More than 4 in 10 of clergy surveyed in fall 2023 had seriously considered leaving their congregations at least once since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and more than half had thought seriously of leaving the ministry, according to the survey released Thursday by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. (Smith, Religion News Service)
Read MoreFederal health officials recommended loosening federal restrictions on marijuana after concluding it poses a lower public health risk than other controlled substances. It states “there exists some credible scientific support for the medical use of marijuana in at least one of the indications for which there is widespread current experience in the United States.” (Sinha, News Nation)
Read MoreThere are a lot of rationalizations that are made for accepting Trump’s language, but there’s no serious question that race is central to the idea. That’s reflected elsewhere in the CBS-YouGov poll, as when people were asked to evaluate efforts to promote racial diversity and equality. Most Americans said that such efforts were about right or not going far enough. (Bump, The Washington Post)
Read MoreDonald Trump—the far and away GOP frontrunner—has secured a quick win in Iowa, where his campaign’s Christian rhetoric stoked his fan base but disturbed some evangelical leaders. (Prude, Christianity Today)
Read MoreThe HBO drama “Succession,” the FX/Hulu comedy “The Bear” and the Netflix limited series “Beef” were the dominant winners at the 75th Emmy Awards on Monday, leading their respective networks to the top of the TV pack. HBO led the night with nine wins, followed by FX/Hulu and Netflix with six apiece. (Phillips & Braxton, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreA New Statesman review argued that the Harry Potter author had become a “polemicist” and a “liberal pariah” because of her views on gender. The piece, originally headlined “Britain’s nastiest novelist”, was condemned by many supporters of Rowling, who claimed it was sexist and unfounded. (Simpson, The Telegraph)
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