Here's what's happening on the church and culture front today...
A second Vatican study commission has determined that women should not be ordained as deacons, dealing another setback to Catholic women who hope one day to be able to preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals. (Winfield, AP News)
The measure is meant to protect children from the pressures and risks of social media, a mounting global concern. Big platforms including Snapchat, X, Facebook, Meta, TikTok, Threads and YouTube are set to or have already begun freezing or deactivating affected accounts. (Javaid, The Washington Post)
According to a newly released survey from AARP, adults aged 45 and older are lonelier than ever. The association surveyed around 3,300 Americans in August and found that 40% of them reported feeling lonely, a five percentage point increase from the last time the survey was conducted in 2018, and the first time the survey was conducted, in 2010. (Perez, USA Today)
The caveat is that most of us cannot afford the particular beauty we are watching here. Most of us can’t simply uproot our life, quit our jobs and move to a carefully curated farmhouse in the country. For many of the gawkers and voyeurs, this is pure fantasy, a kind of calming, momentary escape. (Roiphe, The Wall Street Journal)
A second Vatican study commission has determined that women should not be ordained as deacons, dealing another setback to Catholic women who hope one day to be able to preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals. (Winfield, AP News)
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The measure is meant to protect children from the pressures and risks of social media, a mounting global concern. Big platforms including Snapchat, X, Facebook, Meta, TikTok, Threads and YouTube are set to or have already begun freezing or deactivating affected accounts. (Javaid, The Washington Post)
Read more>>
According to a newly released survey from AARP, adults aged 45 and older are lonelier than ever. The association surveyed around 3,300 Americans in August and found that 40% of them reported feeling lonely, a five percentage point increase from the last time the survey was conducted in 2018, and the first time the survey was conducted, in 2010. (Perez, USA Today)
Read more>>
The caveat is that most of us cannot afford the particular beauty we are watching here. Most of us can’t simply uproot our life, quit our jobs and move to a carefully curated farmhouse in the country. For many of the gawkers and voyeurs, this is pure fantasy, a kind of calming, momentary escape. (Roiphe, The Wall Street Journal)
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Rosé and Mars’ “APT.” dominated across several charts, ranking at No. 1 on the top global music tally, Shazam, global radio and lyrics charts. The peppy tune, which was released in October 2024, was a runaway hit for both artists, continuing to pick up nominations for song and record of the year for the 2026 Grammy Awards. (Horowitz, Variety)
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YouTube celebrated its 20th birthday this year, and while a lot has changed over the years, one thing has stayed consistent: Pop culture continues to be defined by the ways creators and fans use video. This is especially evident in the end-of-year Trending Topics, Top Creators, Top Songs, Top Songs on Shorts, and Top Podcasts lists in the U.S. (Buxton, YouTube)
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The holiday season is here, and with it, a present for fans of end of year data and marketing: Spotify Wrapped is here! And Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny has been named its most-played artist for a fourth time, dethroning Taylor Swift. (Sherman, AP News)
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The truth is: Bible movies are more diverse and weirder than ever. These productions are just one facet of the genre. And when you look at how the Bible has shown up at the movies for the last century, it’s obvious that this is not new at all. (Wilkinson, The New York Times)
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Paganism is the most popular spiritual destination for British Christians who convert to another faith, outstripping Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, a study has found. (Burgess, The Times)
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A University of Oklahoma graduate student is on leave from teaching duties after giving an undergrad a zero on an assignment. The junior, seeking a degree in psychology, is accusing the instructor of discrimination because she cited the Bible. (Ramos, NPR)
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New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin (D) issued a subpoena in 2023 — part of an investigation into whether a chain of faith-based, antiabortion pregnancy centers were deceiving clients and donors by falsely suggesting they offered abortion referrals. (Jouvenal & Somasundaram, The Washignton Post)
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Wikipedia will mark its 25th anniversary on January 15, 2026. No one could have predicted 25 years ago that Wikipedia would grow into the backbone of knowledge on the internet it is today—powering search engines, voice assistants, and generative AI tools. (Wikimedia Foundation)
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When they engage with the news — if they do — they hear a cacophony of voices. They don’t know who to believe. Reporters are biased. They make mistakes. Besides, why would you hitch your future to a dying industry? (Bauder, AP News)
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Teenagers, particularly young girls, who see TikToks showcasing the content creators' opulent lifestyle, may get the impression that being an OnlyFans star is aspirational. (Hale, USA Today)
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The study… found that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one. Researchers had analyzed data from more than 10,500 children who participated in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. (Pearson, The New York Times)
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Today the conditions for apocalypticism—gaping inequality, pandemics, rapid technological development—are amply present. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that, over the past several years, a number of scholars and political figures have warned of a coming collapse, by which they tend to mean the destruction of the basic elements of society (Kinstler, The Atlantic)
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These days, Advent calendars build off the popularity of “little treat culture.” Brands are now selling Advent calendars that contain everything from wine to jams to skin care to pet treats. Some have become coveted status symbols, especially those that are put out by luxury players like Diptyque and Dior Beauty. (Barkho, Modern Retail)
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According to WalletHub, the country is full of people committing sins. The outlet ranked nearly 200 American cities for sinfulness based on seven key dimensions—including anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness—to determine which cities are the most sinful and which are the least. (Obias, Mental Floss)
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In his latest adventure, detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) encounters a congregation centered on its pastor’s authoritarian personality, rooted in reactiveness instead of restoration. Get ready for plenty of tropes about fire-and-brimstone fury. (Staub, Christianity Today)
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Oxford University Press has chosen “rage bait” — defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive” — as its 2025 Word of the Year. (Schuessler, The New York Times)
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