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!

A new report covered by Christianity Today’s Jayson Casper highlights “the 50 countries where it’s hardest to follow Jesus in 2024.”

Last week’s Plug-in focused on Iowa evangelicals and Donald Trump ahead of Monday’s caucuses.

After the former president’s big win in that state, The Associated Press’ Josh Boak and Linley Sanders, CT’s Harvest Prude and the Washington Post’s Dan Keating, Adrian Blanco and Clara Ence Morse analyze the critical role evangelicals played.

The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday, and ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi details “everything you need to know about the candidates.”

This is our weekly roundup of the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith. We start with a major march planned — for the 51st year — by abortion opponents.

What To Know: The Big Story

What motivates pro-lifers: The crowd at today’s annual March for Life in the nation’s capital could top 100,000, organizers predict.

Fifty-one years after Roe v. Wade — and a year and a half after its overturning — “evangelical activists see a bigger fight to change Americans’ minds on abortion.”

That’s the synopsis from Christianity Today’s Harvest Prude.

A different mood: If last year’s rally marked a celebration for the anti-abortion movement, the 2024 event reflects “formidable challenges that lie ahead in this election year.”

So notes The Associated Press’ David Crary, who quotes a leading activist:

“We have undeniable evidence of victory — lives being saved,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. “But there is also a realization of the significant hurdles that our movement has right now in the public conversation.”

Crary explains:

Participants at the march in Washington will salute the 14 states enforcing bans on abortion throughout pregnancy. They will proclaim that thousands of babies have been born who otherwise might have been aborted, even as studies show the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the year after that enforcement began.

Moreover, anti-abortion leaders know that their side has a seven-state losing streak in votes on abortion-related ballot measures. Even in red states such as Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky, the outcomes favored keeping abortion access legal.

For more on the movement’s battle plans at the state level, see coverage by Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks.

Details on timing: A pre-rally concert from 11 a.m. to noon Eastern, the main rally from noon to 1 p.m. and the march from 1 to 4 p.m. are planned, according to the Washington Post’s Ellie Silverman. She provides details on how to stream the March for Life online.

More from Silverman:

The march, which has been held each January since 1974 on the National Mall, comes days after Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses. The former president has refused to endorse a national abortion ban, but leading antiabortion activists have told The Post that they hope Trump, who appointed the three conservative justices that brought down Roe v. Wade, will further crack down on abortion if he won the presidency again.

In related news, nearly two-thirds of Americans say local governments should not be able to bar anti-abortion sidewalk counselors, the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner reports, citing a Becket Fund for Religious Liberty survey.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. ‘It’s a divorce, and a messy one’: “For many, the schism that has wracked the United Methodist Church seemed inevitable, though it was an outcome few wanted,” USA Today’s Marc Ramirez writes.

“The departure of a quarter of the church’s approximately 30,000 congregations illustrates the fallout of a prolonged and messy divorce, sparked by disagreements over issues of sexuality and gender identity.”

Meanwhile, The Tennessean’s Liam Adams explains “what a recent decision by United Methodists in Africa could mean for the worldwide church.”

2. Farewell of GetReligion: Religion reporting still matters, but the internet’s “preaching to the choir” algorithms have won out, longtime Godbeat pro Terry Mattingly tells Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana.

Smietana interviews Mattingly about the decision to shut down the prominent blog he and Doug LeBlanc launched 20 years ago. Spoiler alert: I make a cameo appearance in the story.

3. Megachuch pastor’s tears: Nearly 20 years ago, I interviewed Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria, about the transformation of the Houston Rockets’ former arena into Lakewood Church’s new spiritual home.

This past weekend, the pastor broke down on stage as he announced Lakewood has paid off its $100 million loan for the arena, the Houston Chronicle’s Eric Killelea reports.

Also interesting: Killelea’s recent feature on Alexandra Osteen, Joel and Victoria’s 25-year-old daughter — “the heiress of one of America's largest congregations.”

More Top Reads

Indigenous faithful and Christians work with environmentalists to conserve India’s sacred forests, The Associated Press’ Deepa Bharath reports from Shillong, India. … Bishop T.D. Jakes maintains a longtime commitment to a Maryland revival in the wake of rumors, according to Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks. … Pope Francis faces some of the most vociferous objection to papal authority in decades, as the Washington Post’s Anthony Faiola, Michelle Boorstein and Stefano Pitrelli detail. … The Vatican’s top expert on AI ethics is a friar from a medieval Franciscan order, AP’s Frances D’Emilio reveals. … Chicago pastors help the city grapple with flood of migrants, Rebekah Barber reports for RNS. … A once lively Baptist church is now a six-bedroom home with a rooftop jacuzzi, Berkeleyside’s Hayden Royster writes.

Inside The Godbeat

I always enjoyed Julie Zauzmer Weil’s stories during her four years covering religion for the Washington Post.

Now a tax reporter for the Post, Weil produced a compelling column this week on her late son Ezra’s first birthday.

“Losing my son taught me a simple rule: When someone is mourning, say something,” Weil shares with readers.

Charging Station: ICYMI

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

Pastors are organizing gospel-oriented events — geared to players, coaches and fans — throughout the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Ivory Coast.

Tom Osanjo reports from Nairobi, Kenya.

The Final Plug

No phones are allowed, but machetes are OK.

I traveled to the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to report on an Australian Christian school’s immersive learning program for ninth graders.

Read my Christian Chronicle story.

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.