Definitions of ‘church’ and ‘association of churches’ must be updated to prevent abuse of special legal protections, study argues

New research from Notre Dame Law School Professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer highlights how the federal tax law definitions for “church” and “convention or association of churches” require revision to address multiple recent developments in the American religious landscape, including religious organizations seeking such status when Congress did not intend them to benefit from the special protections for such organizations.

Residents of Rural ‘Glades’ Take a ‘Leap of Faith’ to Combat Dementia

Compared to urban dwellers, racially/ethnically diverse older adults face up to an 80 percent greater risk of cognitive impairment in older age, and 2.5 times potentially preventable Alzheimer’s-related (ADRD) hospitalizations.

‘Church is a safe space,’ suggests WVU study on faith community nurses and mental health

A new study from Veronica Gallo, a researcher with West Virginia University’s School of Nursing, highlights how faith community nurses can be key to addressing the mental health needs of people who attend churches, mosques, synagogues and other houses of worship. Her findings appear in the Journal of Christian Nursing.

Queen’s research finds that ‘church is something other than a building’ during the Covid-19 pandemic

A research study from Queen’s University Belfast and the Irish Council of Churches/ The Irish Inter Church Meeting sheds light on how churches on the island of Ireland are navigating the Covid-19 pandemic including changes in pastoral care, moving religion online, social services and the wider community, and stress and ministry.