic & organizational elements from postmodern culture. This reformation, unlike the one led by Martin Luther, is challenging not doctrine but the medium through which the message of Christianity is articulated. Appropriating contemporary cultural forms, these postdenominational churches are creating a new genre of worship music; they are restructuring the organization of institutional Christianity; & they are democratizing access to the sacred by radicalizing the Protestant principle of priesthood of all believers. This trend in US Christianity is illustrated by describing survey research on three religious movements -- Calvary Chapel, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, & Hope Chapel -- that have emerged since the mid-1960s & now number collectively 1,000+ organizations. 11 References. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the masses still lining up to enter mega-churches with warehouse-like architecture, casually dressed clergy, and pop Christian music, the "Post-Boomer" generation-those ranging in age from twenty to forty-is having second thoughts. In this perceptive look at the evolving face of Christianity in contemporary culture, sociologists Richard Flory and Donald E. Miller argue that we are on the verge of another potential revolution in how Christians worship and associate with one another. Just as the formative experiences of Baby Boomers were colored by such things as the war in Vietnam, the 1960s, and a dramatic increase in their opportunities for individual expression, so Post-Boomers have grown up in less structured households with working (often divorced) parents. These childhood experiences leave them craving authentic spiritual experience, rather than entertainment, and also cause them to question institutions. Flory and Miller develop a typology that captures four current approaches to the Christian faith and argue that this generation represents a new religious orientation of "expressive communalism," in which they seek spiritual experience and fulfillment in community and through various expressive forms of spirituality, both private and public

Global Pentecostalism: an emergent force within world Christianity -- Progressive Pentecostals: ministries, beliefs, and motivations -- Building a new generation: programs serving children and youth -- Practicing the faith: transforming individuals and society -- Encounters with the holy: meeting God in worship and prayer -- Born in the image of God: democracy and upward social mobility -- Organizing the saints: giving the ministry to the people -- The future of progressive Pentecostalism

Massive destruction : the 1988 earthquake -- Random violence : pogroms in Azerbaijan -- Fighting for survival : the war of independence in Nagorno-Karabakh -- Surviving the winter : paying the price for independence -- We live with hope : reflections on conditions in Armenia -- Concluding reflections : the meaning of being human -- Epilogue : ten years after independence

Previous studies of morality policy adoption and diffusion often have failed to define the characteristics of a morality policy that result in certain kinds of politics. For example, studies of lottery diffusion include all lottery adoptions, treating them as possessing characteristics that render their politics similar. In this article we explore the possibility that different types of lotteries generate different types of politics. Although all lotteries involve considerations of morality, some types of lotteries can involve additional values beyond concerns about the "sin" of gambling. The dedication of lottery revenue to a specific purpose can arouse these additional concerns and change the politics of adoption. We hypothesize that dedication of lottery revenue to the general fund will therefore generate different politics of adoption than lotteries designed to fund education. We find that previous findings on lottery diffusion apply only to general fund lotteries. If lottery revenue is dedicated to education, the potent symbol of children's education significantly changes the politics of adoption.

Previous studies of lottery diffusion include all lottery adoptions, treating them as possessing characteristics that render their politics similar. Here, the possibility is explored that different types of lotteries generate different types of politics. Although all lotteries involve considerations of morality, some types of lotteries can involve additional values beyond concerns about the "sin" of gambling. The dedication of lottery revenue to a specific purpose can arouse these additional concerns & change the politics of adoption. It is hypothesized that dedication of lottery revenue to the general fund will therefore generate different politics of adoption than lotteries designed to fund education. Event-history analysis of fiscal & other measures on lottery adoption reveals that previous findings on lottery diffusion apply only to general fund lotteries. If lottery revenue is dedicated to education, the potent symbol of children's education significantly changes the politics of adoption. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 57 References. Adapted from the source document.