News

Go Figure

Get the numbers on cancer patients, American Idol, and lay leaders.

11.3% Highly religious cancer patients who received mechanical ventilation during the last week of life, in a study of 345 advanced cancer patients.

3.6% Least religious patients who received mechanical ventilation.

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association)

6 Number of the 11 American Idol finalists who regularly perform at places of worship.

3 Number who have worked as worship leaders at a church.

(Source: Associated Press)

31% Congregations that would accept a member of a cohabiting unmarried couple as a lay leader.

23% Congregations that would accept a member of an openly homosexual couple as a lay leader.

(Source: National Congregations Study)

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Related Elsewhere:

See our earlier Go Figure postings from April 2009, March 2009, February 2009, January 2009, December 2008, November 2008, October 2008, September 2008, August 2008, July 2008, June 2008, May 2008, April 2008, March 2008, February 2008, January 2008, December 2007, November 2007, October 2007, September 2007, and earlier issues.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

News

The Not-for-Profit Surge

John W. Kennedy

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

John Wilson

Keeping Holy Ground Holy

Nathan Bierma

Theology in Wood and Concrete

Gary Wang

Praying 'Deliver Us from Evil'

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

Surveying the Wondrous Cross

Review

Science and the Mystic

Abolishing Homelessness in Ten Years

My Top 5 Spiritual Memoirs

Lauren Winner

What Do Prayer Studies Prove?

Gregory Fung and Christopher Fung

News

More Giving, Less Taxing

A Christianity Today Editorial

News

Pressure to Prove Himself

Sarah Pulliam

News

'The Perfect Hybrid'

Sarah Pulliam

Review

What to Do with the Stranger?

Tony Carnes

Augustine's Origin of Species

Alister McGrath

From the Printing Press to the iPhone

Readers Write

Out of Step and Fine with It

Collin Hansen

News

Learning from Widows

Timothy C. Morgan

News

A Simple, Old-Fashioned Fundraiser

John W. Kennedy

CreationWatch

Why We Need Earthquakes

News

Passages

News

Be Careful What You Wish For

Sarah Pulliam

News

News Briefs: May 01, 2009

News

Quotation Marks

News

El Salvador's Values Voters

Deann Alford

Q & A: Carl Moeller

Interview by Timothy C. Morgan

News

Faith on the Frontera

C. L. Lopez

News

A Problematic Peace Accord

Compass Direct News

News

Caring for the Caregivers

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

News

Church Pink Slips

Bobby Ross Jr.

News

In Over His Pay Grade

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Pete Hegseth’s Future, Farmers on Tariffs, and Religious Decline Stalls

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Hegseth scrutinized for drug boat strikes, farmers react to Trump’s tariffs, and a Pew report says religious decline has slowed.

The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

Three books to read this month on politics and public life.

Turn Toward Each Other and Away from the Screen

Perhaps technology has changed everything. But God is still here, still wiring humans for connection and presence.

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions

How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.

The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns

X. Yang

Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

Classroom tech was supposed to solve besetting education problems. The reality is frustrating for students and costly for taxpayers.

The Surprising Joys of a Gift-Free Christmas

Ahrum Yoo

Amid peak consumerism season, I prayed for ways to teach my children about selfless giving.

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