(ANALYSIS) I’ve written before about the political activity of a bunch of different religious groups. But I wanted to revisit that prior work and take the level of analysis down one layer of granularity to look at specific Protestant denominations.
Read MoreIf an editor wanted to craft a headline that would ignite the telephone switchboards for conservative and Christian talk shows, this would probably be it: “Study says 32 million Christians likely not to vote.”
Read MoreWeekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. recounts his adventures as a roving religion reporter. Ross has covered news and features in all 50 states and 18 countries.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If you’ve spent time on Facebook, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It was the rare Trump quote that caused groans as it rocketed through conservative media. But this soundbite came from an upcoming memoir from former first lady Melania Trump: “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman's fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) A sculpture of the Virgin Mary showing her giving birth to Jesus was recently attacked and beheaded. Called “Crowning” by the artist Esther Strauss, the sculpture had been part of a temporary exhibition of art outside the Catholic St. Mary Cathedral in Linz, Austria. The sculpture was controversial for its explicit depiction of birth; an online petition seeking its removal received more than 12,000 signatures.
Read More(ANALYSIS) At University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, we decided to bring together our collective research on evangelicalism to develop a broader template to understand the dynamics of American evangelicalism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In recent years, there has been a noticeable decline in academic performance across the United States and beyond, coupled with a significant decrease in religious belief. This dual trend got me thinking. Are these two developments connected? In fact, the relationship between religious belief and academic success has been explored in various studies.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In Hollywood Heaven, good people get good things because love is all that matters. You know? Bad people get something else, maybe.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Back in August, IllumiNative released a study that described how Native-led shows like “Reservation Dogs" had a positive effect on viewers, showing that Native-led projects are not only in demand but proving to be educational and impactful. Viewers who watched the aforementioned Native-led shows were more likely to agree with policies that support and center Indigenous voices.
Read MoreAnyone who has been paying attention to religion news has heard of the “Nones” — the “religiously unaffiliated” people who have little or no connection to any form of institutional religion. Then there are “Nons,” the term that religion-data expert Ryan Burge has pinned on the other big trend (“The Future of American Christianity is Non-Denominational”) that is reshaping the religion marketplace.
Read MoreIt's baseball playoff time, and six remaining teams look to make it to baseball's proverbial promised land. Here's why some of their fans have such a special — even spiritual — connection to the teams.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Oct. 4, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that gender and nationality alone are sufficient for a country to grant asylum to Afghan women. The case concerned Afghan women who were seeking international protection in Austria, and their asylum applications were rejected in 2015 and 2020.
Read MoreThe website, AtoneNet, posted the responses — no names attached — for public perusal, and before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, published a pamphlet compiling them. Printed out and tucked inside a holiday prayer book, the community’s confessions gave the liturgy — and the act of repentance — a 21st-century refresh and personalized feel.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I don’t know if you have heard or not, but there’s an election coming up. And it may be “the most important election in the history of the cosmos.” Or it may just be like every other presidential election we’ve had in the last 50 years. This election also gives me the opportunity to do something that I have always wanted to do, but just never had a great reason.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the realities of being a journalist of a “certain age” is constantly hearing people ask, in digital and analog contacts, questions that sound like this: “What do you think of (insert a trend in the modern world or a specific event in news or entertainment)?”
Read MoreHank Greenberg was also Jewish, and he is often called America’s first Jewish sports superstar. As Greenberg wrote in his autobiography, that was not an easy honor to bear. Greenberg played during a time of rising antisemitism, and the cruel taunts he suffered from players and fans lasted throughout his career. Here's a look back at the man known as the "The Hebrew Hammer."
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many Black leaders are swinging into action for the Harris-Walz campaign — and clergy are no exception. On Aug. 5, The Black Church PAC hosted a “Win With the Black Church” webinar to register voters, sign up volunteers and raise funds for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Read More(ANALYSIS) ”Women are much more supportive of the LGBT population than men.” That came up in a Q&A session that I did after a talk. The person asked if women were leaving conservative churches more quickly because of their views of same-sex marriage and gender identity. OK, so let me just figure out if that’s true or not.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A thumbsucker on the news business could review all those disheartening statistics about dying dailies and weeklies, declining ad and circulation income and shrinking newsroom staffs — all of which have escalated since the 21st century dawned.
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