GQ's religion-focused cover story is worth a read even for non-Beliebers
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) Surprise!
I’m going to open this week’s roundup with Justin Bieber — and not just for the clickbait.
“The Redemption of Justin Bieber,” GQ’s May cover story by senior writer Zach Baron, really is a fascinating read.
As Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman put it on Twitter, “If you don't care at all about Justin Bieber, this is still a good story about someone who was young, stupid, powerful, privileged, destructive, and sad and nevertheless found grace.”
Not interested in Bieber?
Try $300 Bibles.
Religion News Service’s Emily McFarlan Miller delves into the marketing of an expensive, “modern version of God’s Holy Word.”
Miller explores not just the price tag but also the history behind so-called “premium” Bibles.
After Bieber and Bibles, I feel like I need one more “b” item to round out the set. What about ballgames?
Juggling church and football isn’t just for NFL fans anymore, writes AP sports writer Teresa M. Walker, with whom I worked during my time with The Associated Press in Nashville, Tenn.
“Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, it became the norm for college fans like the Mosleys as most Football Championship Subdivision leagues moved their schedules to the spring,” Walker explains.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. ‘How many of us will be left?’ Catholic nuns face loss, pain: With compelling words and gripping images, Associated Press writer Matt Sedensky and visual journalist Jessie Wardarski convey this sad, amazing pandemic story.
“(W)hen the worst year was over,” Sedensky writes, “the toll on the Felician Sisters was almost too much to bear: 21 of their own, in four U.S. convents, who collectively served 1,413 years, all felled by the virus.”
2. Hasidic, devout and mad as hell about COVID-19: “Many Americans would recognize the dilemma of Reuven, an anonymous Yiddish-magazine editor who is anguished by his community’s moral failures in the pandemic.”
Thus begins yet another insightful, deeply reported piece by one of my favorite religion journalists: The Atlantic’s Emma Green.
3. First, the pandemic forced Christian missionaries home. Then, it transformed their work: “Mission experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting impact on the way Christian groups do missionary work,” reports the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas.
As always, Dallas’ report is very interesting and full of real-world examples.
More Top Reads
• Muslim civil rights leader accused of harassment, misconduct (by Leila Fadel, NPR)
• Meet Mercy Haub: The 16-year-old cancer survivor and preacher’s kid who inspired Ellen (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
• When mass shootings target a marginalized group, trauma ripples through those communities (by Silvia Foster-Frau, Washington Post)
• Supreme Court conservatives may reset balance between LGBTQ rights and religious liberty (by David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times)
• Beth Moore's departure reignites debate over women's roles in the Southern Baptist Convention (by Holly Meyer, The Tennessean)
• Spa co-owner and victim of Ravi Zacharias speaks: He threatened to “ruin” me (by Julie Roys, independent journalist)
• In surprise twist, enrollment in many Israel gap year programs ‘skyrocketed’ amid pandemic (by Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Forward)
• The secret to a lasting marriage? Maybe start with a big, cheap church wedding (by Naomi Schaefer Riley, Deseret News)
• Miami’s Jewish community embraces NBA player after apology for anti-Semitic slur (by Caleb A. Guedes-Reed, Times of Israel)
• Nightly prayers at the mosque? Big iftars? Vaccines? Ramadan 2021 brings decisions for Muslims (by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten is retiring after 38 years with the radio outlet.
For the past six years, Gjelten focused on faith coverage, and in an exit interview with NPR, he talks about how the religion beat has changed.
Also, listen to Gjelten’s recent story — perhaps his final one? — on whether America’s “civil religion” can still unite the country.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• Excerpt from "Faith-Based Fraud" on one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history (by Warren Cole Smith)
• India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears (by Tulasi Srinivas)
• Christianity in Africa is not a colonizer religion (by Jeff Oganga)
• Churches are closing: Why it’s a challenge for local governments (by Rick Reinhard)
• Faith in numbers: Trump held steady among believers but lost nonreligious vote (by Ryan Burge)
• Why Ramadan is called Ramadan: 6 questions answered (by Mohammad Hassan Khalil)
• What can modern people — specifically journalists — know about biblical figures like Joshua? (by Richard Ostling)
• The Catholic Church's disappearing art form: heraldry (by Timothy Nerozzi)
• Under the 'Nones' umbrella: America's 'nothing in particular' believers are a big story (by Terry Mattingly)
• Supreme Court study paints incomplete portrait of religious freedom precedent (by Chelsea Langston Bombino)
• Biden's faith a news-media talking point, but a survey about it isn't (by Clemente Lisi)
• Exclusive: Kabul wants allegedly stolen prayer book from Museum of the Bible (by Gil Zohar)
The Final Plug
Here’s a shameless plug to check out an interview featuring ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Paul Glader.
Glader discusses his work with “a new tool called VettNews Cx that is ‘reimagining how modern newsrooms handle corrections.’”
According to a promo, Editor & Publisher’s Mike Blinder “goes one-on-one with Glader to discuss why new methods of handling consumer feedback can help us not only provide more accurate information but provide better audience loyalty.”
After a week of vacation and a week dealing with a hurt middle finger (really), it’s great to be back at the keys.
Thank you for reading!
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.