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) What stories will religion reporters be chasing in 2022?

Veteran Godbeat pro Kimberly Winston asked a handful of national journalists — myself included — that question on Interfaith Voices’ “Inspired” radio show.

“Every one of the reporters we asked had a different answer,” Winston noted.

That’s certainly true.

But a few common themes emerged.

The Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein, The Conversation’s Kalpana Jain and I all mentioned abortion as the U.S. Supreme Court contemplates overturning — or at least severely curtailing — Roe v. Wade.

Other topics cited: the COVID-19’s pandemic ongoing impact on religion and the role of faith and Christian nationalism — so evident in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — in the midterm elections.

The Los Angeles Times’ Jaweed Kaleem said he’ll be reporting on religious activism related to the climate and environment. Faithfully Magazine’s Nicola Menzie expects to keep monitoring issues of importance to Christian communities of color, such as mental health.

By the way, the 2022 question was just one part of a fascinating show in which Winston delved into how religion reporters get their stories.

I was truly captivated, except for the parts where I had to listen to my own voice. I’d highly recommend it.

Look for more predictions for the coming year — including a major global story — in this week’s Inside the Godbeat section.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. One year after Jan. 6, what’s changed for faith groups?: Unless you were hanging out with Rip Van Winkle, you know that Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

“A year after the insurrection, there is growing awareness of the dangers of Christian nationalism,” the Deseret News’ Mya Jaradat reports. “But the most extreme believers have only become more entrenched in their views.”

ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Hamil R. Harris shares his reflections on the anniversary, while Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins offers a timeline of prayers said in and around the Capitol that day.

2. A surge of evangelicals in Spain, fueled by Latin Americans: The Associated Press’ Alberto Arce reports on “huge surges in Spain’s migrant population and evangelical population in recent decades.”

The surges, AP explains, have produced “profound changes in how faith is practiced in a country long dominated by the Catholic church.”

3. Money, media and Mel Gibson: In suburban Chicago, the Coalition for Canceled Priests uses aggressive tactics in a bid to reinstate sidelined clerics, the Chicago Tribune’s John Keilman reports.

From billboards featuring men in Roman collars declaring “Not one more penny! Until you reinstate our priests” to a viral endorsement from Mel Gibson, the group’s tactics “reflect its belief that public and financial pressure are more likely to get results than working through the church hierarchy,” according to the Tribune.

BONUS: If you missed it over the holiday break, be sure to check out Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein’s revealing story on “an exodus of clergy who have left ministry in the past couple years because of a powerful combination of pandemic demands and political stress.”

Meanwhile, the fast-spreading omicron variant is forcing houses of worship to figure out — once again — how to handle worship in person (or not), as the Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner noted in a recent front-page report.

More Top Reads

• Ransom freed some missionary hostages in Haiti, workers say (by Peter Smith, Associated Press)

• Catholic dioceses investigate their role in boarding schools for Native Americans (by Dan Frosch and Ian Lovett, Wall Street Journal)

• For Christian prophets who predicted Donald Trump's reinstatement in 2021, no apologies (by Julia Duin, Newsweek)

• Religious groups help Afghan refugees settle in Austin area (by Sarah Asch and Sidney Josephs, Austin American-Statesman)

• New England church to change its name, reach out to rural areas (by Mark Hayward, New Hampshire Union Leader)

• Don’t choose pets over children, Pope Francis says as birthrates drop (by Amy Cheng, Washington Post)

• How East London’s oldest halal restaurant survived the pandemic (by Joseph Hammond, Religion News Service)

• This TikTok star uses grave cleaning and genealogy to bring the past to life (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

• Churches target new members, with help from Big Data (by Khadeeja Safdar, Wall Street Journal)

• Our Ladies of the Perpetual High (by Corrine Ciani, Rolling Stone)

• What happened to the nonbelief channel at Patheos? (by Yonat Shimron, RNS)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Paul Glader, executive director of The Media Project and executive editor of ReligionUnplugged.com, believes U.S.-based religion reporters can be too focused on what’s happening at home.

Too often, such journalists ignore important global stories when compiling predictions such as the ones that opened this week’s column, according to Glader.

One of the major international religion stories that Glader expects in 2022: “The Orthodox Church — the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church(es) and other parts of Eastern Orthodox faith — caught amid military and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. And the broader reactions from the largely Catholic and Protestant-oriented countries in Europe are also part of this geopolitical story.”

Speaking of that part of the world, Christianity Today’s Jayson Casper has an interesting story this week on evangelicals at the Russia-Ukraine border.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from ReligionUnplugged.com.

• A tragic day in American history, but not an insurrection (by Dr. Michael Brown)

• In 2021, religion was not very important to most Americans (by Anne Stych)

• Amid unrest, Kazakhstan adds more restrictions for religious meetings (by Felix Corley)

• Myanmar faces political, socioeconomic, human rights, humanitarian crisis (by Ewelina U. Ochab)

• How a journalist (and her exceptional book) propelled Pope John Paul I’s path to sainthood (by Clemente Lisi)

• Desmond Tutu: a role model for Indian church leaders (by Stephen David)

• How deeply interwoven is evangelicalism with Trump and Capitol riot? (by Terry Mattingly)

• Palestinian police stop mobs trying to burn down Joseph’s tomb (by Gil Zohar)

• As ministers are overcome by stress, sabbaticals may be the key to avoiding burnout (by Audrey Jackson)

The Final Plug

Like my ReligionUnplugged.com colleague Paul Glader, I loved this Washington Post story on stranded motorists "breaking bread together.”

It happened on Interstate 95 in Virginia after a couple spotted a bakery truck a few cars ahead of them.

Seriously, this might be the most inspiring thing you read all week.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.

Correction: A name was spelled incorrectly in the original version of this story. We have corrected the error and updated the story.

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.