Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) This week, I’m sipping hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies.

So rather than pick the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith, as I normally do, I asked some of the nation’s top religion writers to share the favorite story they wrote during 2021.

It’s a holiday week, so I didn’t catch up with everybody. But I sure appreciate my Godbeat colleagues who responded.

P.S. The Religion News Association announced its top religion stories of 2021 this week. Check out the RNA list.

Power Up: The Year’s Best Reads

Journalists who write about religion pick their top story of 2021.

• Liam Adams, The Tennessean: Inside the Southern Baptist Convention's battle over critical race theory and what it says about the denomination, published Dec. 13.

• Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post: Caught in a culture war, this multiracial family navigates a predominantly White evangelical world, published June 1.

• Cheryl Mann Bacon, Christian Chronicle: Afghan mission becomes a race to save lives, published Sept. 14.

• Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service: 9/11 became a catalyst for interfaith relations and cooperation, published Sept. 9.

• Deepa Bharath, Orange County Register: ‘It’s about finding a way,’ mourners say as they’re forced to change rituals amid coronavirus pandemic, published Jan. 29.

• Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post: A horn-wearing ‘shaman.’ A cowboy evangelist. For some, the Capitol attack was a kind of Christian revolt, published July 6.

• Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal: Horn Lake’s rejection of mosque likely violation of federal law, published May 3.

• Madeleine Carlisle, Time: How one South Carolina pastor is combating vaccine hesitancy in communities of color, published March 25.

• Meagan Clark, ReligionUnplugged.com: Exclusive: After pushback HarperCollins will not produce ‘God Bless The USA’ Bible, published May 25.

• David Crary, Associated Press: Admirers still urging sainthood for chaplain killed on 9/11, published Sept. 4.

• Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News: The bill that could change religious freedom as you know it, published Jan. 8.

• Paul Glader, ReligionUnplugged.com: Pastors question whether to unplug from online services when the pandemic ends, published Oct. 22. (The Wall Street Journal published a condensed version)

• Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman: No, the COVID vaccine is not the 'mark of the beast'. Here's what an Oklahoma Bible prophecy expert says, published Jan. 25.

• Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press: For U.S. teen Buddhist, it’s faith, school, football, published Aug. 1.

• BeLynn Hollers, Dallas Morning News: After Roe, role of religion in battle over abortion in Texas became more prominent, published Sept. 6.

• Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times: QAnon and other conspiracy theories are taking hold in churches. Pastors are fighting back, published March 3.

• Mark A. Kellner, Washington Times: Can heaven wait? Best-selling author says ‘no,’ published Sept. 8.

• Sam Kestenbaum, New York Times: Life after proclaiming a Trump re-election as divinely ordained, published Sept. 19.

• Clemente Lisi, ReligionUnplugged.com: Why Bibles are disappearing from hotel nightstands, published Nov. 23.

• Frank Lockwood, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 'It's still with me': Ground Zero memories still vivid for Little Rock clergyman who witnessed 9/11, published Sept. 6.

• Ian Lovett, Wall Street Journal: In the shadow of the Holocaust, a Jewish community begins to take root, published Nov. 13.

• G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor: No pew? No problem. Online church is revitalizing congregations, published Feb. 9.

• Terry Mattingly, nationally syndicated “On Religion” columnist for the Universal Syndicate: What shaped the mysterious mind (and soul) of comedian Norm Macdonald, published Sept. 23.

• Holly Meyer, Associated Press: In tornado’s wake, a church and pastor turn to God, service, published Dec. 15.

• Miguel Petrosky, Religion & Politics: How Pat Robertson changed television and American politics, published Dec. 14.

• Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today: Why church can’t be the same after the pandemic, published June 21.

• Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today: Replanting can work. A church just has to die and rise again, published Feb. 16.

• Kevin Singer, Lion’s Roar: Spiritual free agents: The Buddhists of Gen Z, published Sept. 17.

• Bob Smietana, Religion News Service: Is Dave Ramsey’s empire the ‘best place to work in America’? Say no and you’re out, published Jan. 15.

• Peter Smith, Associated Press: Tulsa pastors honor ‘holy ground’ 100 years after massacre, published May 30.

• Erik Tryggestad, Christian Chronicle: Compassion at capacity: Central American hospital bolsters patients amid another coronavirus surge, published Sept. 14.

• Menachem Wecker, Rough Sketch: Degas is too big to cancel, published Nov. 21.

• Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter: How Sept. 11 inadvertently paved the way for the future election of Pope Francis, published Sept. 9.

• Kimberly Winston, FiveThirtyEight: God and Guns: How religious leaders have responded to mass shootings in places of worship, published Nov. 4.

The Final Plug

Some of the religion writers mentioned above found it difficult to pick just one story, so I chose for them.

I feel their pain!

In my case, my favorites were my “Saints and singers” feature for The Christian Chronicle, my Tulsa Race Massacre prayer room story for ReligionUnplugged.com and my piece on a “moving reunion” for families of Holocaust survivors for The Associated Press. I really should force myself to pick just one, but I won’t.

Next week, look for another year-end special edition of Plug-in. We’ll highlight ReligionUnplugged.com’s best content of 2021.

Thank you for reading, and enjoy the holidays!

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for ReligionUnplugged.com and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.