Big Week In Religion News: From Loretta Lynn To Aaron Judge, 9 Names To Know

In a busy week for religion news, this week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights nine names to know. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Faith, Family And The Dropping Number Of Marriages (Part II)

(OPINION) Young people in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often told to get married because marriage is wonderful and family life is at the heart of the faith. The problem is that church leaders haven’t grasped the power of cultural trends in technology, education and economics that are fueling sharp declines in statistics linked to dating, marriage and fertility,

International Community Is Failing The Uyghurs But A Change May Be Ahead

(OPINION) On Aug. 31, the U.N. concluded that “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities have been committed in Xinjiang. China continues to deny the allegations and brands them as propaganda.

Asia, OpinionEwelina U. OchabOctober 4, 2022Ewelina U. Ochab, Uighurs, Uyghurs, human rights in China, Cina, China, Xinjiang, OHCHR, UN, Muslim communities, IslamComment

Faith And Politics: Italian Election Coverage Loaded With Meloni Media Baloney

(OPINION) I have received more texts than usual the past two weeks. Most of them were about a rather unusual subject — Italy’s national elections. I say unusual subject because it’s not every day that this subject is discussed among my American friends. The reason? The politics and faith of politician Giorgia Meloni.

Analysis, Opinion, Politics, Religion, WomenClemente LisiOctober 4, 2022Clemente Lisi, politics, religion, journalism, Italy, Giorgia Meloni, opinion, Christianity, populismComment

Whatever You Believe About History Is Likely Wrong

(OPINION) Prohibition, as you’ve probably heard it, was the age of insanity, when a bunch of sanctimonious busybodies briefly cast the country into chaos, thirst and violence by trying to ban liquor … and fun itself. But there’s a big problem with that trope: as Schrad establishes, hardly any of the conventional wisdom is true.

‘Faith-Based FEMA’: Relief Organizations Mobilize To Help After Hurricane Ian

This week’s Weekend Plug-in opens with the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian and faith-based groups’ plans for disaster relief in Florida and beyond. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Faith, Family And The Dropping Number of Marriages (Part 1)

(OPINION) A Pew Research Center study found that most single U.S. adults were depressed about dating and building relationships. This past February, 70% of those surveyed said “their dating lives are not going well.” These trends should be of special concern to clergy, since religious faith plays a pivotal role in deciding who gets married and who does not.

Ritual Prostitution And The Rage Over Trump

(OPINION) In Michael Gerson’s piece titled “Trump should fill Christians with rage,” he asks “where’s the rage over Trump?” I can think of one reason: ritual prostitution.

North America, OpinionMichael MetzgerSeptember 29, 2022Mike Metzger, Michael metzger, Donald trump, Michael Gerson, Washington DC, Michael MetzgerComment

Remembering Rodney Stark (1934-2022)

(OPINION) Baylor University professor Rodney Stark passed away at his home in Woodway, Texas, on July 21, 2022. He is remembered for his alternative assumption that people employed rational choice in their religious identities, which more convincingly explained both the growth and decline of religion and ushered in a new paradigm in the scientific study of religion.

An Old Question That’s Back In The News: Why Can’t Non-Muslims Visit Mecca And Medina?

(OPINION) Daniel Pipes penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed last month urging Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to end Islam’s long-standing ban against non-Muslims entering the faith’s two holiest locations, Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad issued the Quran and founded the religion 14 centuries ago, and Medina, where he led the first Muslim state.

As Billions Watched Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral, Christian Themes Were Evident

This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the Christian themes seen in the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

C.S. Lewis’ ‘Post-Christian Age’ As It Relates to Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’

(OPINION) C.S. Lewis, in his lecture De Descriptione Temporum, noted that “somewhere between us and Jane Austen’s Persuasion in 1816 runs the chasm between Old Western Man and New Western Man — the Great Divide.” It represents a “vast change” between Jane Austen’s time and ours. That’s when he says the Western world entered a post-Christian age.

The Last Rites For Elizabeth II

(OPINION) The queen’s final, intimate Windsor Castle service began where her husband’s had ended 18 months earlier — with the “Kontakion of the Departed,” a tie to Prince Philip’s Orthodox roots in Greece — as if one rite was flowing into another.

Why ‘The Waltons,’ The Classic TV Show That Just Turned 50, Wasn’t Afraid Of Religion

This week’s Weekend Plug-in opens with the 50th anniversary of “The Waltons,” a family drama that incorporated religious stories when the TV networks tended to avoid them. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

Following RZIM’s Money, And What’s Going On At American Bible Society?

(ANALYSIS) With Lighten Group and RZIM shut down, important questions remain unanswered. First, how much money went from RZIM to Lighten Group? How was that money spent? How much remains? Meanwhile, American Bible Society has been plagued with turmoil for years. The organization has had five presidents in the past 10 years.

The Quiet, Yet Public, Faith Of Elizabeth II

(OPINION) While the queen delivered thousands of public addresses, her Christmas talks — surrounded by family pictures and holiday decorations — were the occasions when she most openly discussed her faith and the challenges facing the nation and even her own family.

Opinion, Europe, ChristianityTerry MattinglySeptember 15, 2022Terry Mattingly, On Religion, Queen Elizabeth II, Faith, Monarchy, Crown, United Kingdom, Gospel, Church of EnglandComment

Is Celebrity Culture Eroding American Evangelicalism? This Publishing Insider Says Yes

(OPINION) Author Katelyn Beaty’s new book “Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church” diagnoses a problem that’s pretty much absent in mainline Protestantism, Black Protestantism (there are some glaring exceptions in the health-and-wealth world), Catholicism and other U.S. religious bodies. Why is celebrity culture so magnified in White evangelicalism?

Why The British Monarchy Survives Against The Odds

(OPINION) Britain’s monarchy stands as the world’s only remaining state religious institution. The coronation is more than “mainly a religious ceremony” according to the BBC’s anchor on Saturday, as if that remaindered it for everyone not religious. It is a symbol among much else of the world’s oldest and only global narrative: God’s story.

Writer Says Christian Political Ethics Have Flipped Upside Down

(OPINION) The Scriptures are far more specific about biblical virtues than about biblical justice. The doing of justice — David French calls it the “what” of politics or the specific policies Christians support — can evolve differently in different countries at different times. But the “how” of politics doesn’t evolve at all. The how requires genuine kindness and humility in all places at all times.

5 Facts About Religion In The Life Of Queen Elizabeth II, Who Served Jesus Her King

This week’s Weekend Plug-in explores religion in the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the 96-year-old monarch who died after 70 years on the throne. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.

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