This week’s Weekend Plug-in starts in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s the capital of the country music universe. But it’s also sometimes called “the buckle of the Bible Belt.” Also, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in summary opens with an interview with Bob Smietana, author of the new book “Reorganized Religion.” Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is a day designated by the U.N. to combat intolerance, discrimination and violence against persons based on religion or belief. Over the recent years, we have witnessed several cases of the most egregious atrocities where religion or belief have been abused as a tool of discrimination and violence resulting in atrocities.
Read More(OPINION) Anyone can pervert a symbol, but is doing so a news story? How widespread is this extremist behavior? There are all things you can’t quantify and certainly a job that The Atlantic team failed to do. The rosary has always been something the press has failed to understand or perhaps has even feared.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the most controversial books in recent literary history, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was published three decades ago this month and almost immediately set off angry demonstrations all over the world, some of them violent. The book, “Satanic Verses,” goes to the heart of Muslim religious beliefs when Salman Rushdie, in dream sequences, challenges and sometimes seems to mock some of its most sensitive tenets.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores why a Texas district removed 41 books, including the Bible and a graphic novel version of “Anne Frank’s Diary,” from its school libraries. Plus, as always, catch up on the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreGlobal South Anglicans are experiencing a "volcano of growth" and remain "at loggerheads" with the shrinking churches of the United Kingdom, North America and other Western nations. While most Global South bishops serve growing flocks — roughly 75% of active worshippers in the 77-million-member Anglican Communion — many Western bishops lead what Goodhew called "micro-dioceses" with under 1,000 active members or "mini-dioceses" with fewer than 5,000.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As late as 1970, according to figures from the Cremation Association of America, only about 5% of American chose cremation over burial. But in 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it. And by 2035, the he National Funeral Directors Association predicts nearly 80% of Americans will opt for cremation.
Read More(REVIEW) A new book by historian Randall Balmer called “Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America” explores the relationship between sports and religion. Specifically, he writes that the book “examines how the history of religion across North America connects in fascinating ways to the emergence of modern team sports.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) About one-fifth of current French prisoners were convicted for drug offenses, according to the French Ministry of Justice — a rate comparable to that of the United States. Nearly all of them are men. There is no demographic breakdown of this population, because the French credo of “absolute equality” among citizens has made it illegal since 1978 to collect statistics based on race, ethnicity or religion.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in details the latest on the fatal shootings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Crystals aren’t just eye-catching stones. Quartz is used in electronics because it possesses piezoelectric properties that cause it to release an electric charge when compressed. But, as skeptics are quick to point out, there is no evidence crystals can bring health, prosperity or any of the other properties that crystal enthusiasts may attribute to them.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “What’s the deal with all the emotional meltdowns about the traditional Latin Mass? I mean, no one speaks Latin anymore.” It sounds like a line that could have come out of the mouth of comedian Jerry Seinfeld during one of his stand-up acts. It isn’t part of his act, but it is a more than symbolic question that Catholics have been pondering over the past year.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in offers five takeaways from Kansas voters’ surprising decision not to remove the right to abortion from the state’s Constitution. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines from the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the most sacred places in the Latter-day Saints temple in Washington is the Celestial Room on the sixth floor, where people come, sit quietly and pray. The Mormon leaders say this is a place to “feel close to and commune with God.” There are no ceremonies in this space.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar, alleging it has been involved in atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims, including “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers, (which) are genocidal in character because they are intended to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court released a decision clearly stating that religious schools cannot be excluded from state school choice programs. This means, in short, a major potential change for the future of private faith-based education.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights Pope Francis’ trip to Canada to apologize to Indigenous peoples for abuses at church-run residential schools. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis, along with the European Union and Italy’s left-wing voters, face a major headache since a coalition of right-wing parties could emerge victorious in Italy’s elections. The parties have been at odds with the Vatican over immigration. Can Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna make the difference this summer?
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in previews Pope Francis’ trip to Canada to apologize to the nation's Indigenous peoples for abuses at Catholic-run residential schools. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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