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 morning, Weekend Plug-in readers!

Last week we highlighted the return of a Washington state high school football coach who won the right to pray on the field.

Now, after just one game back, coach Joe Kennedy has resigned, “citing family concerns and a lack of support from school district officials,” as the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner reports.

In other news, X owner Elon Musk is accusing the Anti-Defamation League of, well, defamation, “claiming that the nonprofit organization’s statements about rising hate speech on the social media platform have torpedoed X’s advertising revenue,” CNN’s Jordan Valinsky writes.

Musk’s threat to sue the antisemitism watchdog extends the platform’s war of words, Religion News Service’s Yonat Shimron notes.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Greek Catholic bishops told Pope Francis that his praise for Russia’s imperial past “pained” Ukrainians, as The Associated Press’ Nicole Winfield details.

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. Our big story concerns the state of worship attendance and giving after COVID-19.

What To Know: The Big Story

Post-pandemic challenges: For houses of worship, encouraging signs that a rebound is taking place are evident in a new study.

Those signs include “a rise in attendance, an uptick in donations and more people volunteering within their church communities,” Clemente Lisi reports here at ReligionUnplugged.com. “The challenges, on the other hand, include an aging demographic among clergy and congregants, a lack of willingness to embrace change and concerns about how to integrate those who still insist on attending virtually.”

Uncertain destiny: Funded by the Lilly Endowment, the survey was led by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.

A quote from the lead author reflects the mixed outlook:

“It is apparent that congregational dynamics are still in a state of flux,” said Scott Thumma, who directed the project. “Churches, and especially clergy, continue in a recovery phase. Even though aspects of church life are rebounding, the destiny of many faith communities is still uncertain.”

Read more coverage of the study by Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana.

In person vs. virtual: In a new Pew Research Center report, Michelle Faverio and Justin Nortey explain why some Americans prefer to go to religious services in person:

Among those who prefer in-person religious services, the most common reason respondents give is a stronger sense of connection and community with fellow participants. About half (52%) say this – more than three times the share who name any other reason.

The Pew report explores, too, why others choose to watch virtually:

There are too few respondents who prefer virtual religious services to provide precise data on their reasons for doing so. However, several respondents allude to the comfort and convenience of watching services online or on TV. One explains, “It gives me more freedom and extra time to multitask and do some other things.”

Others also mention the safety provided by virtual services. For example, “I don’t have to get dressed to go to the church. I can watch and listen more than once, and I don’t have to worry about being infected with others’ germs.”

Read the full article.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. ‘The Great Dechurching’: “What’s happening to all the church buildings?” — that’s the question posed by the Deseret News’ Jennifer Graham.

“Closing a church isn’t just about shutting its doors, as many communities and pastors are finding out,” Graham writes in a story that references the new book “The Great Dechurching” by Jim Davis and Michael Graham.

Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana interviews the authors.

For more insight, see our Plug-in from earlier this summer on “The giant religion trend that should be bigger news.”

2. Soccer Moses: Stephen Mason, a former Christian rocker turned barber, found unexpected joy with four magical words: “Let My People Goal.”

Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana goes behind the punny scenes of “a dad joke gone horribly right.”

3. Shelves of history: “The Catholic Church defended human rights during Chile’s dictatorship. An archive tells the story.”

Reporting from Santiago, The Associated Press’ María Teresa Hernández delves into the crucial documents — with stellar photos by Esteban Felix and video by Mauricio Cuevas.

More Top Reads

A Southern Baptist Convention task force is in the vetting process for a highly anticipated database of sex offenders, The Oklahoman’s Carla Hinton reports. … At an Indigenous seminary, students learn the power of faith embedded in identity, Christianity Today’s Hannah McClellan writes. … A dwindling Church of Christ is seeking a new future as a community church campus, The Christian Chronicle’s Cheryl Mann Bacon explains. … An evangelist has accepted a $9.5 million donated building for a youth pastor training center, according to AL.com’s Greg Garrison. … And in a think piece for the Washington Post, David Gibson makes the case that “American conservatives are not more Catholic than the pope.”

Inside The Godbeat

Many newspapers these days don’t have a single full-time reporter covering religion, much less multiple journalists on the Godbeat.

The Washington Times, it appears, is about to an exception.

That national newspaper is hiring a second journalist to join veteran Mark A. Kellner on the faith and family beat.

Charging Station: ICYMI

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

Is being a vegetarian compatible with Islam?

Anmol Irfan, a Muslim Pakistani journalist and feminist, explores that question here at ReligionUnplugged.com.

The Final Plug

Christians, it seems, are dog people.

Or at least they own more canines than cats, as Samantha Saad reports for Christianity Today.

A programming note: I’ll be traveling at the end of week, so Plug-in will take next Friday off. I hope to see you back in this same space in two weeks.

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.