The ‘Religiosity Gap’ Remains an Important Force in Elections

(ANALYSIS) This “religiosity gap” remains relevant. A new Pew Research Center analysis noted that, in the 2022 midterms, “The gap in voting preferences by religious attendance was as wide as it's been in any of the last several elections.”

Transforming Lives Post-Abortion: A Fresh Take on Healing and Support

(OPINION) The need for after-abortion healing resulted in many groups taking on this critical work in the 1990s. Organizations such as Project Rachel, Rachel’s Vineyard, Forgiven and Set Free, SaveOne and Surrendering the Secret have since helped countless women and men begin their healing journeys.

Analysis, Catholicism, Christianity, Opinion, WomenJanine Marrone and Lisa RoweJuly 27, 2023Janine Marron, Lisa Rowe, Support After Abortion, anti-abortion healing, Sisters of Life, After Abortion Line, National Abortion Provider Referral Directory, Project Rachel, Rachel’s Vineyard, Forgiven and Set Free, SaveOne, Surrending the Secret Comment

Ignoring Hollywood Depictions, Where Is The Biblical Mount Sinai Located?

(OPINION) Why would anyone wonder about the sacred spot where God through Moses revealed the Ten Commandments and other biblical laws? Just look at the name. Doesn’t everybody know that Mount Sinai must of course be on the Sinai Peninsula and, specifically, at a long-venerated location there? And yet some insist the true location is in Saudi Arabia.

Opinion, Analysis, Film & TVRichard OstlingJuly 25, 2023Richard Ostling, Dick Ostling, The Religion Guy, GetReligion, Mount Sinai, Bible history, Ten Commandments, Biblical Archaeology, Holy Land, movies, filmComment

Canada Investigates Allegations That Nike Canada Corp. Used Uyghur Forced Labor

(ANALYSIS) On July 11, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise — the human rights watchdog reviewing complaints about possible human rights abuses by Canadian companies working outside Canada in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors — announced the launch of two separate investigations into allegations of Uyghur forced labor in the supply chains and operations of two Canadian companies.

Rastafarians Gathering For The 131st Birthday Of Emperor Haile Selassie Are Still Grappling With His Death

(ANALYSIS) Many Christians believe that Jesus Christ was both human and divine, and will return to the Earth to reign over a righteous kingdom of his chosen people. Similarly, Rastafarians are of the view that Emperor Selassie is God, or Jah, who manifested in human form, and that they are God’s chosen people. They borrow generously from the King James Bible, braiding their theology around Black and African identity and culture.

Analysis, AfricaCharles A. PriceJuly 24, 2023The Conversation, Charles A. Price, Rastafarian, Christianity, Haile Selassie, African religion, Jamaican religion, News, Secondary FeatureComment

🇺🇸 Values Voters And The (Seemingly) Never-Ending Trump Factor 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in explains the Trump factor in the 2024 GOP presidential race. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Weekend Plug-In, Analysis, Religion, Religion News, OpinionBobby Ross Jr.July 21, 2023Bobby Ross Jr.

Why Do Christian Films Act Like The World Is Getting Worse?

(ANALYSIS) With the world around us getting better, why do so many faith-based films insist the world is getting worse? And what does that say about the religious right in America?

Analysis, Entertainment, Film & TV, Opinion, Primary Feature, ReligionJoseph HolmesJuly 21, 2023Joseph Holmes, Christian Film, Christian Films, Chuck Konzelman, Nefarious, God’s Not Dead, Left Behind, 6: The Mark Unleashed, Persecuted, The Time Changer Comments

A New Interpretation of Faith: The Story Behind the LGBTQ+-Inclusive ‘Sparkle Creed’

(ANALYSIS) The Sparkle Creed was circulated in 2021 by the Rev. Rachel Small Stokes of Immanuel United Church of Christ in Louisville, Kentucky. A Shower of Stoles website biography notes that she was raised United Methodist, served as a missionary in that denomination and trained for the ministry.

Revisiting Martin Luther King's 'Where Do We Go from Here?’ After Half A Century

(OPINION) On Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta during his annual report to the 11th Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King Jr. entitled his speech “Where Do We Go From Here?” and thus the question I have for ministers, Black and White today.

Analysis, Christianity, Conflict, Evangelicals, Justice, North America, Opinion, Religious EqualityHamil R. HarrisJuly 19, 2023Martin Luther King Jr., Hamil Harris, Al Sharpton, Rev. Jamal Bryant, New Birth Baptist Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Raphael Warnock, Brent Leatherwood, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Lorie Smith, Malcolm X, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Grainger Browning, Ebenezer African Methodist Church, Rev. Gerald Durley, Rev. Barbara Williams Skinner, Community or Chaos, Faith United to Save Democracy, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Where Do We Go from Here?, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Christine King Farris, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Comment

‘Stick To The Old Paths’: Church Music Is About More Than Style

(OPINION) For the past decade, a handful of megachurches have dominated worship music. They include Elevation Church, Australia-based Hillsong, and California’s Bethel Church — all churches that have had their share of scandal and controversy. Still, most worship leaders have carefully compartmentalized the controversy and have continued to use their songs — and, in effect, financially support these churches.

