The faith, long known for sending tens of thousands of neatly and formally dressed young people across the globe each year to preach door to door, is encouraging new missionaries to spread the gospel on social media and, for some, with acts of community service closer to home. (Jackson, The New York Times)
Read MoreTarget will no longer sell its Pride Month collection in all stores after conservative blowback over LGBTQ+ themed merchandise including bathing suits designed for transgender people harmed sales. The retailer told USA TODAY the collection will be available on its website and in “select stores” depending on “historical sales performance.” (Guynn, USA Today)
Read MoreThere are long-standing debates about the impact of video games on youth. Some credit them for helping young people form friendships and teaching them about teamwork and problem-solving. Others say video games expose teenagers to violent content, negatively impact their sleep and can even lead to addiction. (Gottfried & Sidoti, Pew Research Center)
Read MoreThe call for stoning as punishment in Islam is controversial and contested by scholars, Sarah Eltantawi, associate professor of modern Islam in the Department of Theology at Fordham University, told NPR. "It is not clear-cut," she says. "There are a lot of Muslim authorities that actually for all intents and purposes rule out stoning as a punishment altogether, because the Quran does not mention the stoning punishment at all.” (Kumar, NPR)
Read MoreSeveral federal agencies including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the study. Kids who experience the death of a parent or a primary caregiver are at risk of a range of poor health and educational outcomes, according to previous research. (Chaterjee, NPR)
Read MoreThe bad news for Southern Baptists is that the denomination, the nation’s largest Protestant group, shrunk in 2023, with a drop of about a quarter-million people. The good news, according to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual statistical report, is that the decline slowed from 2022. In addition, of those who remained, more went to church and more newcomers took the plunge to get baptized. (Smietana, Religion News Service)
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