In the months since we started In Good Faith, we've attracted readers and commenters from all over the world. Ties to the Baltimore area will be helpful in spotting some familiar faces in the video above (the list appears at the end).

I wanted to take a moment to say a sincere thank you to all who have stopped by, and particularly to those who have joined in the spirited debate taking shape on these pages. During this holiday season, we wish the very best to everyone of every faith, and no faith at all.

I expect to be posting only lightly over the next few days as I take time off to spend with my family. As my father would say: Talk amongst yourselves.

Best,
Matt

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

In England Tuesday morning, hundreds of pagans and others trekked out to Stonehenge to greet the first sunrise after the Winter Solstice. Several British news organizations have covered the event, which organizers say has grown in recent years with the understanding that the Druidic monument was more significant at the Winter Solstice than at the Summer Solstice.

"It is the most important day of the year for us because it welcomes in the new sun," pagan leader Arthur Pendragon tells The Daily Mail.

"We're here for an anti-religious reason, if any," Alison Marcetic tells The Guardian. "Pagans seem to have more fun so we'd thought we'd give it a go. We'll be celebrating Christmas but this is about showing the children that this season isn't just about getting presents. What goes on here is more basic, more tangible."

"It's one of those things you must do at least once in your life and for many of those that come they will come again and again," Stonehenge official Peter Carson tells the BBC. "It's a very special time for Stonehenge."

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Nearly half of all Americans say they have had a religious or mystical experience, according to a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, and significant minorities say they have seen a ghost or communed with the dead.

The percentages of Christians reporting such experiences, or holding such New Age or Eastern beliefs as earthly reincarnation, astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in objects such as trees, mountains or crystals is only slightly lower than those of the public in general.

Such mixing and matching of beliefs is characteristic among Americans, according to Pew.

"The religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories," the forum reports. "Many say they attend worship services of more than one faith or denomination – even when they are not traveling or going to special events like weddings and funerals."

Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they have been in touch with the dead, 18 percent report having seen or been in the presence of a ghost and 15 percent say they have consulted a psychic or fortune teller, according to the survey of 4,013 adults conducted in August in English and Spanish. The percentages of Christians reporting such experiences were the same or only slightly lower than those among Americans in general.

Read the full report at pewforum.org.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Christianity, Culture, New Age