Opinion, Analysis, Christianity, North America, protestantsWarren Cole SmithJuly 19, 2023MinistryWatch, Warren Cole Smith, Worship music, CCLI, Worship leaders, Hymns, Hymnals, contemporary Christian music, Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation ChurchComment

Still News? Media Silent On Pronouncements From World And National Councils Of Churches

(OPINION) Why do U.S. power-brokers, and journalists themselves, pay little or no heed to ardent pronouncements by the World Council of Churches and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA?

How Many People Leave Their Childhood Religion?

(ANALYSIS) Religious switching is a fascinating topic. It’s happening every single day, thousands of times. Without any fanfare or big declarations, people leave religion behind or chose a different faith when taking a survey. And yet we only have a very basic understanding of the mechanisms that make all that happen.

AnalysisRyan BurgeJuly 18, 2023Graphs about Religion, Ryan Burge, Religion statistics, Religion data, Data journalism, Decline of religion, Decline of Christianity, Losing religion, Religious switching Comment

😲 The Giant Religion Trend That Should Be Bigger News 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in starts with a major story that receives too little attention. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Weekend Plug-In, Analysis, Religion, Religion News, OpinionBobby Ross Jr.July 14, 2023Bobby Ross Jr., houses of worship closing, churches closing, religion trends, Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, Supreme Court decisions, religious liberty

The Making And Premiere Of ‘Fiat Lux’: A Radiant Oratorio For A Cathedral Suffused With Light

(REVIEW) The encore performance at Christ Cathedral of “Fiat Lux” was billed as “Pacific Symphony & Pacific Chorale in concert with Paul Jacobs,” and the opening pieces were programmed to additionally celebrate the refurbishment of the cathedral’s Hazel Wright Organ, the fifth-largest pipe organ in the world.

After So Many Miracles, Why Isn't Indiana Jones A Believer?

(OPINION) In the new film, Jones confesses: "I don't believe in magic, but a few times in my life I've seen things, things I can't explain." But after a life wrestling with sacred mysteries, he concludes: "It's not so much what you believe. It's about how hard you believe it."

Sotomayor’s Dissent Sheds Light On Religious Universities Amid Affirmative Action Debate

(ANALYSIS) Sotomayor’s dissent poses an interesting inquiry, regardless of one’s personal opinion of where the court should have landed on affirmative action: Does the Constitution uphold the spiritual and religious freedom of faith-based higher education institutions to engage in holistic, race-conscious admissions practices as an expression of their sincerely held institutional religious beliefs?

The Tree Of Life Has Been A Powerful Image In Jewish Tradition, Signifying Much More Than Immortality

(ANALYSIS) After weeks of wrenching testimony, jurors delivered a guilty verdict June 16, 2023, for the gunman who killed 11 worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 – the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The next phase of the trial will focus on sentencing, and whether Robert Bowers should face the death penalty.

AnalysisSamuel L. BoydJuly 13, 2023The Conversation, Samuel L. Boyd, Tree of Life Synagogue, Tree of Life Shooting, Tree of life, Genesis, Bible scholars, Adam and Eve, Creation, Judaism, Religious persecutionComment

Islam’s Call To Prayer Is Ringing Out In More US Cities — Affirming A Long And Growing Presence Of Muslims In America

(ANALYSIS) Minneapolis recently became the first major U.S. city to allow the “adhan,” or Muslim call to prayer, to be broadcast from mosques five times a day. In April 2023, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a change to the city’s sound ordinance, effectively eliminating time constraints that previously prevented the pre-dawn and evening prayer calls from being broadcast.

Analysis, Islam, North America, Opinion, Religious Freedom, Religious EqualityLeila TarakjiJuly 13, 2023The Conversation, Muslim Americans, Islam, Prayer, Adhan, Religious freedom, Muslim prayer Comments

Religion Has Become A Luxury Good For The Middle Class, Married College Graduate With Children

(ANALYSIS) Religion in 21st century America has become an enclave for people who have done everything “right.” They have college degrees and marriages and children and middle-class incomes. For those who don’t check all those boxes, religion is just not for them.

Analysis, Christianity, North America, Opinion, Primary Feature, Religion, protestants, Religion News, The State of ReligionRyan BurgeJuly 12, 2023Graphs About Religion, Ryan Burge, Religion in America, Religion data, Nuclear family, Middle class, Primary Feature Comments

Who Is Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez? A Look At ‘Pope Francis’ Theologian’

(ANALYSIS) The pope’s recent appointment of Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernandez as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has been a very big story this month. The appointment could influence the future direction of the church and Pope Francis’ legacy. This pontiff very much wants to leave a lasting impression on the global church, in part acting through the upcoming synod, and Fernandez could help shape it.

Analysis, Catholicism, Primary Feature, ReligionClemente LisiJuly 12, 2023Clemente Lisi, Catholic church, Pope Francis, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernandez, doctrine, theology, religion, Primary feature, News, Secondary featureComment

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