Religion: The Little Institute Facing Goliath

The United Methodist Church, which has lost 1.4 million members since 1968, would normally welcome most converts. But its leaders must rue the day in 1979 when David Jessup, who had become a religious dropout in college, decided to join the Marvin Memorial Church of Silver Spring, Md. Jessup, 42, who works with the AFL-CIO'S Committee on Political Education, began to have questions about organizations that received Methodist funds. The end result of his curiosity is the Institute on Religion and Democracy, which, though small, can justly claim credit for the present...

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