🍔 In The Race For President, Why Are We Talking About McDonald’s? 🔌

In some ways, McDonald's is like a church. Nearly every town has one. And people of all kinds are welcome.

Inside The Vatican: How Are Catholic Bishops Chosen?

(ANALYSIS) Before the final session of a Synod of Bishops that concludes at the Vatican October 27, much printer’s ink was spilled because Pope Francis removed the issue of allowing women deacons from the agenda.

Analysis, Catholicism, Christianity, History, News, Women, womenRichard OstlingOctober 25, 2024Richard Ostling, Dick Ostling, news, analysis, Vatican, bishops, Synod on Synodality, womenComment

On Religion: When A Doritos Meme Turns Into A Clash About Holy Communion

(ANALYSIS) In her campaign against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — whose 2016 victory angered her — the Harris team has used Doritos as a symbol of the feisty, combative side of the vice president’s personality.

A New Look At The Status Of Women Across Global Christianity

(ANALYSIS) Before this month’s synod at the Vatican, Pope Francis took the question of allowing women deacons off the agenda, referring this and other hot-button issues to study groups. That distressed many Catholic activists. Leaving aside this matter of ordained ministry, sisters in religious orders and lay women could fill many influential church posts monopolized by male priests.

Cosmic Comics: 3 Graphic Novels Highlighting Faith That Are Worth A Read

(ANALYSIS) In the company of endless superhero comics and Japanese pirate manga lives a delightfully sizable population of religious graphic novels. This is fitting, as perhaps the oldest comics are religious. Regardless of intention, what do ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics read like if not a comic strip? Here’s a look at three stories that touch upon faith.

Vatican Synod Opens Door A Bit Wider For Catholic Women

(ANALYSIS) At the current synod, whose purpose is to address “communion, participation, and mission” in the church, women’s role is on the agenda. But Catholic women have historically found ways to speak to and about their church leadership, even when they have been excluded from its proceedings.

The Death of Sinwar on the First Day of Tabernacles

(ANALYSIS) One year ago, on the last day of the celebratory Feast of Sukkot, the unthinkable happened, and a living hell was unleashed on Israel. That was Oct. 7, a day that will live in infamy in the decades to come, a day that has still not ended for the hostages and the families of the victims.

Which Religious Groups Are The Most Politically Active?

(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.

Crossroads Podcast: Is it ‘News’ That Many Religious Voters May Stay Home?

If 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.”

✈️ Planes, Trains And Automobiles (Even Motorcycles): The Road To Religion News 🔌

Weekend 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.

From ‘Shrimp Jesus’ To Fake Portraits, AI-Generated Images Latest Form Of Social Media Spam

(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.

On Religion: An ‘Old News’ Protestant Voting Mashup For The Election

(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.”

Mary Statue Criticized And Vandalized: How Artists Have Often Reimagined Christ’s Birth

(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.

5 Kinds Of American Evangelicals And Their Voting Patterns

(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.

Do Religious Teenagers Make For Better Students?

(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.

Analysis, Education, News, ReligionJohn Mac GhlionnOctober 15, 2024John Mac Ghlionn, students, religion, education, news, analysis, Primary feature, rechargeComment

Hollywood And Heaven: What Did Al Pacino See When He Almost Died?

(ANALYSIS) In Hollywood Heaven, good people get good things because love is all that matters. You know? Bad people get something else, maybe.

Analysis, Religion, EntertainmentTerry MattinglyOctober 14, 2024Terry Mattingly, near death experience, death, heaven, hell, Al Pacino, Hollywood, analysis, newsComment

Native-Led Movies And TV Shows Positively Affect Viewers, Study Shows

(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.

Crossroads Podcast: Dallas Super Pastors Behaving Badly

Anyone 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.

🏟️ Faith And Baseball: Why These Fans Feel A Special Connection To MLB’s Playoff Teams 🔌

It'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.

European Court Of Justice: Gender And Nationality Sufficient To Grant Afghan Women Asylum

(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.

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