Posts in Analysis
President Biden is a fan of Pope Francis, but is Francis a fan of Biden?

This week’s Weekend Plug-in asks whether it’s accurate to say that Pope Francis is a “fan” of President Joe Biden, America’s second Catholic president. Plus, find links to all the week’s top religion reads.

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Can 'Super Mario' and Catholic Social Teaching rescue Italy's faltering economy?

(ANALYISIS) Italian economist Mario Draghi is forming a new government at the president’s request after a collapse of the ruling coalition over its handling of the pandemic. How will Catholic Social Teaching factor in helping lockdown-weary Italians — from business owners to the unemployed — achieve economic stability? The answer can be found in a 2013 speech.

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The National Prayer Breakfast Has Become A Chance For Presidents And Faith Leaders To Push Political Agendas

(ANALYSIS) President Joe Biden’s remarks during his address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 4 give insight on his view of faith and politics during his presidency.

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Can An Employee Object To Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines on Religious Grounds?

(ANALYSIS) Vaccines are beginning to be rolled out across the U.S., bringing questions for employees and their businesses. Can employers require their employees to take the vaccine? Can religious exemptions apply to the vaccine?

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How Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church Has Been a Seat of Black Power for Generations

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. has a long history in the Black church. It was the spiritual home of the civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It is now the home of the state’s first Black senator – the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at the church.

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Black churches tout COVID-19 vaccines to skeptical flocks

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights efforts by Black churches to encourage members to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccines. Plus, check out all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.

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Religious Freedom in Action: Disrupting America’s Prisons through Religious Partnerships

(ANALYSIS) Modern American prisons feature overcrowding, violence, harsh mental conditions and worsening recidivism. But new methods of correction — ones that emphasize religious freedom — are having real success.

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Biden's executive orders will widen rift among Catholic bishops

(OPINION) Within hours of taking the oath of office on his family’s massive Bible, President Biden signed a raft of executive orders — something that went on in the ensuing days — to undo strategic executive moves during Donald Trump’s presidency. During that process, he fan afoul of traditional Catholic teachings and, once again, placed the spotlight on his Catholic faith.

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Sen. Ossoff Was Sworn In On Pioneering Atlanta Rabbi’s Bible, A Nod To Jewish Civil Rights History

The first Jewish senator in Georgia history, Jon Ossoff, was sworn in on Jan. 20, on what his office described in a tweet as a “Hebrew scripture that belonged to historic Atlanta Rabbi Jacob Rothschild.” The volume selected was a well-thumbed copy of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, which Jews known as the Torah, edited with commentary by the American-educated former Chief Rabbi of Britain Joseph H. Hertz.

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Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey's company doxxes religion journalist

This week’s Weekend Plug-in delves into questions surrounding Christian financial guru Dave Ramsey’s multimillion-dollar Tennessee company and its sarcastic response to a religion reporter’s questions. Plus, catch up on all the faith-related angle from inauguration of President Joe Biden.

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Christians and the conspiracy theories that helped fuel the Capitol mob

This week’s Weekend Plug-in explores why Christians seem so susceptible to conspiracy theories. Plus, as always, check out the best reads in the world of faith news.

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Pope Francis changes canon law: What it means for the Catholic Mass

(ANALYSIS) The move — in the wake of a decades-old priest shortage — will grant women the chance to serve as lectors, read Scripture and serve as eucharistic ministers. The changes, however, will continue to forbid women from being made deacons or priests.

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The role of religion in President Donald Trump's tragic last stand

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the key religion angles related to Wednesday’s violence by a pro-Trump insurrectionist mob at the U.S. Capitol. Plus, check out all the week’s top reads in the world of faith.

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Why Christian Faith Led A California Philanthropist To The YIMBY Movement

(OPINION) After I became a Christian in 1973, in my early 20s, I lost interest in politics for a while, because there were new spiritual dimensions of reality to investigate and map. But around 1978 something awakened my interest again. That was the campaign in Santa Ana, Calif., to run the Rescue Mission out of town. I realized that a lot of land use law in our country is based on a not very Christian concept of who is “undesirable neighbors.”

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5 storylines involving the Catholic church to watch for in 2021

(ANALYSIS) What will 2021 bring? That’s the big question following a 2020 that will forever remain a year where the world was held hostage by a pandemic. It was also a year where we had a combative presidential election and a reawakened social justice movement that brought our divided politics out into our streets.

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In the year of the pandemic, counting down the top 10 religion stories of 2020

This week’s Weekend Plug-in counts down the top 10 religion stories of 2020, as determined by the Religion News Association. Also: our usual Friday roundup of the top reads in the world of faith.

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Armenians Displaced From Nagorno-Karabakh Fear Churches Will Be Destroyed

(ANALYSIS) Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh ended on Nov. 9 after Russia brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now Armenian heritage organizations worry historical churches and other religious sites will be destroyed.

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