NEW YORK, July 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- This week's Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition centerpiece will focus on the economics of faith in Europe as upstarts and new spiritual services revive the declining religious market. Upstarts are now plugging new spiritual services across Europe from evangelical churches to a vaguely Christian sect that uses hallucinogenic tea. These new suppliers of religion are not yet attracting enough customers to offset the decline, but they are shaking up the market for religion in some areas.
The recent influx in religion has scholars and theologians debating the possible reasons behind the shift. Some believe that anxiety over immigration, globalization and the trimming of social welfare systems are eroding people's contentment, prodding some to seek firmer ground in the spiritual. Others argue that Europe's highly-regulated market for religion is opening up as established churches begin to face competition.
"After decades of secularization, religion in Europe has slowed its slide toward what had seemed inevitable oblivion," writes Journal editor Andrew Higgins in this week's Weekend Edition. "There are even nascent signs of a modest comeback. Most church pews are still empty. But belief in heaven, hell and concepts such as the soul has risen in parts of Europe, especially among the young, according to surveys. Religion, once a dead issue, now figures prominently in public discourse."
Additional stories appearing in this week's Weekend Edition of the Wall Street Journal include the following:
Money & Investing:
-- Inexperienced Investors: William Snell, a Missouri farmer, knew
commodities cold: He grew up around corn and soybeans, and figured
he could make easy money in the futures markets. Instead, the
86-year-old Mr. Snell, a World War II veteran, racked more than
$1.7 million in losses trading soybeans to cattle futures, the
lawyer for his estate says in a legal filing.
-- Pension Funds: Many pension funds are starting to dabble in hedge
funds, private equity, real estate and other "alternative"
investment strategies. But a major pension fund in Texas, now led
by a former hedge fund exec, is about to place a much bigger bet.
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas is planning to move about
one-third of its $112 billion in assets to alternative
investments.
Pursuits:
-- 10 Notable People Write on the Importance of Blogs: Blogging as we
know it began 10 years ago. To commemorate the anniversary, we
enlist 12 notable people, from Newt Gingrich and the SEC's
Christopher Cox to Tom Wolfe and actress-turned-blogger Mia
Farrow, to write mini-essays on how the blog has changed culture
and the world.
-- Custom-fitted Golf Clubs: Custom fitting of clubs won't change
anybody into Tiger Woods, but it can make bad shots noticeably
less bad and good shots even better. And given the ubiquity of
custom-fitting systems these days -- from simple swing analysis on
an indoor simulator that usually adds nothing to the cost of the
clubs you buy to multiday fittings at luxury resort facilities
that can cost $5,000 or more -- there's really no reason not to be
custom-fit anymore.
-- Organic Skin-care Products: Once considered a niche product
available only at specialty stores, organic skin-care products
have gone mainstream, with products from such cosmetics giants as
Estee Lauder, Yves Saint Laurent Beaute, Origins and L'Occitane.
But as sales of organic skin-care products take off, consumers are
getting increasingly confused about what is truly organic and what
is not. Some makers label products as organic even if only one
ingredient or a small percentage of ingredients are organic and
the others are not.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (www.dowjones.com), is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of nearly 2.1 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 31 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, The Wall Street Journal provides readers with trusted information and knowledge to make better decisions. The Wall Street Journal print franchise has more than 600 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,800 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with total circulation of 2.6 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest paid subscription news site on the Web. In 2006, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the seventh consecutive year.
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Editor's Note: WSJ reporters are available to discuss these topics.