The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case involving a Texas law requiring adult websites to verify the age of their users. Known as Texas House Bill (H.B.) 1181, the legislation requires websites to verify their users are at least 18 years old if at least one-third of their hosted content is considered “harmful to minors,” such as pornography.
Read MoreDepending on the source, Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Meta platforms will jettison fact-checking protocols in favor of community notes is either a threat to democracy or a return to the spirit of free speech from when he co-founded Facebook in 2004.
Read MoreLaws in 20 states aimed at shielding minors from online pornography are under fire as the U.S. Supreme Court hears a legal challenge this week. At issue is Texas House Bill 1181, one of a string of 20 such laws passed since Louisiana began the charge in 2022 to require websites containing at least 33 percent pornographic materials to verify that a user is at least 18.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Consider this post an early take on Lent 2025 or, maybe, a very late meditation on this year’s stack of New Year’s Resolutions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The installation was a two-month project in religion, technology and art titled “Deus in Machina,” created at the University of Lucerne. The original Latin phrase literally means “god from the machine”; it refers to a plot device used in Greek and Roman plays, introducing a god to resolve an impossible problem or conflict facing the characters.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I have been keeping an Artificial Intelligence folder for several weeks now, with a focus — naturally — on topics that should interest religious leaders.
Read MoreOver the last five years, a growing number of single Muslim women in their mid-30s in Islamic countries — including the UAE, Qatar and Egypt, among others — have been choosing to freeze their eggs to ensure motherhood later in life. It was previously not seen as an option in these countries — owing primarily to cultural beliefs and religious restrictions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Religion and biohacking, at first glance, may seem worlds apart — one rooted in ancient traditions and spiritual beliefs; the other in cutting-edge science and technology. Look again and you'll recognize the fact that both grapple with fundamental questions about the nature of life, death and the human quest for transcendence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In my “On Religion” column — “Jonathan Haidt: It's time for clergy to start worrying about smartphone culture” — I focused on what the author of “The Anxious Generation” had to say about the decisions faced by religious believers in the age of digital-screens culture.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Preaching to teenagers has always been a challenge. In the smartphone age, clergy need to realize that the odds of making a spiritual connection have changed — radically. Young people who spend as many as 10 or more hours a day focusing on digital screens will find it all but impossible to listen to an adult talk about anything, especially in a religious sanctuary.
Read MoreAs artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing, harnessing its abilities is becoming a frequent topic of conversation among church leaders. More pastors are considering AI’s assistance in various tasks, including creating, developing, and repurposing sermons. Others worry that relying on AI undermines the pastoral calling and threatens to divorce pastors from communicating with God.
Read More(OPINION) When political scientists and pollsters discuss faith and politics, one of their biggest challenges is separating the true believers from those who merely say they are believers. It's kind of like distinguishing between "football fans" and "FOOTBALL FANS," said John C. Green, a trailblazer in studies of politics, pulpits and pews.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s been a busy July on the Catholic news beat. There’s rarely a dull moment, especially in the Pope Francis era, as debate over the past few weeks focused on the Latin Mass and alleged Grindr-clicking gay clergy in high places.
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