Sherman J. Solari Jr.
Sherman was born on Dec. 31, 1927 in Lake Charles. He shared his God given talents as a craftsman in his family business, Solari Marble and Granite Works. Not only did he use his artistic skills, he truly listened when people were going through some of the most difficult moments in their lives. There were few things that Sherman enjoyed more than his daily bike rides along the lake. He was a very private person but cherished the relationships that he made through these quiet encounters.
He was a faithful parishioner of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. One of the things he missed the most in his last months was not being able to attend Mass. He was immensely grateful to those who faithfully brought the Precious Body of Christ in Holy Communion to his home and those who came to visit with him.
Sherman is survived by his three loving children, Mike and wife, Kim, Tom and wife, Elaine, and Suzy. He was blessed with five beautiful grandchildren, Chris (Casey), Ben (Kara), Scott (Courtney), Caroline (Scott), and William. His memory will also live on through his great-grandchildren, Chloe, Stella, Teddy, and Patrick. He is further survived by in-laws, Louise Solari, Phyllis Solari, Glenda (Norman) Manuel, and Delores Stagg. Sherman was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 48 years, Joyce Bertrand Solari, as well as his parents, Anita Breaux Solari and Sherman J. Solari Sr. and siblings, Audrey, Archie, and Jimmy Solari.
Memorial donations may be made to Immaculate Conception Cathedral School at 1536 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601. The family would like to express their thanks for the loving care given by Harbor Hospice and Home Instead, especially caregiver, Sylvia Matthis.
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USA Today
13 hours ago
- USA Today
Iconic televangelist Jimmy Swaggart's rise and fall remembered
Swaggart embodied the transition from traveling evangelist to radio preacher and then televangelist, garnering huge audiences along the way. Before his career ended in shame, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was a pioneering legend, a magnetic preacher and performer whose mastery of both pulpit and piano earned a groundbreaking national and global following. Along with Robert Schuller and Jerry Falwell, the Louisiana-born televangelist was among the primary trailblazers and at his 1980s peak one of the most familiar faces in Christian television, bringing an expressive Pentecostal-style of worship into the evangelical mainstream. 'His preaching on television was particularly powerful because of his facial expressions,' said Quentin Schultze, professor emeritus of communication at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 'He helped lead many viewers to a more charismatic style of worship.' Swaggart, who died Tuesday morning at age 90, was a riveting and dramatic preacher, said Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth College, a private university in Hanover, New Hampshire. 'He pulled out all the stops – the tears, the exclamations,' Balmer said. 'He understood pacing and had an innate sense of how to manipulate people.' Swaggart, he said, embodied the transition from traveling evangelist to radio preacher and then televangelist, garnering huge audiences along the way. 'He was phenomenally successful at each one of those iterations,' said Balmer, author of 'Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America.' Swaggart pursued full-time ministry in 1955 and in 1969 launched 'The Campmeeting Hour,' broadcasting on more than 700 radio stations around the country. Four years later, 'The Jimmy Swaggart Telecast' would pivotally put him in front of a television audience. At the time, well-financed preachers could purchase nationally syndicated, Sunday morning airtime with the potential of reaching large audiences, Schultze said. Swaggart was among the few able to significantly capitalize on that opportunity, mastering the small screen with his intensely emotional delivery. In the 1970s and 1980s, television was really 'a medium of the face,' said Schultze, author of 'Televangelism and American Culture.' 'Not so much anymore, because of big screens, but back then most visual expression came from the face, and he had a very expressive face, along with his musical voice.' Swaggart's show would eventually air in more than 100 nations weekly. At his peak, according to the publication 64 Parishes, Swaggart's TV ministry would reach more than 2 million Christians around the globe. 'There was a time when 30% of all Americans who had their televisions on, on Sunday mornings, were tuned into Swaggart,' Schultze said. Pray for the family of Rev. Jimmy Swaggart who passed away today at the age of 90. He had been hospitalized since June 15 when he suffered cardiac arrest. In life and in death, we can thank God for His great mercy and His offer of salvation if we repent and put our faith in His… By the time sex scandals sledgehammered Swaggart's career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, cable and satellite TV, and eventually the internet, would make it 'virtually impossible' to attract the volume of viewership he achieved in his heyday, Schultze said. Religious audiences had become balkanized and many stations had discontinued paid programming. 'There was a short window where if you were a great television entertainer and could hire an advertising marketing agency to promote you, you could get some tremendous audiences,' Schultze said. "That's gone now, and there won't be anyone on TV or on the internet who's as popular as these guys were.' Preacher's rise and fall 'a cautionary tale' Swaggart, Schultze said, was a gifted singer with an affected, heartfelt style. As a younger man, he'd pondered a secular music career; his cousins were rock-and-roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis and country star Mickey Gilley. Instead, he chose the ministry, infusing traditional hymns with emotionally delivered, country music arrangements, upending notions of what Christian music could be and bringing mainstream legitimacy to Pentecostal-style worship. Swaggart sold 17 million gospel albums, though his enduring 'Southern gospel version of contemporary music' continues to divide churches today, Schultze said. 