Houstonians Mark the Holy Month of Ramadan

Source: Houston Matters

 

How are Women's Roles in Faith Changing?

Source: Houston Matters

Women have played key roles in faith-based communities as long as they have existed. In recent years, that leadership has been formalized. More congregations today are led by women. Here in Houston, women are Reverends and Rabbis, hold leadership roles in interfaith organizations. And yet, some sects of some religions still hold to long-standing, traditional gender roles.

We explore the changing roles of women in faith-based communities here in Houston. We consider which religious groups or sects bend the gender divide, how women of faith seek to provide a positive influence within their respective congregations, and how changes in the religious landscape in Houston have helped empower more women to take on more active roles in their community.

How Religious Organizations Balance Community Service & Proselytizing

Source: Houston Matters

Houston Matters discusses how religious organizations throughout Greater Houston often find themselves engaged on two fronts: supporting their own congregants with services and events based on their particular religious beliefs, and providing services to the community at large, based on the moral convictions of the congregation, regardless of whether those served hold similar religious views.

Along the way, those two fronts – which are often not mutually exclusive – can become intermingled. It creates a challenge for churches, synagogues and mosques – they want to represent and grow their congregations. They also want to provide needed services of all kinds for all Houstonians. How much can they accomplish? How much of work like food, clothing, medical care, and job training should religious organizations be expected to engage in? Does the city of Houston or state of Texas assume too much from them? Do some of those religious organizations, in turn, feel compelled to use the opportunity to proselytize while providing these services? (Different religions – and even sects of the same religion – look on proselytization very differently).

 

Why Religious Charities in Houston Wish More People Were in Church

Source: Houston Matters

Back in the early 1980s, about six or seven percent of Houstonians did not affiliate themselves with any religion. Today, that number has nearly doubled. Houston Matters (88.7 KUHF) considers what this trend means for established religious institutions in Houston, and the services they provide, now and in the future. Click on the audio clip below to hear from Dr. Lynn Mitchell, Director of Religious Studies at the University of Houston, and Lauren Santerre, Director of Interfaith Relations at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston.