Americans in their 40s and 50s often identify with a religion, but they’re also in the thick of raising kids, caring for aging parents and juggling demanding jobs that spill into the weekend. During the pandemic, many got out of the habit of going regularly to religious services and didn’t resume. Some had been drifting away before or became disillusioned by church scandals or positions on social issues in recent years. (Ansberry, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreJerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University, is suing the school, arguing that administrators are committing trademark infringement by using Jerry Falwell Sr.’s likeness without consulting the family. (Jenkins, The Washington Post)
Read More[In Laura Miller’s latest book The Awakened Brain she]makes some really bold claims about how holding spiritual beliefs can decrease our rates of anxiety and depression and generally make us most likely to lead happier lives. (Martin, NPR)
Read MoreSound of Freedom… is just the latest flash point in an apparently endless culture war that encourages Americans to believe the absolute worst about one another. If people on the left are repelled by this movie, it’s for the same reasons people on the right feel so obligated to see it. Our political leaders, our social circles, and our chosen media have signaled in our echo chambers exactly how we should feel about it. (Godfrey, The Atlantic)
Read MoreWhen Pope Francis made the first foreign trip of his papacy, to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013, he urged young people to make a “mess” in their local churches, to shake things up even if it ruffled the feathers of their bishops. (Winfield, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreCountry might still permeate Republican rallies, but some singers, including the red-haired chanteuse Reba, have come out against anti-trans laws passed in southern states, and conservative artists worry their industry is going woke. (Stanley, The Telegraph)
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