'Pentecostalism was always kind of tribal and seen as outside mainstream evangelical faith,' Schultze said. 'He brought it more into the center, and what became a lot of its faith and worship music was partly of his influence.' Had his career not been felled by his own missteps, Swaggart likely could have continued on, Schultze said. In 1988, Swaggart was embroiled in a scandal involving a sex worker, leading to his legendary 'I have sinned' apology delivered on live television. The incident led to Swaggart's suspension and then defrocking by the Assemblies of God, though he would eventually continue preaching without a denomination. 'He realized that unless he got back to TV he would lose everything,' Balmer said. 'He needed that huge influx of money and made a calculated decision to defy suspension and go back on his own as an independent. It didn't work out all that well for him.' A second scandal in 1991 would set Swaggart back for good. Balmer, who visited him in Baton Rouge while researching a 1998 magazine piece about the disgraced preacher, said Swaggart struggled mightily after his fall from grace. 'The whole enterprise was a shadow of its former self,' Balmer said. 'He'd had a whole empire, a bible college and various missionary organizations. I don't know how many acres he had in Baton Rouge but it was a large complex. And it was a ghost town by then.' Ultimately, Balmer said, Swaggart's legacy may be a cautionary tale. 'Here's somebody who rose to the pinnacle of evangelical stardom and through a series of missteps utterly destroyed his reputation and ministry,' he said. 'There were a few hangers-on to be sure, but by the time I got there 10 years later, the crowds of thousands were down to dozens.' While Swaggart's rise had been concurrent with the rise of the Moral Majority, the political organization founded by Falwell that helped elect Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and made the religious right a political force, politics was never his game. 'He was all about preaching and the music,' Schultze said. 'Sitting at the piano and doing an emotional hymn. None of the other TV evangelists could do that.' Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund; Greg Hilburn, USAT Network
Miami Herald
15 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Christians Among Most Likely to Ditch Their Religion
Christians, the world's largest religious group, have one of the lowest global retention rates among major religions, a new report has found. A Pew Research Center report published last Thursday found that fewer Christians hold on to their religion than Muslims and Hindus. The findings carry significant implications for the future of religious demographics and global culture. Christianity, while still a majority among world religions, is losing members at a faster rate than nearly every other major tradition. The phenomenon of religious "switching"-adults changing their religious identity from that of their upbringing-has the potential to reshape communities and influence political and social identities worldwide. Notably, most switching is not to another faith, but to religious disaffiliation. These shifts are most pronounced in high-income, developed countries, raising questions about future patterns of belief and practice in both global and U.S. contexts. Some 83 percent of adults raised Christian are still Christian, according to the analysis, based on surveys from 117 countries and territories covering 92 percent of the 2010 global population. This trails both Muslims and Hindus, who each retain 99 percent of their adherents from childhood. Only Buddhists recorded a lower retention rate than Christians, at 78 percent worldwide. Overall, the analysis shows around 10 percent of adults under 55 have switched from their childhood religion, often becoming religiously unaffiliated. Disaffiliation Drives the Trend Most people who switch religions do not join another tradition; they leave religion altogether. Christians and Buddhists are the likeliest to disaffiliate, with 19 percent of those raised Buddhist and 17 percent of those raised Christian reporting no current religious affiliation. As a result, the category of the religiously unaffiliated-people who are atheist, agnostic, or "nothing in particular"-registered a net gain of nearly 17 people per 100 raised outside of any religion. Geography Matters: Switching By Country Development Religious switching is more common in countries with high Human Development Index (HDI) scores. In places with an HDI of 0.8 or higher, a median of 18 percent of adults under 55 have switched religious identity, compared to just 3 percent in countries with low HDI (below 0.55). Laws prohibiting religious switching in certain countries, such as Algeria, Brunei, Egypt, and Malaysia, correspond with very low reported rates of switching. The U.S. Context American trends reflect the global pattern. National surveys have shown continued Christian disaffiliation in recent years, although the pace of decline in the U.S. may be stabilizing. Pew reported that only 46 percent of Americans born after 1990 still identify as Christian. Younger adults are much more likely to claim no religion compared to seniors. Earlier this year, Newsweek reported on which states are seeing religion disappear the most. Demographic and Political Implications The shifting religious landscape impacts not just spiritual life, but also political and cultural identities worldwide. In the U.S., for