The first Weekend Plug-in of 2024 looks ahead to the yearâs expected big news. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(ANALYSIS) Religion is likely to play a big role in votersâ choices in the 2024 presidential election â much as it did in previous years. Despite an overall shift away from participation in organized religion in the U.S. populace, religious rhetoric in the political arena has intensified.
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In Italy, a country that exudes centuries-old traditions rooted in Christianity, there exists a holiday that captures the imagination of both young and old alike every Jan. 6. The holiday â known as La Befana â is a unique blend of religion and folklore that marks the end of the Christmas season.
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Three weeks after announcing that priests could bless individuals in same-sex relationships, the Vatican published a clarification on Thursday following backlash â and even some confusion â from Catholic prelates around the world.
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Thereâs a pile of other recent books and articles that bemoan the sprawling U.S. evangelical movement over the militant politicization of a Trump-Era growth sector. Some of this literature reminds one of outside anthropologist Margaret Mead scrutinizing teens in American Samoa.
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Houses of worship with predominantly Black congregations suffered the most in terms of attendance and donations. At the same time, they did more to promote COVID-19 testing and vaccinations throughout the pandemic.
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(OPINION) Last year, I wrote about the troubling findings from American Bible Societyâs annual âState of the Bibleâ report. Every study since 2011 has shown that Bible users accounted for around 50% of American adults. However, in 2022, things changed. There was a sudden 10% decrease in Bible users, indicating that ânearly 26 million Americans reduced or stopped their interaction with Scripture in the past year.â
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(ANALYSIS) In the midst of Israelâs fierce war against Hamas in Gaza, the countryâs highest court on New Yearâs Day drew attention back to a previous conflict within the country. In a narrowly divided decision, the justices struck down a significant part of the contentious judicial reform passed in July 2023 by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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(ANALYSIS) I swear I donât try to write about abortion so much, but I always end up there. I just think itâs this issue that is like no other when it comes to social issues. What really spurred this post, was a previous one that I put together called, âLiberals Have Won the Cultural War.â
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Some South African pastors are among a group who have risked their lives by preaching the gospel in places where gang violence and murder seems to be an unending cycle. These brave pastors continue to preach even though their friends, family and church members live under the threat of violence every day.
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(OPINION) A few years ago, a friend shared a Bible verse with me that has become my annual new yearâs resolution. But it comes with a caveat.
Read More(REVIEW) Both rightly-named football matches and their American cousins have halftimes. The kind of âfootballâ dominant in the United States is poorly-named because in it only one person on the field, a kicker, uses his feet, and that only at specialized times. In both varieties, though, players at halftime get a short rest and coaches offer rallying words. Books that try to answer why we exist should not have halftimes. Authors should offer a consistent vision.
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This was a very busy year on the Catholic beat. A decade after Pope Francis replaced the then-retiring Benedict XVI, the consistently progressive pontiff has very much been the focal point of plenty of news coverage in 2023. Expect more of the same in 2024.
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Religion Unpluggedâs former executive editor Paul Glader reported a three-episode narrative podcast for the Sony Entertainment Media show âInfamousâ about GOP operative Paul Erickson who led a colorful life that included advising a presidential candidate, making a Hollywood movie and dating an alleged Russian spy named Maria Butina. Upon hearing the podcast, Butina reached out and agreed to an interview to share her perspective on her now ex-boyfriend.
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In a special year-end edition, Weekend Plug-in counts down the Top 10 most popular ReligionUnplugged.com stories of 2023.
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(EXCLUSIVE) The national spotlight turned on Paul Erickson in recent years when the red-haired, Russian national he was dating, Maria Butina, was accused of being a Russian spy during intense scrutiny on Russian connections to the United States during the Trump presidency. Butina was arrested in 2018 and deported in 2019 after she pleaded guilty for failing to register as a foreign agent.
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(REVIEW) âPopcorn With The Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film Listâ is a solid primer for those interested in movies and faith beyond summer blockbusters or standard faith-based fare and donât know where to start. Even Christian cinephiles will likely find it largely redundant.
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Rubel Shellyâs new book, âMale and Female God Created Them: A Biblical Review of LGBTQ+ Claims,â examines same-sex attraction and relationships through the lens of deep and scholarly biblical research. Shelly, a Bible scholar, is the author of dozens of books that dig deep into the Bible to expose and present its teaching.
Read MoreThe ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major calendar change and the deepening rift between Constantinople and Moscow defined 2023 for the Orthodox church around the world. Hereâs a look back at the biggest stories of the year.
Read MoreIt is ironic the Czech Republic, a place where religious monuments are enmeshed with public life, that people seem to have little place for faith in their daily routine. In fact, according to the most recent data, almost 50% of the Czech population does not identify with any religious tradition.
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