American Families of Faith

The Silent Revival: How Today’s Youth Anchor Their Faith | Audio Article 59

"In Malala Yousafzai’s, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, she wrote, “Once I had asked God for one or two extra inches in heig

Sacred Encounters: Glimpsing the Divine | Audio Article 58

In this article (Part 3/3 of this series on the empirical power of spiritual experience), I share some ways to think about spiritual experience and sacred experiences tha

Sacred Encounters. Answered Prayers | Audio Article 57

"In this article I share three sacred spiritual experiences the Lord blessed me with that have given me “reason for the hope” that I have in religious realities (1 Peter

The Empirical Power of Spiritual Experience | Audio Article 56

"Interest in exploring reasons for religious hope has become increasingly prevalent. Some readers might be seeking answers or guidance for loved ones who are undergoing r

When Loving Yourself Meets Loving Your Neighbor | Audio Article 55

"“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,”1 ranks as one of the most repeated verbatim command phrases in the Bible. We frequently forget, however, that this wisdom has

From Struggle to Strength: Adversity in Religious Families | Audio Article 54

"In a landmark article on the power of negative experiences, Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, and Vohs (2001) demonstrated that across the clear majority of domains s

The Power of Repentance to Help Relational Healing | Audio Article 53

"For many immersed in 21st-century culture, the idea of repentance may be jarringly akin to “shaming,” guilt-tripping, or fear-based condemnation. These connotations sugg

Prophets, the Proclamation, and the “Arena of Warring Gods” | Audio Article 52

"Sociologist Roger Friedman recently wrote that we live in a world that is “an arena of warring gods.” From a social science perspective, those gods include the economic

The Growing Famine of Hope | Audio Article 51

"Today’s society is experiencing epidemics of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Even so, positive psychology and the Abrahamic religions both exhort that the virtue of

The Hidden Power of “Thank You” | Audio Article 50

"Charlotte Brontë is renowned for her beloved classic Jane Eyre, but in her lesser-known novel Shirley, she offered valuable insight into the noble quality of gratitude w

The Other Faith Crisis: Shattering Illusions Around Marital Fidelity | Audio Article 49

"A close friend (a younger male professor at another university) has permitted us to share this opening story anonymously:  The strikingly attractive female student enter

How Spiritual Practices Helped Families Amidst Shifting Dynamics | Audio Article 48

"For many individuals and families, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered family life. In some ways, these changes have been unsettling or even tragic. "One jarring

How Many Religious Families Thrived During COVID | Audio Article 47

"Imagine yourself, several years from now, having a conversation with your five-year-old child or grandchild. They look up at you with shining eyes and ask,  '[Mom/Dad/G

The Secret Power of Sharing Meals Together | Audio Article 46

"When people throughout the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated shutdowns, the well-known expression “a family that eats together, stays together”

Did COVID Strengthen Family Communication? | Audio Article 45

"Few single events in human history have affected a significant majority of people on earth—the COVID-19 pandemic is one of those widely shared experiences. Nearly all in

The Power of Home-Centered Gospel Learning | Audio Article 44

"For more than two decades, we have studied the stories, challenges, and triumphs of racially and religiously diverse marriage-based families who have been identified by

It Doesn’t Take Life-Changing Drama to Find Humility | Audio Article 43

"A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, contains a wealth of wisdom in human character and transformation. Newfound generosity, empathy, and compassion emerge as delightf

The Healing Power of Humility in Parent-Child Relationships | Audio Article 42

"In a memorable address entitled Beware of Pride, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and religious leader President Ezra Taft Benson stated, “Pride adversely affects al

How Can I Talk to My Teens About Religion? | Audio Article 41

"Despite what many adults and social scientists think, youth and young adults are very interested in talking with their parents about spiritual and religious matters. As

Attending Religious Services of Other Faiths | Episode 13

In this episode, we share some of our expereinces when attending religious services of various faiths. We discuss what we appreciated, enjoyed, and learned from those exp