instance, religious "nones" are increasing, while Christian affiliation remains higher among older and more conservative demographics. Pew's research indicates that changing belief systems among younger generations will continue to shape debates over public policy, social norms, and family structure. Pew Research Center research associate Yunping Tong said in the report: "The decline is largely due to people shedding their religious identity after having been raised in a religion." Study co-author Gregory Smith: "It's striking to have observed this recent period of stability in American religion after that long period of decline." Demographers and religious scholars will continue to monitor how generational change and cultural transformation influence religious identity. While the immediate future shows a stabilization in the rate of religious switching in some Western countries, long-term projections remain uncertain. Related Articles We're Faith Leaders Calling for Conscience in the U.S. Senate | OpinionMap Shows States Where People Most Opposed to Christian Prayer in SchoolsReclaiming Religious Freedom-A Liberal Responsibility | OpinionOver 10K Sign Christian Petition Rebuking 'Immoral and Cruel' Trump Budget 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
17 hours ago
- Newsweek
Christians Among Most Likely to Ditch Their Religion
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Christians, the world's largest religious group, have one of the lowest global retention rates among major religions, a new report has found. A Pew Research Center report published last Thursday found that fewer Christians hold on to their religion than Muslims and Hindus. Why It Matters The findings carry significant implications for the future of religious demographics and global culture. Christianity, while still a majority among world religions, is losing members at a faster rate than nearly every other major tradition. The phenomenon of religious "switching"—adults changing their religious identity from that of their upbringing—has the potential to reshape communities and influence political and social identities worldwide. Notably, most switching is not to another faith, but to religious disaffiliation. These shifts are most pronounced in high-income, developed countries, raising questions about future patterns of belief and practice in both global and U.S. contexts. What To Know Some 83 percent of adults raised Christian are still Christian, according to the analysis, based on surveys from 117 countries and territories covering 92 percent of the 2010 global population. This trails both Muslims and Hindus, who each retain 99 percent of their adherents from childhood. Only Buddhists recorded a lower retention rate than Christians, at 78 percent worldwide. Overall, the analysis shows around 10 percent of adults under 55 have switched from their childhood religion, often becoming religiously unaffiliated. Disaffiliation Drives the Trend Most people who switch religions do not join another tradition; they leave religion altogether. Christians and Buddhists are the likeliest to disaffiliate, with 19 percent of those raised Buddhist and 17 percent of those raised Christian reporting no current religious affiliation. As a result, the category of the religiously unaffiliated—people who are atheist, agnostic, or "nothing in particular"—registered a net gain of nearly 17 people per 100 raised outside of any religion. File photo of a woman praying, taken during the opening service for the autumn general assembly of the German Bishops' Conference in the Fulda Cathedral in Fulda, Germany, in September 2016. File photo of a woman praying, taken during the opening service for the autumn general assembly of the German Bishops' Conference in the Fulda Cathedral in Fulda, Germany, in September 2016. AP Geography Matters: Switching By Country Development Religious switching is more common in countries with high Human Development Index (HDI) scores. In places with an HDI of 0.8 or higher, a median of 18 percent of adults under 55 have switched religious identity, compared to just 3 percent in countries with low HDI (below 0.55). Laws prohibiting religious switching in certain countries, such as Algeria, Brunei, Egypt, and Malaysia, correspond with very low reported rates of switching. The U.S. Context American trends reflect the global pattern. National surveys have shown continued Christian disaffiliation in recent years, although the pace of decline in the U.S. may be stabilizing. Pew reported that only 46 percent of Americans born after 1990 still identify as Christian. Younger adults are much more likely to claim no religion compared to seniors. Earlier this year, Newsweek reported on which states are seeing religion disappear the most. Demographic and Political Implications The shifting religious landscape impacts not just spiritual life, but also political and cultural identities worldwide. In the U.S., for instance, religious "nones" are increasing, while Christian affiliation remains higher among older and more conservative demographics. Pew's research indicates that changing belief systems among younger generations will continue to shape debates over public policy, social norms, and family structure. What People Are Saying Pew Research Center research associate Yunping Tong said in the report: "The decline is largely due to people shedding their religious identity after having been raised in a religion." Study co-author Gregory Smith: "It's striking to have observed this recent period of stability in American religion after that long period of decline." What Happens Next Demographers and religious scholars will continue to monitor how generational change and cultural transformation influence religious identity. While the immediate future shows a stabilization in the rate of religious switching in some Western countries, long-term projections remain uncertain.
