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)

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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

Attitudes Toward Israel, Kash Patel’s Lawsuit, and John Mark Comer’s Fame

Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Americans’ growing frustrations with Israel, Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million, and the popularity of John Mark Comer.

News

How a Kidnapping Changed a Theologian’s Mind

Interview by Emmanuel Nwachukwu

An interview with Sunday Bobai Agang about the lessons he learned from his abduction last month.

On America’s 250th, Remember Liberty Denied

Thomas S. Kidd

Three history books on the US slave trade.

News

What Christian Athletes Can’t Do

An NBA player’s fall resurrects an old anxiety: When does talking about faith become “detrimental conduct”?

News

Facing Arrest, Cuban Christian Influencers Continue Call for Freedom

Hannah Herrera

Young people are using social media to spread the gospel and denounce the Communist regime.

Public Theology Project

Against the Casinofication of the Church

The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins told me about problems that feel eerily similar to what I see in the church.

Wire Story

The Religion Gender Gap Among the Young Is Disappearing

Bob Smietana - Religion News Service

Women still dominate church pews, but studies find that devotion among Gen Z women has cooled to levels on par with Gen Z men.

Just War Theory Is Supposed to Be Frustrating

The venerable theological tradition makes war slower, riskier, costlier, and less efficient—and that’s the point.

addApple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseellipseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squarefolderGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastprintremoveRSSRSSSaveSavesaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube