Source: The Plain Dealer
A March 18, 2000, article in the Plain Dealer reports that results from a new study predict that "Islam will become a major new force on the American Religious scene, presenting new challenges to Christian and Jewish institutions." Kenneth Briggs, the study's author, says the " public square of the future has mosques and various kinds of temples along with its array of churches and synagogues." Overall, the influence of religious institutions may be declining as religion in the American context becomes more of an individual search. Briggs also suggests that there is little social activism in religion today. The study, which involved asking "journalists around the nation to interview 16 leading religious thinkers, as well as grass-roots believers" was commissionsed by the Interreligious Information Center in New York.