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) Happy anniversary, Weekend Plug-in readers!

This week’s edition marks three years since we launched this newsletter, and I so appreciate everyone who takes the time to read it, share it and offer feedback and ideas.

During 2022, we celebrated hundreds of top religion reads from publications large and small.

Last week, we highlighted the best in religion journalism from this past year.

And this week, we focus on ReligionUnplugged.com itself — the online news magazine’s top read stories of 2022.

Power Up: The Year’s Top Stories

ReligionUnplugged.com’s Top 10 stories of 2022, as selected by the senior editors.

1. Premiere of ‘The Chosen’ Season Three is a Triumphant Mixed Bag (by Joseph Holmes)

2. Adopting a Doodle Puppy From Amish Country’s Epicenter of Dog Breeding (by Paul Glader)

3. Inside the Spirituality of K-Pop Sensation BTS (by Myrian Garcia)

4. Russian Invasion Reveals Fissures Among Orthodox Christians (by Meagan Clark)

5. This Family has Tattooed Christian Pilgrims for 28 Generations (by Jovan Tripkovic)

6. After Fire, Construction to Resume at $77 Million Bahai Shrine in Israel (by Iain Carlos and Gil Zohar)

7. Who are the Jews? Kanye West’s Rhetoric Echoes Black Hebrew Israelites’ Antisemitism (by Princess Jones)

8. Catholic Churches Suffer Rash of Thefts and Vandalism, But Cause Remains a Mystery (by Clemente Lisi)

9.  Giorgia Meloni’s Politics and Faith: Meet the Woman Who Could be Italy’s Next Leader (by Clemente Lisi)

10. Pastor in Laos Tortured, Brutally Murdered (by Anonymous)

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

ReligionUnplugged.com’s top reporting projects of 2022, as selected by the senior editors.

1. Orthodox Alaska (by Meagan Clark and Jovan Tripkovic)

2. Norwegian in America (A series of articles about Christianity in America by Norwegian journalist Tore Hjalmar Sævik)

3. Faint Signs of Faith in Prague (A series of seven articles on religion in the world’s most atheistic country by a team of young journalists who studied at the European Journalism Institute)

ReligionUnplugged.com’s top opinion pieces of 2022, as selected by the senior editors.

1. The Body of Christ Is Betrayed: Reflections on Sexual Abuse in the SBC (by Karen Swallow Prior)

2. The Latest United Methodist Bombshell Will Create News Throughout 2022 (by Richard Ostling)

3. Press Uses Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Catholicism Against Him On Social Issues (by Clemente Lisi)

4.  Is It Immoral to Watch the Winter Olympics Given China’s Humanitarian Violations? (by Clemente Lisi)

The Final Plug

Thank you for reading Plug-in all year long.

In case you’re curious, these were our 10 most-shared editions of 2022:

1. Weekend Plug-In Year In Review: The Best Religion Journalism of 2022 (published Dec. 23)

2. Russia Attacks Ukraine: Why Some Experts Insist Putin Is Motivated by Religion (published Feb. 25)

3. ​​5 Facts About Religion In the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, Who Served Jesus Her King (published Sept. 9)

4. ‘An Apocalypse’: Probe Into Southern Baptist Sex Abuse Turns Up ‘Bombshell’ Findings (published May 23)

5. Why News of Sexual Harassment Inside Christianity Today Is Doubly Shocking (published March 18)

6. 5 Faith Facts About Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court’s First Black Woman (published April 8)

7. #RNA2022: Nation's Religion Writers Convene — In Person — For Annual Conference (published March 25)

8. Must Reads: Understanding the Russia-Ukraine War From a Religious Perspective (published March 4)

9. God and Guns: People of Faith Debate Solutions to America’s String of Mass Shootings (published June 10)

10. Why My Old School District Removed 41 Books, Including the Bible, From Its Libraries (published Aug. 19)

Next week, look for a return to our normal format. I hope to see you back in this same space every Friday.

Happy New Year!

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com 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.