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.
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Boasting a flawless 29-0 record, Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov notched eight wins by knockout and 11 others via submission during a 12-year pro career. But his story goes far beyond his dominance in the octagon. Throughout his career, Nurmagomedov has shown how important discipline, faith and family can be for a pro fighter.
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(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,
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The Indian government banned one of the country’s top Muslim organizations for at least five years, claiming the Popular Front of India has links to terrorists. Critics of the government have two main concerns: The proof that the PFI has participated in terrorist activities is unclear, and the government does not appear to be similarly motivated to investigate Hindu extremist organizations that have participated in or instigated violence.
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A years-long Mississippi scandal ended up giving $77 million to $94 million in welfare funds to nonprofits, which doled out the money to friends and family members who weren’t qualified to receive it and who never delivered the work they were contracted to do.
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(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.
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(ANALYSIS) Shouts of “death to the dictator” and “woman, life, freedom” are reverberating throughout the streets of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, while in custody of the “morality police” in Tehran. These protests have been gaining increased momentum and international attention, giving many Iranians inside and outside of Iran some glimmers of hope.
(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.
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A majority of Catholic voters agree that President Joe Biden should not run for a second term in 2024, while Republicans are also favored by this voter bloc in the upcoming midterm elections, a new poll has found. At the same time, support for Biden among Hispanic Catholics continues to wane, a worrying trend for Democrats heading into next month’s midterms.
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(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.
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In his weekly Sunday address from the Vatican, Pope Francis appealed to Vladimir Putin to end the military escalation in Ukraine, decried the threat of nuclear war and asked the Russian leader to “stop this spiral of violence and death.” The pontiff added he was “saddened at the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression they have suffered.”
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(REVIEW) Since its first season, Hulu comedy “Ramy” has been devoted to providing a genuine look at Islam and American Muslim culture. One episode of its latest season discusses the existence of polygamy in Islam, a sensitive topic that the show handles incredibly well.
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As Zimbabwe battles a measles outbreak, government and health care officials blame religious sects whose doctrines are emphatically opposed to Western medicine.
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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.
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(REVIEW) “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” is a movie about a lot of the worst parts of church culture: hypocrisy, prosperity gospel, abuse, misplaced loyalty and celebrity church culture. Most importantly, it’s about the expectation placed on Christian women to submit to people who actively hurt them and bear the full weight of the wrongs of others.
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(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.
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In December 2021, Congress adopted the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act with strong bipartisan support. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force has issued guidance instructing companies on how to conduct human rights due diligence and supply chain tracing. But Uyghur activists say more must be done.
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(ANALYSIS) With one week to go before Brazil’s presidential election, the two front-runners, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro are battling for the religious vote. The group of people termed “evangelicals” is much more diverse in Latin America than in the United States – and it’s politically quite diverse, too.
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(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.
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After just two days into the trial of retired Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen and five co-defendants, a Hong Kong magistrates’ court adjourned the proceedings until Oct. 26. The sudden turn of events took place on Wednesday in a trial that officials had said would last five days.
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