SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

For most Americans, new research says, family comes first

Pew Meaning1

RNS As many Americans gather with their loves ones for Thanksgiving, a timely new survey from Pew Research confirms what miles of traffic jams and airport lines suggest: Family is the number one source to which Americans look for meaning, fulfillment and satisfaction in their lives. The survey, conducted in two waves in 2017, found clear and […]

Migrants losing $US25 billion a year through remittance fees – UN

Thomson Reuters Foundation Lowering the fees migrant workers pay to send money home could result in $US1 billion more being spent on education in developing countries, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Financial institutions are under pressure after a report by UNESCO, the UN body for education, found the charges to send money to some […]

400-year-old Christian artwork found in Japan

A painting believed to have been made by a Japanese Christian some 400 years ago has been dicovered near Tokyo. NHK reports that the three metre long painting, found in a memorial museum in Oiso Town in Kanagawa Prefecture, depicts 15 scenes relating to Jesus Christ and Mary including those showing the Annunciation and Pentecost.  […]

Deadly air pollution shortens lives by nearly two years – researchers

Thomson Reuters Foundation Air pollution, caused largely by burning fossil fuels, is cutting global life expectancy by an average of 1.8 years per person, making it the world’s top killer, researchers said on Monday. The tiny particles ingested from polluted air shorten life more than first-hand cigarette smoke, which can reduce it by 1.6 years, […]

WORDS AND ACTIONS

Talking2

We talk about words and action in the West. Belief and behaviour. We note that there is a great gulf between most people’s words and their actions. Talking the talk (but are we walking the walk?) – how do our words match our behaviour? PICTURE: Wade Austin Ellis/Unsplash. We believe one thing – and behave […]

Is American religion exceptional? Maybe, maybe not

Religious Decline1

RNS America is more religious than Europe, almost everyone agrees. Two-thirds of US Christians pray daily, compared with a median of just 18 per cent of Christians across 15 countries in Europe, to cite just one recent survey. But there is disagreement brewing among sociologists over whether the intense religious devotion that has long characterised a […]