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) Good afternoon, Weekend Plug-in readers!

I’m back in Oklahoma after spending big chunks of the last week in California and Texas.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with the killer’s sentence in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting.

What To Know: The Big Story

Antisemitic attack: “The man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue was formally sentenced to death Thursday, one day after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate for the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.”

That’s the lede from The Associated Press’ Peter Smith (a religion writer who has covered this case from the beginning) and Michael Rubinkam.

Painful process: Survivors characterized Robert Bowers’ trial as extremely difficult to endure and a necessary accounting, according to the New York Times’ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Anna Betts and Jon Moss.

“Most families of the victims have said that they supported a death sentence, but some have been outspoken in their opposition to it,” the Times notes. “One, Miri Rabinowitz, whose husband was killed, said executing the gunman would be a ‘bitter irony’ because her husband had been devoted to ‘the sanctity of life.’”

What’s next: But a big question remains: When will Bowers be put to death?

An even bigger question: Will he actually be executed?

As Religion New Service’s Yonat Shimron points out, “it will take years and likely decades for the sentence to be carried out, if it happens at all.”

RNS explains:

Bowers will join 41 others on federal death row. Sixteen people have been executed by the federal government since Congress reinstated capital punishment in 1988. Bowers’ defense team is now expected to appeal the verdict to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. He may then have other appeals available to him, up to and including the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, in 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a moratorium on federal executions, officially to allow the the Justice Department to review policies and procedures surrounding the practice. 

Bowers, 50, will likely live for the foreseeable future —  most likely in Terre Haute, Indiana, where most federal death row prisoners are housed.

See additional coverage by the Wall Street Journal’s Kris Maher and the Washington Post’s David Nakamura.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Pope in Portugal: Citing politics, conspiracies and peace, the National Catholic Reporter’s Brian Fraga and Christopher White detail the complicated nature of Francis’ visit to Fátima.

In an equally insightful piece, White delves into how World Youth Days test the limits of aging popes.

While in Portugal, Francis visited a once-troubled neighborhood in Lisbon to draw attention to the Catholic Church’s charitable side and met with survivors of clergy sex abuse in that country, The Associated Press’ Nicole Winfield reports.

2. Done with church: Why aren’t middle-aged Americans going back to church? The Wall Street Journal’s Clare Ansberry explores that question.

“Americans in their 40s and 50s often identify with a religion, but they’re also in the thick of raising kids, caring for aging parents and juggling demanding jobs,” Ansberry’s story notes.

In a related think piece at the Atlantic, Jake Meador tackles “The misunderstood reason millions of Americans stopped going to church.”

3. Shiny Happy People: Watching the Amazon series about the Duggar family and reading a related essay by New York Times columnist David French inspired ReligionUnplugged.com Executive Editor Paul Glader to share his own story.

In a special essay, Glader tells how he “escaped from the Shiny Happy People, but still had survivor’s guilt.”

More Top Reads

Adidas is donating Yeezy sales to anti-hate groups. American Jews say it’s making best of bad situation, The Associated Press’ Tiffany Stanley, Luis Andres Henao and Mariam Fam write. … In the mountains of the remote Buddhist country of Bhutan, baseball is taking hold, according to MLB.com’s Michael Clair reports. … About 100 Milwaukee faith leaders have launched a campaign against Christian nationalism, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Sophie Carson notes. … At a gathering in Grenada, Caribbean Christians remembered the voice of their favorite song leader, five years after his murder in Dallas, The Christian Chronicle’s Erik Tryggestad reports. … A feud between a patriarch and a militia leader has added to the woes of Iraqi Christians, AP’s Abby Sewell and Salar Salim write. … As churches shrink and pastors retire, creative workarounds are redefining ministry, Elizabeth E. Evans details for Religion News Service. … In Oklahoma, 10 plaintiffs, including some faith leaders, are challenging plans for a taxpayer-funded Catholic virtual charter school, according to NonDoc.com’s Bennett Brinkman. … A hologram of late televangelist Jerry Falwell is at center of lawsuit against Liberty University, the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner reports. … And get this: Sean Feucht helped bring the devil’s music to Indiana’s state capitol, as Heather Greene explains for RNS.

Inside The Godbeat

The American Academy of Religion has announced the winners of its 2023 awards for best in-depth reporting on religion.

The winners include Sarah Posner, Deepa Bharath, Sam Kestenbaum, Francine Orr, Blair Hodges and Sarah Ventre.

Charging Station: ICYMI

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

Is it the end of an era?

What exactly is the future — if there is one — for The King’s College in New York City.

Former students Rafa Oliveira and Mandie-Beth Chau seek answers.

The Final Plug

My first job had nothing to do with journalism: Way back in high school in the mid-1980s, I worked late nights frying burgers at McDonald’s.

This week, I enjoyed getting together with some of my best friends from that era at a Texas Rangers game. And to make the reunion even better, my beloved Rangers won!

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for ReligionUnplugged.com and serves as 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 18 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.