1. What Can Change in the Wake of the Pennsylvania Sex Abuse Report?
“I don’t know that [the Catholic Church can] come back from this, and I don’t know if they should.”
2. Do Religious People Know More About Politics?
This quick study ranks political knowledge by religious affiliation. Lookin’ at you, Episcopalians.
3. The Political Narrative v. Reality at the Border
“… I feel like we need to give testimony to what's going on. I'm not going to invest loads and loads of time in trying to change the mind of a pastor. I think what we need to do is we need to tell the story truthfully and we need to model the behavior and let God do the conversion stuff.”
4. It Took 11 Months to Restore Power to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. A Similar Crisis Could Happen Again.
FEMA assistance only paid to repair the power grid — not upgrade it. And it’s in desperate need of an upgrade.
5. Using Comics to Tell Bible Stories
In this climate, characterized by institutional challenge and change, what does Christian religious art look like? Some of the most interesting answers right now come from the comic book world.
6. AUDIO: The Free Speech Panic: How the Right Concocted a Crisis
“The claim that free speech is under attack is often a mask for other political frustrations and fears.”
7. Immigration Judges Are Supposed to Be Impartial. But They Report to Jeff Sessions
Sessions exercised near-absolute power over the nation’s 330 immigration judges who oversee deportations. He can — and has — removed judges from cases when he doesn’t agree with their approach.
8. Buen Camino: Toward a Future Faith
“Of those who cite a reason other than lack of belief for not attending church, 70 percent say that religion is important in their lives. When asked why they do not regularly attend religious services, the most frequently cited reason is this: “I practice my faith in other ways.” That’s what intrigues me about the Camino. Isn’t it evidence of a spiritual thirst not being satisfied by institutional religion? And if so, what might this mean for the future of faith?”
9. Donald Trump Isn’t Just Slashing the Refugee Quota, He’s Dismantling the Entire Resettlement System
It is likely that the refugee program will have to be rebuilt if a future U.S. administration moves toward welcoming more refugees.
10. Aretha Franklin’s History with Civil Rights, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama
“Jail is hell to be in. I’m going to set [Angela Davis] free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people. I have the money; I got it from Black people—they’ve made me financially able to have it—and I want to use it in ways that will help our people.”
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