Perhaps the most rapidly growing element of the American religious landscape is the megachurch, commonly taken to mean religious establishments with 2,000 or more attendees. Typically Protestant in affiliation, although many are non-denominational, megachurches have grown explosively in the US. This paper situates megachurches within the broader context of religion in the US, and the literature...

In this paper we o¤er a new theory of religion. Our theory relies on the assumption that individuals in society have di¤erent beliefs about the statistical relation between their actions in a strategic social interaction (speci…cally, a Prisoner’s Dilemma) and uncertain events that a¤ect their utility. This heterogeneity of beliefs allows for the endogenous emergence of religious institutions; ...

The distinction between clinical practice and surgical research may seem trivial, but this distinction can become a complex issue when innovative surgeries are substituted for standard care without patient knowledge. Neither the novelty nor the risk of a new surgical procedure adequately defines surgical research. Some institutions tacitly allow the use of new surgical procedures in series of p...

A major challenge faced by all dental schools is the need to attract highly qualified student applicants. The purpose of this study was to use 2002-03 AADSAS data to identify and characterize feeder colleges and universities that are the major source of applicants to U.S. dental schools. Feeder schools were defined as any institutions with five or more applicants, and minority-feeder schools as...

Objectives. Multiple technical difficulties are encountered when a multidisciplinary team of subspecialists begins a minimally-invasive fetal cardiac interventional program. We describe the learning curve. Study Design. Ten pregnant sheep underwent ultrasound-guided balloon valvuloplasty of the aortic valve. Team members and their roles remained constant through the trial. The time between need...

A change in chromosome number that is not the exact multiple of the haploid karyotype is known as aneuploidy. This condition interferes with growth and development of an organism and is a common characteristic of solid tumors. Here, we review the history of studies on aneuploidy and summarize some of its major characteristics. We will then discuss the molecular basis for the defects caused by a...

The article is a theoretical and empirical review attempting to describe two modes of religious motivation: defensive versus existential religion. The article begins by seriously considering theoretical and empirical evidence that religion may function as a defense mechanism. It is argued that this description of religious belief is coherent and cannot be ignored by psychology of religion resea...