News

Go Figure

Get the numbers on homeschoolers, church conflict, and religion’s influence.

850,000   Students ages 5–17 homeschooled in 1999.

1.5 million   Students ages 5–17 who are homeschooled today.

83%   Homeschooling parents who do so for religious or moral instruction.

(Source: National Center for Education Statistics)

26%   Churches that said they have experienced a conflict within the last two years that led some people to leave.

27%   Churches that said this in 1998.

5   Decrease in median congregation size (75 people) since 1998.

(Source: National Congregations Study)

67%   Americans who say religion is losing its influence on American life.

50%   Americans who said this in April 2005.

24%   Americans who said this in December 2001.

(Source: Gallup Poll)

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Related Elsewhere:

See our earlier Go Figure postings from 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.

Cover Story

The Depression Epidemic

Dan G. Blazer

Editorial

Year of the Study Bible

A Christianity Today Editorial

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

John Wilson, editor of 'Books and Culture'

Review

Looking Evil in the Face

Matthew Nickoloff

Hiding What They Seek

Review

Hints of the Trinity

Josh Hurst

News

Making the Local Church a Hero

My Top 5 Resources for Lent

Standing with the Desolate

Ziya Meral

News

Devilish and Divine

Mark Moring

Review

Knowing Your Place

Bill McKibben

The Other Side of Church Growth

News

IrishWatch

Derek (O')Keefe

Staring into the Abyss

The Great Passing On

Editorial

Reducing Abortion for Real

A Christianity Today Editorial

News

Long Live the Law

News

The Radical Conservative

News

Praying for 'Our Daily Bread'

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

Connecting to Hope

Interview by Derek R. Keefe

When You're Depressed

Mark R. McMinn

My Life with Antidepressants

Joel Scandrett

Light When All Is Dark

Kathryn Greene-McCreight

News

A Dream That Won't Die

News

News Briefs: March 01, 2009

Compiled by CT Staff

Readers Write

News

You've Got Jail

Susan Wunderink

News

Passages

Compiled by CT Staff

News

Conscience Clashes

Ken Walker

News

Quieter Killings

Sarah Pulliam

News

Saving Souls for Less

Bobby Ross Jr.

News

Capital Closures in Myanmar

Compass Direct News

News

Quotation Marks

News

God in Gaza

View issue

Our Latest

The Russell Moore Show

David Platt on All You Want for Christmas

What if the most radical thing about Christmas isn’t that God came near—but that he came to serve?

Excerpt

The Story Behind Handel’s ‘Messiah’

The Bulletin with Charles King

Meet the unlikely characters who defined this musical classic.

News

The Christians Helping People Enslaved by Cybercrime Scam Centers

Erin Foley in Mae Sot, Thailand

After Myanmar’s military raided a compound, a network of ministries helps trafficking victims return home.

Dreaming Against the Machine

Technologies like AI privilege “growth” and “effectiveness” over imagination and inefficiency. God operates differently.

News

Church Provides Shelter, Aid During Bondi Beach Attack

Amy Lewis

Australian Christians are finding ways to support the Jewish community after an ISIS-motivated shooting killed 15.

News

How Rhode Island Churches Responded to the Brown Shooting

Harvest Prude and Kara Bettis Carvalho in Providence, Rhode Island

God “draws near to us in our suffering,” local pastor Scott Axtmann preached after Saturday’s deadly attack. Area ministries were active too.

The Bulletin

Hanukkah Attack in Australia and Christmas Hospitality

Steve Cuss, Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Shootings prompt a conversation about antisemitism and violence, and Being Human’s Steve Cuss discusses God’s hospitality.

Review

Personal Preference Is No Way to Judge Faithful Worship

Steven Félix-Jäger’s new volume on biblical, aesthetic, theological, and pastoral considerations in worship will serve many churches.

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