Rise in middle-aged white ‘deaths of despair’ may be fueled by loss of religion, new research paper argues
So-called deaths of despair such as from suicide or alcohol abuse have been skyrocketing for middle-aged white Americans. It’s been blamed on various phenomenon, including opioid abuse. But a new research paper finds a different culprit — declining religious practice. The working paper, from Tyler Giles of Wellesley College, Daniel Hungerman of the University of […]
Holy high rollers: phony pastors targeted immigrants in $28 million Ponzi scheme
“I’m everything you imagine me to be, as long as it’s good and it’s Godly.” That’s how Dennis Jali, a South African self-proclaimed finance guru sold his Christian-themed program of financial success to crowds of mainly African immigrants at churches and banquet halls in and around Baltimore and Washington, D.C. But while Jali claimed he […]