Here's what's happening on the church and culture front today...

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Jan 21, 2019

Generation Z looks a lot like Millennials on key social and political issue

Jan 21, 2019

Generation Z – diverse and on track to be the most well-educated generation yet – is moving toward adulthood with a liberal set of attitudes and an openness to emerging social trends. (Parker, Graf & Igielnik, Pew Research Center)

Jan 21, 2019

The church had decided to dip into its disaster-relief fund — and passed the collection plate around an extra time or two — to buy $16,500 in grocery-store gift cards, earmarked for furloughed federal employees. They opened the doors to the sanctuary at 10 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., all the gift cards were gone. (Wootson, The Washington Post)

Jan 21, 2019

Greeks bridle at historic deal to split Orthodox church from state

Jan 21, 2019

The government of Greece and the Orthodox Church may be headed for breakup next month under a historic deal negotiated in secret between Archbishop Ieronymos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. (Apostolou, Religion News Service)

Jan 21, 2019

Going mainstream: How the West fell in love with Manga

Jan 21, 2019

James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez have used motion capture technology and visual effects to transform their leading lady into a pin-sharp digital cartoon that bears only a passing resemblance to the actress herself. (Leith, The Telegraph)

Jan 21, 2019

News Archive:

Featured

Generation Z looks a lot like Millennials on key social and political issue

Abortion activists march on Washington

This year, fresh off the swearing-in of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, many activists on both sides of the debate say a decision substantially rolling back abortion rights could be closer than at any time in recent memory. (McCammon, NPR)

“We would like to explore the possibility of allowing more non-sexualised imagery of children between 4 and 18 years old without compromising the safety of children.” (Dodds, The Telegraph)

Americans are increasingly laying off the booze, prompting the world’s biggest brewers and liquor companies to push beyond their traditional fare and roll out teas, energy drinks and nonalcoholic spirits. (Chaudhuri & Maloney, The Wall Street Journal)

Christian persecution has worsened in the most populous countries in the world, China and India, putting millions more believers at risk for their faith. (Shellnutt, Christianity Today)

It remains to be seen how the ad impacts sales. It comes at a precarious time for the company, as Gillette faces stiff new competition from start-up subscription clubs like Dollar Shave Club and Harry's. (Smith, NPR)

The research casts doubt on how well Facebook is fulfilling its self-declared "privacy principles", which include "helping people understand how their data is used" and making sure they "know where [their] privacy controls are and how to adjust them". (Dodds, The Telegraph)

Why ex-churchgoers flocked to Trump

This is a story about how the lack of faith, not factories, inspired a Middle American movement around one man.(Carney, The American Conservative)

Church pews may be full of teenagers, but a study released Tuesday (Jan. 15) suggests college students might be a much rarer sight on Sunday mornings. (Earls, Baptist Press)

Gillette, the Procter & Gamble Co. brand that for three decades has used the tagline, “The Best A Man Can Get,” is building a new campaign around the #MeToo movement, a risky approach that will be the latest test of how successfully big consumer brands can navigate tricky social movements. (Bruell, The Wall Street Journal)

The city of Gaffney, South Carolina, voted 3-2 earlier this week to keep what a conservative law group calls an illegal provision that is preventing some churches from worshiping. (Zaimov, The Christian Post)

Abortion-rights activists concerned about the shrinking number of abortion providers are mounting court challenges to longstanding state laws that forbid anybody but doctors to perform the procedure. (Gersham, The Wall Street Journal)

There is a leisure gap in America: The average man has about five and a half hours of free time a day, according to government data. The average woman has a minute shy of five. (Pinsker, The Atlantic)

The report… points to two particularly disturbing trends… The first is the increasing number of girls forced into trafficking, most frequently for sexual exploitation. The other is the growing prevalence of trafficking as a tool of war. (Cole, NPR)

Millennials must continue their fruitless march. This is not the economy that they expected. Millennials are broke and disillusioned. They are foreclosing on their own future. We ignore their generational plight at our own peril. (McEwlee, The American Conservative)

The art form continues to gain wider respect — winning over those who dimly viewed its roots as books ostensibly written for kids, and converting those who have discovered how its artful aesthetics and narratives can entertain and inspire. (Cavna, The Washington Post)