Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) “The most important abortion case in decades” is how the New York Times’ Adam Liptak describes it.

“The most significant abortion case in a generation,” agree the Wall Street Journal’s Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall.

“The biggest challenge to abortion rights in decades,” echo The Associated Press’ Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko.

It’s not hyperbole: Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, faces its biggest test yet.

The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes explains:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday signaled it is on the verge of a major curtailment of abortion rights in the United States, and appeared likely to uphold a Mississippi law that violates one of the essential holdings of Roe v. Wade established nearly 50 years ago.

Whether the court would eventually overrule Roe and its finding that women have a fundamental right to end their pregnancies was unclear.

But none of the six conservatives who make up the court’s majority expressed support for maintaining its rule that states may not prohibit abortion before the point of fetal viability, which is generally estimated to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

At Christianity Today, Kate Shellnutt reports that “pro-life evangelicals who had rallied for the cause for decades were encouraged that the conservative-leaning court appeared willing to uphold a contentious Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.”

Other helpful religion coverage:

• How faith groups feel about this major abortion case (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

• Before there was Roe: Religious debate before high court’s historic ruling on abortion (by Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)

• Religion abortion rights supporters fight for access (by Holly Meyer, The Associated Press)

• As Supreme Court debates abortion, dueling theologies protest outside (by Jack Jenkins, RNS)

• Religious leaders, organizations react to Supreme Court arguments on Mississippi abortion law (by BeLynn Hollers, Dallas Morning News)

Expect a decision next June or July.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Horse troughs, hot tubs and hashtags: Baptism is getting wild: Yes, I saw this story. Thank you to everybody who made sure to share the link with me. Obviously, Godbeat pro Ruth Graham’s front-page piece for the New York Times resonated with many readers.

Graham is such an excellent reporter and writer. Check out her Twitter thread on the story behind the story.

2. Interfaith love a risk amid India’s Hindu nationalist surge: “He was Muslim. She was Hindu. Their love was great and they were determined to marry. But the romance so angered her family that they hired a hardline Hindu group to murder him. It is a grim reminder of how even love is at risk in Modi’s India.”

That’s how Sheikh Saaliq, India correspondent for The Associated Press, summarizes his in-depth feature on “love jihad.”

3. We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, but new worship songs only last a few years: Go ahead. Accuse me of picking this story based on the headline alone. You’d be mostly right.

But really, I tend to enjoy reading everything Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman writes, and this an excellent report on the increasingly rapid turnover time for church music.

BONUS: A week after the Christmas parade tragedy that left six dead and more than 60 injured, faith leaders offered messages of hope, forgiveness and healing in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Sophie Carson, who covers religion and faith for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports on the first Sunday of Advent in that grieving community.

More Top Reads

• Fans pour funding—and faith—into a hit drama about Jesus (by John Jurgensen, Wall Street Journal)

• ‘Welcome to our world’: Muslims see disparities and dangers in Jan. 6 probe (by Hannah Allam, Washington Post)

• Vaccine debates are responsible for 2021’s fastest-growing bible search term: sorcery (by Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today)

• From Beirut to Brooklyn (by Armin Rosen, Tablet)

• How has Utah saved $75 million on welfare? By providing next to none and taking credit for LDS welfare instead. (by Eli Hager, ProPublica)

• Advocacy group accuses Salvation Army of ‘covering up’ embrace of critical race theory (by Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times)

• Hanukkah’s darker origins feel more relevant in time of rising antisemitism, intense interest in identity (by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)

• A public flagpole, a Christian flag and the First Amendment (by Adam Liptak, New York Times)

• In a divided Cyprus, Pope Francis pleads for an end to 'walls of fear’ (by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter)

• FBI asks potential sexual abuse victims to come forward in wake of Oklahoma preacher's indictment (by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman)

• As filing window closes, sex abuse lawsuits against NJ Catholic Church number 820 (by Abbott Koloff, The Record of North Jersey)

• Catholic nuns lift veil on abuse in convents (by Philip Pullella, Reuters)

• Sinning in the Rain’: New study finds crimes go up when it rains on Sundays (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

• ‘We can change the air that abusers breathe’: How faith communities are addressing domestic violence (by Mya Jaradat, Deseret News)

• Reviving Ojibwe spiritual traditions, one pet at a time (by Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Lifeway Research has a new managing editor.

Welcome to Marissa Postell, a graduate of Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.

• Dune and the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan (by Ibrahim al-Marashi)

• Queen calls for Church of England to focus on love of God — not divisive doctrine (by Terry Mattingly)

• Maine school district challenged for assisting children attending religious schools (by Charles J. Russo)

• Can prayer apps help spiritual development — or are they harmful? (by Dorian Llywelyn)

• Turkey's only Christian magazine turns 10 years old (by Michael Ray Smith)

• Carlo Acutis book makes a great Christmas present for Catholic children (by Clemente Lisi)

• In the California desert, A Coptic monastery welcomes visitors again (by Liza Vandenboom Ashley)

• Notre Dame's 'woke' restoration plan draws the ire of traditionalists (by Clemente Lisi)

• Despite Southern Baptist opposition to women pastors, Texas Baptists celebrate them (by Anne Stych)

• Terry Scott Taylor wraps his near 50-year career with ‘This Beautiful Mystery’ (by Stephen Huba)

• As right to euthanasia spreads, where do religions stand? (by Richard Ostling)

• Politics in the pews: The relationship among race, religion and political protest (by R. Khari Brown and Ronald Brown)

The Final Plug

Looking ahead: We’ll wrap up this year (as we did last year) with two special editions of Weekend Plug-in: The best religion journalism of 2021 and ReligionUnplugged.com’s own top stories.

Got nominations for top 2021 religion stories to highlight? Email me or tweet me at @bobbyross.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.