On his travels, Brother Andrew discovered the subtle ways in which the communist authorities, instead of banning the Church, ground down its leaders and worshippers, ensuring that they were demoralised. Christian agitators lost their jobs for spurious reasons and were denied university places without explanation.

We are thankful to have reached this settlement after extensive, good-faith discussions, marked by mutual respect and good will, that have been occurring between both dioceses since the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling in April. While this settlement has required sacrifices from all involved, finalizing these issues enables us to move forward in mission and ministry free from impending litigation.

It follows the Australian General Synod's not having carried a formal resolution from the diocese declaring that both same-sex marriage and same-sex marriage blessings were contrary "to the teaching of Christ and the faith, ritual, ceremonial and/or discipline of this Church" (News, 13 May). Although the Sydney statement attracted support in the Houses of Clergy and Laity, it failed by two votes in the House of Bishops.

What if Christians keep leaving religion at the same rate observed in recent years? What if the pace of religious switching continues to accelerate? What if switching were to stop, but other demographic trends -- such as migration, births and deaths -- were to continue at current rates? To help answer such questions, Pew Research Center has modeled several hypothetical scenarios describing how the U.S. religious landscape might change over the next half century.