(OPINION) During this time of cultural reckoning, some have tried to lump Catholic saints like St. Damien into the same category as treasonous Confederate generals. That has forced Republicans to come out as defenders of traditional Christian values, while Democrats get dangerously closer to socialism.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in summary explores the story behind a controversial selfie that Jerry Falwell Jr. posted on Instagram and then quickly deleted. Also, find links to the week’s best reads in the world of faith news.
Read More(OPINION) "John Lewis practiced the politics not of what we call bipartisan, John Lewis practiced the politics of We the People. The politics of the preamble of the constitution of the United States, ” Lawson said during his 21-minute message at the funeral where he added that while many books have been written about the Civil Rights period, most people get it ”wrong,” when it comes to telling the story of John Lewis.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores a viral tweet’s claim that Tim Tebow kneeling in prayer on the field upset the NFL.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in includes the announcement of finalists for the Religion News Association awards, plus coverage of mask mandates and churches, the death of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis and other top headlines from the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) As Americans go from the racial reckoning that has engulfed America for the past two months to the start of the general election season, vandalism involving the burning of a church or the decapitation of a Jesus statue can become highly symbolic and significant.
Read More(OPINION) Recent violence and hate crimes in Ethiopia has parallels to pre-genocide Rwanda with many lessons: the further we stray from faith, the further we stray from justice.
Read More(OPINION) What stood out to me most in regard to Lewis was that he put principles over politics and for that he was respected by Republicans and Democrats. At the height of the 2008 Presidential campaign I learned during a gathering President George W. Bush hosted at the White House it wasn’t certain that Lewis was going to endorse Hillary Clinton for president.
Read More(OPINION) Imagine if Zeus, Poseidon, Hera or others lived in the U.S. today. How would the ancient gods and goddesses identify in modern politics and culture? Their wisdom and weaknesses fit into the modern religious and secular landscape surprisingly well.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores news coverage of churches as superspreaders of the coronavirus, plus top reads on a megachurch investigation, a Washington, D.C., church’s history and the faith angle on Kanye West’s potential White House bid.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For all the fallout caused by the virus (and how various states have handled it) and the divisions in this country around issues like race, the presidential election could — once again — be decided by a handful of majority Catholic counties in four states by voters who care about abortion and religious liberty.
Read More(OPINION) Pope Francis, who has consistently drawn the ire of Catholic media on the doctrinal right, gave his view of what the religious press should look like in the United States.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nigerian diaspora academics discussed the findings of a U.K. government report on July 6, concluding that several factors like water scarcity are affecting violence in Northern Nigeria, complicating a designation of genocide. Many acts of violence carried out by Boko Haram against Christians bear Quranic punishments for so-called infidels, and the Nigerian army is struggling to contain the violence.
Read MoreAs Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, Weekend Plug-in marks its six-month anniversary and offers its usual lineup of insight, analysis and top headlines from the world of religion news.
Read MoreWith Election Day four-plus months away, religion angles abound on the race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Find links to some of the week’s most interesting faith-and-politics news in the latest Plug-in.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This week, city officials in Charlotte began removing stones around one of four monuments in the U.S. to the most prominent Jew of the Confederacy. In today’s political climate, it remains to be seen whether protesters will draw attention to Judah Benjamin or whether he will rest in relative obscurity among U.S. historical figures. As of now, the few monuments to his legacy still stand.
Read More(OPINION) As the national debate surrounding law-enforcement practices and the Black Lives Matter movement continues, journalists need to go beyond covering the obvious.
Read More(OPINION) Was this the equivalent of hearing Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville’s impressions of America in the 19th century, except we are hearing from a Nigerian man about his impressions in 21st-century America? And does it offer any lessons for retaining rule of law and good governance even as we rethink policing and racial inequality in America?
Read MoreIn the latest “Weekend Plug-in,” columnist Bobby Ross Jr. interviews an all-star panel of religion journalists about the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on LGBT employment rights.
Read MoreIn this Friday’s Weekend Plug-in, a tie-in between the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957 and a Houston teen who stood up for a friend called the N-word. The teen is the great-grandson of the Arkansas mayor who asked President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to allow the school’s desegregation.
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