This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the gang kidnapping of 17 American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) With a controversial Catholic in the White House, there was no way for Cardinal Wilton Gregory to face a pack of Beltway journalists without fielding political questions. But he mainly praised the mainstream press for pushing issues linked to racism and social justice, and encouraged them to keep promoting civility.
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With all the ominous things taking place in America — and there are certainly quite a few — perhaps none is more ominous than this: Parents are being demonized. Moms and dads have become he enemy. It is now the government — or the education system — vs. those entrusted with raising the next generation.
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(OPINION) When does life begin? The religion guy’s answer: Those four words are regularly posed in the current abortion debate, so let's scan the lines in pregnancy that have been drawn by experts — religious and secular — in the past.
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(ANALYSIS) Despite it being almost two weeks since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, the fallout and reaction from that private audience continues to reverberate across the American political landscape. Naturally, some are concerned about how the news media we consume have covered it all.
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(OPINION) In an age in which satire and news often overlap, it was hard to know what to make of this headline: "New York Atheists Claim Religious Exemption From Vaccine After Governor Claims That It's From God." This was satire from the Babylon Bee, but the barbed humor focused on real quotes that raised eyebrows on the cultural left and right.
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(ANALYSIS) This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the latest concerning religion’s role in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Plus, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) For a variety of reasons, many African Americans face barriers to mental health care. But as a sociologist who focuses on community-based organizations, Brad Fulton finds that strengthening relationships between churches and mental health providers can be one way to increase access to needed services.
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(OPINION) It remains true to this day that “money is a root of all kinds of evil” — as Paul said, writing in 1 Timothy 6:10 — which is why greed can corrupt the best of us if we are not careful. And that’s why it shouldn’t surprise us if Big Pharma, along with the abortion industry, has been influenced by greed. Why should they be exempt?
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(OPINION) Oct. 11 is the International Day of the Girl Child, a day to empower empower young girls and promise them a better future. In August 2021, all these promises, plans, dreams and hopes came crashing down one by one until there was nothing left. Afghan girls have watched as every piece of the country was taken over by the Taliban.
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(OPINION) As utterly despicable as it is to sexually abuse a child, it is even more despicable to so do in the name of God. And religion. And the church. What could be a greater profanation of the name of the Lord? And what could do more lasting damage to an innocent child?
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(OPINION) An older campaign by feminists — including those working in the world of liturgy — sought to shun male pronouns, particularly when either gender is meant, in favor of plural they-them-their usage with singular antecedents. As you would expect, references to God himself — or is that "themself"? — is now part of this debate.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the winners of the Religion News Association’s annual journalism contest. Plus, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) By the time of Spong’s death at the age of 90, many of his once-heretical beliefs — especially on sex and marriage — had become normalized in most Episcopal pulpits and institutions. However, his post-theistic doctrinal approach was too blunt for many in the mainline establishment.
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(REVIEW) Entering the main gallery is a religious experience of sorts — the sequences of tableaux that punctuate all four sides of the space serve as stations for reflection. Büttner leaves us with a restorative vision of the future, encouraging us to earnestly consider the meaning of faith, hope and love.
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(OPINION) Conflict over abortion will likely only increase as courts release opinions on a Mississippi “heartbeat’ law and consider overturning Roe v. Wade. Here’s how pro-life Christians should respond.
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(OPINION) Pro-abortion rights activists — including the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Unitarian Universalist Association and major non-Orthodox Jewish organizations — have filed their briefs for the Supreme Court hearing on Mississippi’s abortion law. But Protestant denominations are notably missing.
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(ANALYSIS) Italy’s national airline — known for its near-impeccable safety record and sometimes-appalling customer service — will officially shut down on Oct. 15. The announcement, made this past summer, marks the end of an era for an airline founded in 1946 that became the pontiff’s official airline.
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(OPINION) The big question: Where does the Afghanistan story go next, and frankly, will elite American media cover the religion elements of this story? That question was at the heart of a recent Religion Unplugged podcast discussion.
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(OPINION) A new bill Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced in California would allow children access, without parental consent or knowledge, to sex-change operations, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and abortions through their family’s insurance plan.
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